Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Whatshisface]

Those partridge hens are pretty, like flames. If I didn't have chicks coming out of my ears, I'd be all over them.

So I got rid of one dozen eggs today. One of my husband's coworkers sent him home with a bag of spent beer mash and an empty egg carton.

Fermented grains for my chickies, eggs for them. Sounds like a deal.

On the down side, I've got a cold coming on big time.

Always this time of year it seems. I've been lucky so far - haven't been sick all winter. Guess it caught up with me.

Ya know,I have had good and bad luck with Beer/Ale mash. A few years back I fed my chickens the mash from a batch of Ale and they acted like I was trying to poison them. The hens I have now just gobble it down.

 

[Maah]

Yippee... score one for the wife.

So, I have my "broody in the rafters" situation. I didn't want to bother DH with securing me a proper area for her on the coop floor. I know he would do it if I asked... but honestly, the man works hard and has a mile high list of things that he does, so I didn't want to bother asking this of him. Plus, I'm an intelligent woman! And I can do this!

I went out to the coop after work today with some "borrowed" things I found rummaging through hubby's barn (aka: man cave)

. My intention was to block off the far end of the coop (there's a ramp at the end, so it was already partially covered). I cleared it out, put up the board (I even did some sawing...

with a handsaw!). BUT.. I couldn't quite figure out putting the chicken wire over the top of it in a way that would both protect the other hens if they got on top of it (I didn't want them to get hurt), and make it so I can still have easy access to the broody. I made it that far, but then I was stumped. I figured... well, I can at least ask this of him. Maybe he will make me a panel/door type deal or something to cover it with. So after he got home, I told him about the project I spent all afternoon working on, but that I needed his expertise finishing up the last bit. He agreed with that so we went out to the coop to check it over. I thought I did AWESOME... but by the look on his face I guess it wasn't as masterful as I thought.

It took him all of a minute to completely re-plan how it was going to be done. It's not going to be at the end of the coop, but running under the nest boxes instead. He even had an instant great idea that's going to utilize the existing water & feeder so that the broody can get to them both from her side, but that the rest of the flock will still have access to them from their side. AND he's going to make me access panels, covered in wire, & on hinges so I can get to her easily without having pretend I'm a master of yoga while getting into the corner. He said if I can wait, that he would have it done for me by this weekend!!

Awesome hubby!!

Oh, and while I was out there all afternoon I took a picture her.

 

[tdhenson86]

Maah,

I'm glad things worked out well!

 

[Folly's place]

Good evening all! lhawes, the problem with setting hens in the main house is that other hens will disturb her, lay eggs in her nest at different times, and generally lower the total hatch %. Just my experience. If the broody is actually the #1 bird in the flock, maybe things would be less difficult. Mary

 

[ChicwannaB]

Good one Maah, I like the reverse psychology of this one.
My hubby would do the same thing if I needed help, but he also knows I enjoy putting my mind to it and trying to figger it all out on my own (I never do of course) and often ask advise of the professional=Him.
Spent all day working on my new turkey coop. We had a little snow, then 3 hours later some hail. All in all, a nice day for Michigan for a change.

 

[tdhenson86]

Good one Maah, I like the reverse psychology of this one.
My hubby would do the same thing if I needed help, but he also knows I enjoy putting my mind to it and trying to figger it all out on my own (I never do of course) and often ask advise of the professional=Him.
Spent all day working on my new turkey coop. We had a little snow, then 3 hours later some hail. All in all, a nice day for Michigan for a change.

Yes. A nice day. That's exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Maah]

Who ordered all the white stuff?! And it's supposed to be in the 50's this weekend? Ugh... I am beyond tired of this. Blink & the season changes.

 

[gladahmae]

On vaca, and we went to the zoo in Tampa today and DH had to poke fun at me. In many of the exhibits (of non-predatory animals) they had chickens and guineas running around for bug control. Partridge silkies mostly, but we also saw a lovely buttercup (?) bantam rooster and a HUGE barred roo (Delaware maybe? wasn't a barred rock) in one place. None of them made a sound except for the guineas. The Kenyan Guineafowl were really cool looking. I wonder if they are really hard to come by, and if they'd be able to make it through a Michigan winter, un-heated.

 

[Stacykins]

On vaca, and we went to the zoo in Tampa today and DH had to poke fun at me. In many of the exhibits (of non-predatory animals) they had chickens and guineas running around for bug control. Partridge silkies mostly, but we also saw a lovely buttercup (?) bantam rooster and a HUGE barred roo (Delaware maybe? wasn't a barred rock) in one place. None of them made a sound except for the guineas. The Kenyan Guineafowl were really cool looking. I wonder if they are really hard to come by, and if they'd be able to make it through a Michigan winter, un-heated.

Domesticated guineas do just fine up here. I don't have any, but I have a friend who has them. They live in the unheated coop with the chickens. They free range during the day, even in the snow.

 

[lhawes]

Good evening all! lhawes, the problem with setting hens in the main house is that other hens will disturb her, lay eggs in her nest at different times, and generally lower the total hatch %. Just my experience. If the broody is actually the #1 bird in the flock, maybe things would be less difficult. Mary

She isn't necessarily #1 in the flock.. but she isn't at the low end either... they seem to let her be when she is in a nesting box, but we are not letting her sit any eggs right now either. We may just end up having to let her do it and see what the hatch rate does end up being.

thanks for the information though.. I have seen many people say that they pull their broody and stick her somewhere else until hatch. I have also seen others that go in and find a broody and let her be (or are shocked to find chicks!)