Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[1muttsfan]

That is so much better if you can take them all - big job but good for you.

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

They are going to stay with SIL because mama dog knows her.
Then maybe I can sweet talk BF into one!!! LOL

 

[Elyssia001]

One of the reasons I want to get into chicken keeping is to show the birds as well as getting eggs and meat to eat. Does anyone here show their birds? Where can I find a 2013 show schedule for the region? (MI, OH, IN) I'd really like to see a few myself before I get chickens, so I can get a feel of what the judges are like, and how much showing birds will add to the expenses of maintaining them. ATM I'm looking at Chickens as an expensive hobby. I hope as I gain experience I will be able to reduce costs, but that is not here or now.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I am not sure but i think show birds need to be vaccinated? I've not shown. I do know that a nice deep litter/ or a sand run is necessary to keep feather feet breeds looking good, and that "saddles" help a ton if you have a roo with the hens!

i'm curious what kinds of birds you are looking to get? I've been wishing and wishing i could buy from greenfire, they have some beauuuuutiful birds! But very very pricey.

 

[1muttsfan]

Theron does quite a bit of showing. There is a section of the Forum called Breeds, Genetics and Showing that probably has a lot of very useful threads.

 

[theron]

One of the reasons I want to get into chicken keeping is to show the birds as well as getting eggs and meat to eat. Does anyone here show their birds? Where can I find a 2013 show schedule for the region? (MI, OH, IN) I'd really like to see a few myself before I get chickens, so I can get a feel of what the judges are like, and how much showing birds will add to the expenses of maintaining them. ATM I'm looking at Chickens as an expensive hobby. I hope as I gain experience I will be able to reduce costs, but that is not here or now.

We show. If you go to http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/ it has each state and when the shows are/ etc. There are two that I know of in MI and those are the Spring Fowl Fest and Fall Fowl Fest. You can also see if your county fair shows birds.

I am not sure but i think show birds need to be vaccinated? I've not shown. I do know that a nice deep litter/ or a sand run is necessary to keep feather feet breeds looking good, and that "saddles" help a ton if you have a roo with the hens!

i'm curious what kinds of birds you are looking to get? I've been wishing and wishing i could buy from greenfire, they have some beauuuuutiful birds! But very very pricey.

Each time we have shown, they never said anything about being vaccinated. When you go to the shows, however, they usually have testers that will test your birds for you.

Not as much as we would like I must say.

 

[theron]

Forgot to mention Elyssia001, if you ever need any helpful tips or questions about showing, we will be happy to help you through it.

 

[NovaAman]

THERON, do you sex your chicks at hatching on the seremas? I am asking, cuz now that I am sending my polish roo Fibber Magee and Molly hen on an adventure, he won't be the one pollinating the flower. Yeah... Buff laced polish on that tiny little serema! Well anyway, when I get ready to hatch her eggs, is the feather sexing the same for them? BTW, Ekta is laying an egg every other day since she started laying. No added light either to the coops, just the heat lamps in the run, and only one of them is white, but it is on the far end of the run away from the coops...

 

[mrcush]

I have had a infra red heating lamp on in my coop for a few weeks now and I shut it off the other night. Now my girls are roosting in they're nesting box instead of they're roost. Does anyone know why this would be? Should I just turn the heating lamp back on? Or should I maybe have a light come on in the evening when it gets dark for a half hour or so?

 

[NovaAman]

Are they fully feathered out? If htey are fully feathered, then I wouldn't use a heat lamp at all. If you need a light in there, go with a 25 watt party light in red, blue or green... I have a purple one, It's just enough light for late comers to the roost.

I have a mama who still goes in the nest box with her chicks, and they are 8 weeks old now. I also have some silkies that go in the nest box still and they are several month old. BUt I haven't ever had them go from the roost to the nest. If they are young yet, maybe they've decided that piling up in the nest box is nicer and more comforting now that they don't have the light?