Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[minniefarm]

With temperatures in the 50's and the rain, the last of the piles of snow should be gone leaving behind the accumulated detritus from winter. March is with out a doubt the ugliest month of the year. Everything looks dead or dirty. It's lack of appeal was even mentioned in the movie "Jeremiah Johnson". Near the movie's end Robert Redford and Will Geer talk about it being a wet and muddy month.

I do not like March much at all. I don't like wind, my allergies start up and ohhh the mud! LOL I love Jeremiah Johnson, though.
Jeremiah Johnson: [after laboriously teaching Swan one word of English, Jeremiah points to himself] Great hunter. Yes?
Swan: Yes.
Jeremiah Johnson: [points to himself again] Fine figure of a man. Yes?
Swan: Yes.
Jeremiah Johnson: Good. That is all you need to know. For now.
Silly man!

 

[taprock]

Some mud sounds good about now. We are still all snow and ice covered.

I rained has rained steady the past day so the snow did go down enough you can tell but everything is still white.
I hope you have a baby soon Stacy - poor momma doesn't look very comfortable.

My three little chicks are doing well. I am sure the smallest one is a roo. He is trying to spar with everyone and is only a week old. The largest one we have decided must be a girl. It chirps continually. I thought something was wrong but after watching and holding it.... it really just likes to peep all the time. Happy little peeps most of the time but if it stays like this it will be a very vocal chicken.

I liked the time change last night about 6 but this morning I didn't like it so much. I don't wake well when it is dark, so I just slept in this morning and got up an hour later when I normally would. I know it won't help with tomorrow when I have to be up.

 

[gladahmae]

Good Morning everyone! Yesterday's weather sure was incredible, wasn't it? I found 19 eggs that had been hidden in the Igloo dog house, something had funky odor so yesterday's lovely weather gave me the opportunity to clean that out... But oh the mud here. Mud city! I nearly lost my boot just walking out to the Ladies pen. Which brings me to my question for you Michiganders. Last week I was fighting an ice dam, this week the mud... So it seems to me that I really need to get on the ball for a new pen plan. Plus if I can get the pen area cleaned up and less wet, then hopefully after that I will be able to get the Rainbow Rangers that I've been dreaming about.
So, does anyone have any relatively easy pallet coop plans to offer or can anyone please provide me with links? I found Judy's on here, hers I really like the look, but one might need a little more construction know-how/ability than I personally have. Any help or suggestions are appreciated! Everyone enjoy today. Thanks, Holly

Mine were hiding them UNDER the coop this fall. Little buggers had dug a tunnel and gotten between the joists. No mud here....just lots and lots of ice under the steadily-melting snow.

Pallet coops are super easy if you have a saw and maybe a drill and some screws. We built one that's built one as a grow-out coop this summer that's about 3.5x3.5. One pallet for the floor, cover it with something (osb....plywood, rip apart a bunch of pallets and fill in the gaps in the slats, etc), nail or screw pallets around it to make a box, repeat what you did for the floor for the exterior walls, cut a hole in one wall for a door. I used a taller pallet for the front and then a bigger pallet (from a mattress store...they had a big stack and they'r e about 6x6) for the top. Taller pallet on the front so water sheds away from the door. Don't over-think it. They're just chickens.

We obviously didn't need nest boxes since it was for chicks, so you'd have to consider that.

We're probably going to build a hoop coop for our meat birds. They seem like that would go together quickly and be a very affordable option for us.

I tried to tell my husband that I could use a hoop coop as a greenhouse in the spring, and he just laughed at me. Told me that it could only be a greenhouse if I didn't have it full of chickens, and he just KNOWS that I'll keep it full. He's not supposed to catch on to my wiley ways so fast!

 

[Farmerboy16]

 

[gladahmae]

I just love the Calvin and Hobbes snowman cartoons.....they're my absolute favorite C & H series.

 

[Farmerboy16]

I just love the Calvin and Hobbes snowman cartoons.....they're my absolute favorite C & H series.

Me too!

 

[Opa]

Great cartoon. Helps to explain why Calvin & Hobbs is so popular.

A discussion with David this morning lead to some internet searching and I am now going to try baking some eggs rather than boiling them. Supposedly you basically get the same result as boiling but with the yolk being a little creamier and the white less rubbery. It's also claimed they they are easier to peel.

 

[naglady]

I am so tired! For the past few nights I've been doing checks every few hours on my goat doe who was due on the 8th. But she is saving her kidding for today, I think! During the time between the last check and now, her udder has gotten tight and shiny, meaning it has filled up quickly. And she has white discharge. C'mon babies!

My chickens are starting to ramp up egg laying, too! I actually got six eggs yesterday. BUT I accidentally smashed four when I tripped! I'll be checking fertility soon enough on those Araucana eggs, yay!

Her udder is now even bigger! This picture was taken two nights ago, we were visiting the other goat girls.



Extra treats have been sneaking their way to Yoko. A fuji apple was on the menu with this lip smacking picture!

hoping you get your kids soon.. she looks ready to pop..

With temperatures in the 50's and the rain, the last of the piles of snow should be gone leaving behind the accumulated detritus from winter. March is with out a doubt the ugliest month of the year. Everything looks dead or dirty. It's lack of appeal was even mentioned in the movie "Jeremiah Johnson". Near the movie's end Robert Redford and Will Geer talk about it being a wet and muddy month.

Yesterday I finally got tired of replacing the wood shaving clogged waterer for the chicks and rigged up a waterer with 4 nipples. It didn't take long for them to figure out how to use it and now I would have to be as concerned with their water.

Over the years that I have been associated with BYC I have tried to help others and pass on what little wisdom I have. It's in that spirit of education that I feel necessary to pass on recently acquired information. Avoid Betty Crockers No Bake Reeses Bars. They could very well be addicting. It's only with great effort am I avoiding them this mornin

Sounds yummy

 

[SillyChicken]

I cannot imagine how hard it would be to lose a child, no matter how old. You have my deepest sympathy.


I tried to get a bunch of chores done yesterday..... had a list even. and then one of the dogs bit one of the others ear.. she pulled away and tore her poor ear in half! Man, you'd think there was a massacre in the kennel yard and garage. Ears are pretty vascular and she sure made a mess, shaking her head all over the place. So emergency call to vet and surgery (also had her remove a lump and enlarged nipple while they had her under as well) and 450$ later.... I had a big dopey dog to watch over the rest of the day. She kept wanting to get up and walk around but couldn't. Poor silly girl.
DH came home after I got the mess cleaned up and we had some of the beer he brought home from Germany, man that is some tasty stuff!
At least the day ended better than it started!



Today I'll know if we're getting the van I've been test driving.

Love the hair color shaggy!

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/grd/3672821023.html
Good price for a flock of turkeys if anyone's looking! (ann arbor area)
Can't wait to see "kid" photos Stacykins! our boy is getting big and rambunctious! He's still in the house, but we'll be getting ready to put him outside soon!

 

[gladahmae]

Great cartoon. Helps to explain why Calvin & Hobbs is so popular.

A discussion with David this morning lead to some internet searching and I am now going to try baking some eggs rather than boiling them. Supposedly you basically get the same result as boiling but with the yolk being a little creamier and the white less rubbery. It's also claimed they they are easier to peel.

I just saw that on facebook too! You'll have to report back to us on your findings.

what is the going rate on chicks

from what I've seen on CL it depends on the chicks. Mixed breeds are being sold straight run for $1-3 each. Last year I was able to get started pullets (6wks old) for $5 each. I've seen marans chicks (st run) listed for $4-6 each as day-olds.