Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[NovaAman]

I have faverolles also. I have NHs, Silkies, Cochins, mutts, most of which are half faverolle. My faverolle hens are NOT on the bottom of the pecking order, and neither is my silkie hen. My wyandottes are the top of the pecking order, but are not mean by any means. They are lovely, but can be so heart breaking if you get hatchery birds. Find a good breeder for them if you decide you like them. Anyway, welcome to the MI thread.

A few things to note too...

1)Build BIG. If you only plan on having say 6 girls and a roo, Build for 12.
2) On your run, dig down, and bury fencing. Use hardware cloth. Use a hot wire around the run to keep things out at night. If you can cover your run, do that too. Build your run BIGGER than what rule of thumb requires.
3)Ventilation... Do it right the first time...
4)get a chicken first aid kit. Have Blue kote for pecking injuries. Red Kote for leg mites. Poultry drench for perking up a stressed chicken. Ivermectin horse paste or pour on for worms, mites, lice,... paste for worms, pour on gets it all. Stop bleed powder. VetRx for colds... I am sure there is more to have. Others can add to this. I keep a bottle of Tylan on hand for an antibiotic. You can also get powder antibiotics for the water.
5) poultry dust the coops a few times a year during spring/summer/fall. I cleant the coop out completely, put on a dust mask and googles, shake the poultry dust all over the coop, then get out my trusty leaf blower and then blow it all over the coop so it ends up in every nook and cranny. Close the doors, let it settle, the come back half an hour later and put in the shavings, refill the nest boxes. I have not had a mite/lice problem. Yet.

 

[Elyssia001]

Thanks for all the advice! Its going to be very handy when I go to build. Do you think I could build a large enough coop for 10 birds on 3/4 of an acre and still have room for a large garden and some empty space? (We plan to have children in the future and I want them to have room to grow as well!)

I'm finding the Barred Hollands to be very attractive. I love the huge combs and waddles on the roosters! I had pictures of these in my chicken calendars and never even knew what they were untl now. The white eggs are a plus too, since my husband thinks brown eggs are odd looking. I also like that they sound like a calm breed. I've been looking online since my last post, and I've only found a single hatchery that carries Barred Hollands. I'd prefer to get eggs from a breeder however, since like all other animals, small scale breeders have animals superior to mills in every way. Does anyone know of a breeder here in MI?

I also have a few questions concerning breeding practices. Would it be appropriate to ask here, or should I seek out a topic in another forum?

 

[NovaAman]

3/4 would be fine. I have a 2 acre parcel. I have only one of those cleared enough. I have a 12x28 chicken complex, 37 birds. My birds free range over the whole of my yard all day long though, so even though the space is kinda small for that many birds, they have the constant access to the yard. I also grow some food stuffs... I'd like to grow more, but yup. Enough.

There is a book, I think its called something like, "Grow all the food you want on a 1/4 acre"... Don't quote me. BUT... It is something along those lines...

 

[NovaAman]

The Backyard Homestead: Produce all the food you need on just a quarter acre!

 

[Elyssia001]

Beautiful. I'll check my local library for it, and if I can't find it there, I'll get it off of amazon. Thanks again.

 

[NovaAman]

The Backyard Homestead has a whole series of these books, from Back to Basics, to Mini-farms. Even to prepping to live off the grid if you are into that sort of thing. Also books for everythign chicken related

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

The Oxford Planning Commission meeting went fantastic last night. So I am now part of a three person committee to write up recommendations for a new ordnance.

Thanks for all the advice! Its going to be very handy when I go to build. Do you think I could build a large enough coop for 10 birds on 3/4 of an acre and still have room for a large garden and some empty space? (We plan to have children in the future and I want them to have room to grow as well!)

I am in Oakland! I have a .74 lot and it is plenty for birds gardens and kids!
There is a chick checklist below in my siggy.
Sorry, I can't help you with pure breeding.

 

[NovaAman]

Here is a great video for beginners in the chicken world...

 

[Mom 2em All]

*waving*

Dropping in to say hi to everyone. Havent been to the thread in awhile.

Havnig Sam withdrawals.

 

[ladyrsanti]

There's a dead deer in a pond not even a half a mile from here. It's visible from the road so I suppose it could have been hit but it's laying in the middle of the pond. SE Kent Co.