Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[ladyrsanti]

I started while they were still in the brooder (< 6 wks), bringing them chickweed and dandelion greens (but it was in the spring, obviously, when those things were abundant). Then I moved on to other things like scraps and whatnot. I found they were a lot like children in that they would ignore the healthy stuff like greens for the sweet stuff like fruit or the grainy things. Though... they still are like that, going on a year old, heheh.

 

[Farmerboy16]

Nice job on the cake Nova!

Welcome all newbies!!

Maybe they should change the name n i p p l e to "push-in-waterer"???? That is much better in my opinion.

And you a cow person, for shame!

They are called teats

And you a cow person, for shame!

On cows they are called  teats

Yup, what she said.

Farmerboy:  Saw this add on craigslist, thought you may be interested..   http://lansing.craigslist.org/grd/3457400949.html

Hog nursery feeders

They look very very handy for giving milk to the pigs!!! But I am sure that my dad will say no... too far, and too pricey. Thanks for sharing though! I am using a half barrel trough, and all 14 young hogs pile in that 2 by 4 trough to get the milk!

 

[Opa]

Question

I even looked it up in my book on chickens and can't find an answer, at what age can I start giving my chicks that are 4mo leftovers like we do our laying hens, you know stuff like watermelon rinds and apple cores, my hens just devour it and I am wanting to supplement there feed with something, they are eating 5olbs about every 5 days, it gets expensive. I'm wondering if they will ever "pay themselves off"

I start giving chicks greens and food scrapes once they ar feathered. You should also give them chick grit anytime they are fed anything other than chick starter.

 

[MIchickens]

Status update on Cedar Creek Hatchery...
I spoke with a very nice gentleman today in regards to a hatch date for some chicks. He said he could not give me a specific date right now and said that it would be between the first and third week of February for their first hatches. I explained that that we were looking to get a group to meet out there with people from BYC. He explained that pick-up's are OK...he just wouldn't be able to give me any dates as of yet.
He also said that if someone wanted to order some chicks, they didn't have to meet the 15 chick requirement. But on any order below the 15 chicks, you would have to pay for overnight shipping. He said they put heat pads in the boxes for smaller orders. It sounded like they would throw in a couple extra chicks for smaller orders also.

I have one taker for the trip out there. If I don't get anymore...maybe we can order together and split the shipping cost?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! I HOPE THIS NEXT YEAR BRINGS YOU ALL THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD!

 

[NovaAman]

My son got a paint by numbers picture... Started it and then decided that it was just too darn hard for him to do. SO, I did it. It gave you 8 colors to work with and you had to mix colors to try and get the colors to work... Was a pain in the butt. Unfortunetly, I am not good at following instructions... SO, my painting, though follows the basic picture, colors are not the same, and I didn't feel like painting some of the objects, so I just ignored that they were there...

 

[teeville5]

Oh! And a silkie question! I've read that they don't navigate ramps well? Our big coop is about a 1ft 'hop' for the chickens to get in and out to the run. Will we need to build a ramp for the silkie, or will she figure it out?

We don't have a ramp for our coop and the door sits about 1 1/2 ft off the ground. Our 4 silkies have no problem just hopping up. We've never had to put them in.

 

[NovaAman]

Roger used to get up on the 5 foot roosts... Leila liked the top roost in the coop, and Minnie Cuke did too. These silkies I have now, they don't roost at all. They didn't have a mom to teach them. They just stretch out in the pile of bedding I have for them in the garage with Skeeter and Pat. And the occassional hen who joins the slumber party.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

??? So we got a bum deal? DH really likes goats, we ended up giving them back bc of him and the hay prices; (all brothers so kept together) DH wants more but i'm unsure after all that- is there any way to suss out the trouble makers? Is it bc they were all boys? (3)

 

[teeville5]

Happy New Year everyone.

 

[snowflake]

Does anyone in Michigan have donkeys? Here is our "Gus" (real name is Augustus) and he needs a friend... He's a fully frosted spotted white...

sweet guy

Question

I even looked it up in my book on chickens and can't find an answer, at what age can I start giving my chicks that are 4mo leftovers like we do our laying hens, you know stuff like watermelon rinds and apple cores, my hens just devour it and I am wanting to supplement there feed with something, they are eating 5olbs about every 5 days, it gets expensive. I'm wondering if they will ever "pay themselves off"

any time as long as they also get grit

My son got a paint by numbers picture... Started it and then decided that it was just too darn hard for him to do. SO, I did it. It gave you 8 colors to work with and you had to mix colors to try and get the colors to work... Was a pain in the butt. Unfortunetly, I am not good at following instructions... SO, my painting, though follows the basic picture, colors are not the same, and I didn't feel like painting some of the objects, so I just ignored that they were there...

very nice pic

Happy New Year everyone.