Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[theron]

Random picture spam again today...
I don't think Leila got this fluffy last winter. Of course she was broody as hello... This is the hen I got from Kim at C.S.

And her daughter, Soledad... Soledad dug herself a hole in the neighbors front yard and was busy trying to free herself. I was kinda laughing when I took this picture...

And Soledad after I got her out of the hole... She was cold, so she'd snuggled under the heat lamp in the garage


That's Skeeter in the background. She's been a heat hog since coming out of the broody box. I was going to put her back in the coop with everyone else, but she's lost weight being broody, and she won't go in the coop until she fattens herself back up... Oh... another garage baby...

But wait, there are more pictures!
The seriously odd couple... Loralie the faverolle hen and Fritz the Jerk




And who wants to see a nice pic of the Jerk. It took forever to get a good one. He never stays still... Duh.. Jerk!


He treats his lady love so nicely. LOL. He ignores Ekta though... Jerk. LOL. I am thinking she's happy not being molested by Fibber though. LOL

AND NOW! the fattest hen I have, Eldee... Eldee got named that because when she was young and dumb, she went over the fence to visit the dog yard. The dogs ripped out her tail, the neighbor Earlene rescued her... SO, L.D.= lucky dummy. LOL


And... now... A really weird silkie cross... I am not sure who Roger got before he died, but this is the result... it is a faverolle x brahma or sussex hen as mama...

And it is a boy... bummer...


My lovely Florus.... I mean... it wouldn't be complete with out a Florus Picture!

And, I never posted a completed covered run pic...
Here ya go... LOL

And from the side with the door... Notice the for sale signs? I picked those up free and used them as walls for the summer coop conversion. LOL.


I use the gas to get them stoned. HAHAHA. Actually it is empty. I had parked the lawn mower in the side yard... Ran out of gas is more like it, and had ot put it in the back shed... I forgot the empty gas can there.

Fritz the Jerk is looking good. Even if he is a pain.

 

[NovaAman]

Fritz the Jerk is looking good. Even if he is a pain.

NO! He's a good boy now that he's not being a raging hormone freak!

 

[ladyrsanti]

This is Poof. Poof is at the top of the pecking order. Don't mess with Poof... especially if you're a barn cat named Speedy.

Disclaimer: No cats were harmed.

 

[NativeBeauty]

Well...... got the results of the fecal on Thumblina (my daughter's cochin)....she has nematodes (ascarids) as well as an URI. A throat culture (collected by none other than myself) eliminated gapeworm, thank goodness, so its not the cause of the breathing issues.
In the meantime she got a vitamin A, D and E shot and an antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection and will soon begin a through worming. I MUST be a chicken nut as who else gives three hours pay to a vet and doesn't blink or fall over. I pacify myself with the fact that I can't be buried with my $$ and I love my kids enough to do so (and have the means with a steady job).
The antibiotic chosen got a few chuckles out of me as its Bactrim and as a nurse, one I am quite familiar with it

It really got me when I read "by beak twice per day for ten days". The vet got quite the chuckle out of my daughter too as she assured him that he was caring for her "baby" and "Thumb" was scared and sick so he needed to be quiet and gentle with her.
As for our dear "Thumb-baby" she is snugged into a rubber-maid tub (lined with paper towels for ease of clean-up) in the laundry room after a through bath (due to poop stuck in her feathers) and blown dry with a hair-dryer. What a life, I tell ya!! I continue to pray that she pulls through and continues to live the treasured life of pet and companion to my daughter.

As for the rest of the flock, no one shows any ill effects thus far, so after a complete stripping of bedding today all is well. Soon, they too will be randomly selected for a fecal and if + will begin their own worming....so much for the increased egg production

and possibly back to store bought eggs for us

 

[NovaAman]

THAT'S GREAT! Go Poof!

 

[NativeBeauty]

The thing that got me is after years of growing up around farm animals and a nurse of ten years , I still can pick out a sick one just by smell. Opened Thumblina's beak to obtain the throat swab with a moistened Q-tip and almost threw up

That and the chicken poo she's passing....yup something is definitely unbalanced in her system. Picked up a few pro-biotics to repopulate her with the good stuff (thanks for the suggestion fellow BYCers)......wish me well on the chicken infirmary/rehabilitation.

 

[RaZ]

Finally reporting back on the outcome of the Ag Commissioners meeting earlier today.

The GAAMPs for the Site Selection were returned to the group who made the proposals in the first place. This means that there are NO CHANGES right now. The guidelines remain the same.

Notice that I said guidelines and not law. The law is the law and the GAAMPs are methods of complying with said law. The commissioners agree that there are some problems with the "law" as it is written and what its' intention was.

What we have now is a breather, so we can regroup and consider what, if any changes should be made to the "law". A change in the law requires an act of the state legislature and that is a whole different can of worms. I'm not sure that we really want to go down that path.

We accomplished our short term goals of tabling the changes that would have affected 80% of the state. The commissioners recognized our efforts and thanked us for being pro-active. The e-mails, calls and discussion were appreciated by them (well, most of them). The real work will take place next year.

With the future in mind, we have a grass-roots effort called Michigan Small Farm Policy Councill. Our group has offered to be part of future reviews of proposed changes to GAAMPs. A couple of us are trying to get appointments to the boards. Your continued help would be appreciated.

Appointments to the committees are made by another person but if you write letters to the commissioners, you can mention my name and that of Wingless. (PM me for real names and contact info)

In my opinion, we held our own and maybe gained a bit of ground today. Thanks to you folks who spoke and wrote letters. We haven't won the battle yet nor have we won the war. We survive to fight again.

Of further note, Detroit City Council has accepted the Hantz Farms purchase of vacant lots within the city. While I have no details yet, Detroit is considering ordinances (rules) for keeping livestock within the city. Again, that is a future action that bears watching and I'm trying to get more information on that process.

 

[NovaAman]

RaZ, I think you would be a perfect voice for us on the board! You've got my voice on that. Should I send emails to that same people on that subject, or someone else?

 

[1muttsfan]

Lady the Poof- and-Speedy show was great

Nativebeauty, good luck with your daughters hen

Raz, glad you are on our side - thanks for all your hard work. Farming is hard enough without the government taking out after us.

 

[SillyChicken]

Finally reporting back on the outcome of the Ag Commissioners meeting earlier today.

The GAAMPs for the Site Selection were returned to the group who made the proposals in the first place. This means that there are NO CHANGES right now. The guidelines remain the same.

Notice that I said guidelines and not law. The law is the law and the GAAMPs are methods of complying with said law. The commissioners agree that there are some problems with the "law" as it is written and what its' intention was.

What we have now is a breather, so we can regroup and consider what, if any changes should be made to the "law". A change in the law requires an act of the state legislature and that is a whole different can of worms. I'm not sure that we really want to go down that path.

We accomplished our short term goals of tabling the changes that would have affected 80% of the state. The commissioners recognized our efforts and thanked us for being pro-active. The e-mails, calls and discussion were appreciated by them (well, most of them). The real work will take place next year.

With the future in mind, we have a grass-roots effort called Michigan Small Farm Policy Councill. Our group has offered to be part of future reviews of proposed changes to GAAMPs. A couple of us are trying to get appointments to the boards. Your continued help would be appreciated.

Appointments to the committees are made by another person but if you write letters to the commissioners, you can mention my name and that of Wingless. (PM me for real names and contact info)

In my opinion, we held our own and maybe gained a bit of ground today. Thanks to you folks who spoke and wrote letters. We haven't won the battle yet nor have we won the war. We survive to fight again.

Of further note, Detroit City Council has accepted the Hantz Farms purchase of vacant lots within the city. While I have no details yet, Detroit is considering ordinances (rules) for keeping livestock within the city. Again, that is a future action that bears watching and I'm trying to get more information on that process.

So glad they saw some reason....

Raz and Wingless, thanks so much for being our voice at the meetings. I'd be happy to write letters on your behalfs... is there anything we can specify in our letters?