Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[gladahmae]

Found our first green egg yesterday! YAY! Hawk (one of our EEs) had been checking out the nest boxes quite a bit the last few times I had been out to do coop chores and get eggs, so I figured she'd be laying soon. However, she laid it under the nest boxes, and I didn't see it until the next day. Obviously, it froze and cracked, but it was a really nice green!

I re-stocked the straw in the boxes, so hopefully she will think that's more comfy than the shavings. Maybe Fluffy the silkie will take the hint too and stop hiding her eggs!

 

[minniefarm]

My guess is there will be an ugly commute home, some snow, some ice and not much else. I will be surprised if we get over 3 inches. I would love one big ole storm, just one, then spring can come!

 

[chickflick]

I really don't want a big storm. Feel sorry for the critters.... and me, I'm the one that shovels the runs out so the hens can come out. I really hate the hype on the weather. We live in Mi, we will get snow. No need to cancel one tv show to show us the snow is in Iowa and on it's way here, or in Ok. Just tell us that we're getting snow and how much and when. No need for all that drama!! Hopefully the storm will hold off until everyone is home safe and sound.

 

[SillyChicken]

*heavy sigh*.... my friend says she doesn't have time to "argue" with me about eating fresh, natural unprocessed food vs the corporate foods. I wasn't trying to argue.. just wanted talk about the crap (just whats going on at my place)... Whats to argue? Milk with added asparatane as a hidden ingredient is worth defending? Food with chemicals and additives, hormones and other stuff, are argue worthy? I think she's defensive about it all cause deep down, she knows I'm right........I love her, but man..... I don't get it... wont eat fresh eggs.... won't eat food from a garden.... she had a wonderful pear tree in her old yard, and never ate any of them! Refuses our canned food too........ somethings wrong with that woman!!

Tap.. hope you feel better!!

It's raining here now.....I have a feeling I'll be disappointed once again in this storm.

 

[RaZ]

Don't you just love those who are "willfully ignorant"?

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Quote:
thanks. Drat . That means that he's on the bottom of the order, even with his hens! Don't surprise me since he's such a meek boy. I didn't know that hens would do that, i thought hens fought with hens and boys with boys.

 

[BobBry]

Generators are nice too...

This turned out to be rant.


About 2006 we decided that a generator would be a goo idea since Jo was not able to do much on her own. Back then, I planned to do some hunting/fishing an be away from home for a day or two at a time. We did some shopping and decided to go with a deluxe natural gas powered large capacity outfit, that would come on automatically, whenever the electricity went off, and would supply ten circuits in the house; kitchen, furnace, freezer, basement, AC, TV, bedroom, computer, fireplace,(gas), other bedroom. Sounds like a lot, and is. Worked well for five years. It turned itself on twice a month every other Thursday, I had it serviced annually, and it even operated for two days once and one day once when the electricity went out.

Then, last summer, it was not doing the self test maintenance run. I got the manual out and did all I could to remedy the situation. No good result. Then the power went out on a Saturday. I called the people who installed and did the maintenance on it for six years. They said that they would come look at it for a $90 trip fee plus the cost of the time spent and parts. I said no you won't.

The power went on about three hours later so that was no problem.

I called a different dealer of the brand.-- They came, (the story is hereafter abbreviated ) they didn't know a whole lot more than I did, They came again after contacting the company. They brought parts, then different parts, then didn't come for a long time 2-3 wk.

I called. They knew nothing. The technician who had been here 4 times Quit and went to another job, more money. Nobody there knew anything about my unit. Power has not been down since then (summer)

See, not all is gloom and doom.

Now they are educating another tech. hopefully not on my $. !! The unit is not all assembled at this time, but I have been assured it will be functional again.

A final thought. Automation would be good, if it worked. In this case, not so good. Go with some thing simpler if you do the generator thing.

[did you notice the typo at the top of this? How true.]

A generator is sounding really nice...

I thought so too.

 

[Maah]

Wow BobBry... that sounds like an expensive headache for sure!!

 

[SillyChicken]

Don't you just love those who are "willfully ignorant"?

yeah, she admits it too, "a product of the media" she says... . but that makes me even more crazy! LOL! Oh well... I'll just enjoy all our own spoils - more honey for ME!


Speaking of honey, Raz, how are your bees doing? Have you ever heard of doing this over winter? Making a sugar candy board? Seems like they would require more moisture to liquify the sugar... http://thehomesteadsurvival.com/feed-bees-winter-candy-board-project/#.USz62vJ0Q-d

nice thing about having the bees means I have a good reason to plant more flowers!

 

[ladyrsanti]

*heavy sigh*.... my friend says she doesn't have time to "argue" with me about eating fresh, natural unprocessed food vs the corporate foods. I wasn't trying to argue.. just wanted talk about the crap (just whats going on at my place)... Whats to argue? Milk with added asparatane as a hidden ingredient is worth defending? Food with chemicals and additives, hormones and other stuff, are argue worthy? I think she's defensive about it all cause deep down, she knows I'm right........I love her, but man..... I don't get it... wont eat fresh eggs.... won't eat food from a garden.... she had a wonderful pear tree in her old yard, and never ate any of them! Refuses our canned food too........ somethings wrong with that woman!!

Tap.. hope you feel better!!

It's raining here now.....I have a feeling I'll be disappointed once again in this storm.

I feel for ya. I've got a zealous vegan in the family and we don't speak anymore. Not because of the chemical debate but simply because she believes that importing quinoa from whatever S. American country its primarily grown in is key and singing the praises of soybeans for sustenance is not only healthy but paramount... aaaaaaaaaand I disagree. I'm zealously local myself. Local, not loco.