Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[ladyrsanti]

Bad luck today. The good news is that we got the septic tanks pumped this morning, though we found out we'll be needing to replace the tanks in a year or two. Always start with good news. The bad news is that my husband broke our second vehicle in a month. First, sometime last week, his old car (2002) broke down and rather than getting it into the shop, he shoved it in the garage and started driving my old van (2000). Then today he calls me and says that he broke the van too.

In all fairness, they are old cars and they broke themselves but I have to lay a little blame because he didn't get his car in the shop and I've been nagging and nagging and I hate to be the nag. Now all I got is, "I told you so!" and that's not much better, lol. So the car is in the garage and my van is headed to the shop to be looked at no earlier than Monday - typical. Then we have to rent a car for the week, which because he works full time I won't have access to (I've been housebound for a week already and getting cranky about it) and then I am holding my breath and crossing my fingers that we can go to look at new cars. Maybe. If he will finally acknowledge that we need at least one new/reliable car.

 

[gladahmae]

Holy strong west wind today! I guess the good thing about it is that it's not sustained, but the gusts are doing a number on things out there! I'm going to have to repair the plastic over the quarntine run because it pulled on of the corners off and it's just flapping in the wind now. Just the corner. Not the whole thing. I'm surprised that the girls are even OUT today instead of holing up in the 'coop'.

I think that when we catch everyone on Sunday to re-dose with ivermectin, I'm going to put them in the big coop. They've been here for 2 weeks and aside from a possible slight leg mite issue, they appear to be healthy. Will be moving the 2 largest pullets from the chick coop over as well, since one is starting to pink up (they're almost 16 weeks) and I'd rather disrupt the pecking order 2 times instead of 3. The other 3 EE pullets are still far too small to put in with the big girls, but if the boys get too hormonal next month, I'll probably crate the new girls up in the big coop for their own good.

Oldest 2 kids are at grandma's for the day and the house is sooooo quiet! No fighting, no whining, no very loud trash-talking during wii races......it's strange.

Have fun with all the wood Raz! I don't envy you the work.

 

[Opa]

When I first started using droppings board I would cover them with a thin layer of wood shavings. While it did make removing the droppings a little easier, its benefit was negated by the increased volume of waste material that I had to dispose of. Now I let the droppings fall on the board and removing them is only slightly more difficult.
Hands down the best material from which to construct something to catch droppings is a material called RFP (reinforced fiberglass panel). It comes in a 4'x8' sheet and is often used in commercial applications as a wall covering in bathrooms. The surface is pebbled on one side and smooth on the other. By building your droppings tray with the smooth side up you can easily scrape them clean.
I mounted a 4" putty knife on a 18" handle and I use that to prise the droppings from the board and then a small childrens hoe to scrape them into a bucket. With my flock that's 10 gallons per week that I've kept from the floor.

 

[mrcush]

Thanks everyone

 

[taprock]

Opa glad to hear granny is ok. That is much scarier than an appendix.

Nova, I have found over the course of the past 25+ roosters that there were less with bad attitudes than I would have expected, and the ones with them were all after two years old - except one really nasty Polish guy we had. But a nice rooster is definitely a keeper.

DH has been taking care of my chickens for me while I stayedd with my son. It seems one of my dorky Polish boys was left out all night. He was fine but DH has no idea where he stayed, just that he was running around in the morning before he let them all out. We are headed home today as soon as the dr. Checks him over. It was a surprise that my son is the only kid right now in the pediatric section. I was amazed but I guess that is a good thing. I was also surprised how much they go out of their way to make kids happy. He is being sent home with stuffed animals, pillow case, quilt, snacks , books, puzzles and his most treasured, a $25 GameStop card. Most are donated by local organizations to make the kids stay less stressful and they have definely done that for him. That said I am ready to be home! I dread what the coop looks like with frozen poop everywhere. Also one of my wateres broke yesterday so I have to see what DH has rigged up.

I know January has just started but I could use a small spell above freezing so I could do some coop clean up.

 

[NovaAman]

Ya know tap, I am just going to assume I have been very lucky with the boys I have. Florus is 8 months old now, and he usually gets out a move on when I go in his pen with his girls. They, the girls, will all stand at my feet, and he'll be several feet away. He's not like Mr. Fluffers, where he'd eat out of my hand, calling all his ladies and drop the treats on the ground for them. He'll come over though when I call him just stay out of touching distance. So far, good boy. Rod Stewart... Love Rod Stewart. He is a year old now, and he's JUST LIKE Mr. Fluffers, though he's Buffy's baby. He will walk right around my feet, walk on them even. Roger Jr is shaping up to be just like Roger too. I like that. Pat, oh Pat... He's a dandy that one. He's trying his hardest to win over Skeeter. He'll call her desperately when he's found a good tidbit, or I've given him a good tidbit to share. I went to pick him up and set him back in the leaf/shavings pile, instead of standing on the cement floor, and what does he do? Act like I am the bad monster and attacks my hand. Tried his darndest to rip off a chunk from the pad of my palm. Funny as heck, because though yes, it hurt, he was like a vicious little dog, twisting his head from side to side, trying so hard to defend himself. I had to get him from under a shelving unit... LOL. Anyway. No real meanies here, and If I am smart, I'll just keep a fresh cockerel every other year from the nice boys that I have now.

 

[NovaAman]

Oh, and I am glad your kid is on the mend.

 

[ladyrsanti]

When I first started using droppings board I would cover them with a thin layer of wood shavings. While it did make removing the droppings a little easier, its benefit was negated by the increased volume of waste material that I had to dispose of. Now I let the droppings fall on the board and removing them is only slightly more difficult.
Hands down the best material from which to construct something to catch droppings is a material called RFP (reinforced fiberglass panel). It comes in a 4'x8' sheet and is often used in commercial applications as a wall covering in bathrooms. The surface is pebbled on one side and smooth on the other. By building your droppings tray with the smooth side up you can easily scrape them clean.
I mounted a 4" putty knife on a 18" handle and I use that to prise the droppings from the board and then a small childrens hoe to scrape them into a bucket. With my flock that's 10 gallons per week that I've kept from the floor.

Mine is made with that thin corrugated plastic sheeting that is used for signs. The label on the sheet said it was wallboard. I don't know if that's the same stuff you used or not. I found a 4 x 8 sheet in the barn when we moved in and used it to make my egg sign. The rest is now a poop board and it works really well. It's smooth and flexible so that a few good whacks with the hoe and the frozen poo comes loose. I haven't even had to use my scraper yet.

 

[Opa]

RFP is a solid sheet about 1/8" thick and is much for durable than the corrigated plastic sign board . It does require that it be attached to some type of supportig framework

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

I had mentioned before taking orders for tote bags... like this one... for CS
They start at $18 and get cheaper the more we order!!
They are BIG totes! Perfect for gathering all of your goodies!!!

Who would order one?
I could go with a smaller sized tote... It would not have the black bottom or handle... but they would be cheaper...
Small bags are 14x14x3" and are $13
Deluxe are 19x15x6" and are $16
Two-tone deluxe are 19x15x6 and are $18

Let me know your thoughts!