Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[RIRJen]

I all! I'm in mid-Michigan. I was on a few years ago (totally forgot my user name/email and my password!) so I'm starting a new profile. I have 13 hens (all different breeds) and 1 RIR rooster (Elvis), a Morgan mare, 2 mutts, and a wonderful loving husband and two amazing daughters.
I'm with you all in wishing the warm weather would hurry and arrive. Anxious to start working on the yard and get the garden ready.
Have a blessed evening!

WELCOME BACK!

Don't forget I have the 1st of your eggs in the bator going in lockdown tonight- they are due to hatch this weekend!!! And the others are about 1/2 way to lockdown!!

YAYEE! One of them is a showgirl right? I just set 73 silkie eggs (a few are showgirl and SS) last night. Here's to fingers crossed for a big hatch!!

Happy belated birthday!!!

Thanks! It was a round number

 

[ladyrsanti]

I don't know what's up with that cat food. It's predominantly pork instead of chicken. *shrug* There's still some left in the barn cats' bowl. I can't believe it. I'm going to mix it with their usual stuff and buy the indoor cats some new food and never buy that brand again, unfortunately.

So... I have nearly 9 doz. eggs in the fridge now and still no buyers. It's discouraging, especially because I have chicks to add to my flock and another batch in the bator. I suppose it would help if I had friends, coworkers, a community or family nearby.

I registered my "farm" with localhens.com in hopes that someone might see it and come for eggs but that site looks pretty unused. I don't know what I'm going to do with them all.

 

[Lisa and girls]

Question. Do you have to do anything specific to sell eggs out of your home? We manage to use all of ours (baking, hard boiled or give to family, etc) but it could be a possibility in the future. Especially since I have 8 more that will prob start laying this summer. Hard to believe I am getting 8 a day and I had to hold off baking a cake until this morning since I only had 1 left.

 

[Opa]

As I sit here watching the snow falling and looking at the temperature reading it's hard to convince myself that winter is over. The calendar claims that this is the second day of spring.

My new chicks are now almost fully feathered and if spring had truly arrived I would be taking them outside to the growout pen. The reality is that this is Michigan and we are still at least a month away from having temperatures that will allow that. It is pretty amazing watching how quickly chicks change. My ISA browns have gone from reddish colored down to white feather that are now turning reddish brown.

 

[RIRJen]

Picture time!!!! Here's my blue rooster named (wait for it...) Blue! lol I can't wait to show him this spring.


Spring just got serious at our house...instead of a few eggs here and there I set 73 eggs last night!


Our new white pullet we picked up while in North Carolina...i just looooove her!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Question. Do you have to do anything specific to sell eggs out of your home? We manage to use all of ours (baking, hard boiled or give to family, etc) but it could be a possibility in the future. Especially since I have 8 more that will prob start laying this summer. Hard to believe I am getting 8 a day and I had to hold off baking a cake until this morning since I only had 1 left.

Check with your local gov't to be safe but it's generally accepted practice that you refrigerate the eggs (preferably in a separate fridge than your household foods) and label the cartons with your contact information.

 

[Maah]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ladyrsanti

You can make a big batch of egg salad, some potato salad, deviled eggs, and french toast...
Cook them and feed them back to your flock, or to your dogs, ... Or you can donate them to the local food pantry (I think?).

Once you get a regular buyer though, the orders will start coming in from people spreading the word. Just give it a bit of time.

You can also give your eggs away to neighbors, to start. A good pusher always gives the first for free, right?

I've found this to be true with my eggs. I gave a dozen to a girl at work that wanted to try them. She loved them. The flavor of farm fresh eggs really is so much better. She was amazed with them. She told her extended family about them... and now is buying as much as I can supply her with for herself, her sisters families, her mother... etc.

Now I have a waiting list of people that want eggs from me. I don't get enough eggs to accomodate them all. I don't sell much though. I supply my family first, I give a doz/week to my neighbor, give a doz/week to a random family member, and then sell the excess to coworkers. Once my new chicks start to lay in July, I'm expecting an increase in approx 2+ doz eggs per week, so I'll be able to add another customer.

 

[snowflake]

Quick question: Does anyone here have any experience with Armada Grain Company's Country Cat & City Cat food? They're a local company in Macomb Co. apparently and I picked up a bag of their cat food in Muskegon last week at the FFH. My house cats won't touch it, which is rare but not unheard of with a new brand. But the kicker is that my barn cats won't eat it either and they eat ANYTHING. They all sniffed it and turned on me with dirty looks this morning. I thought they were planning to eat me. So I'm wondering what's up with that and if anyone else has ever had an issue with it. I contacted the company and waiting to hear back.

I was just trying to support a MI business.

have not heard of that brand, sorry can't help

I all! I'm in mid-Michigan. I was on a few years ago (totally forgot my user name/email and my password!) so I'm starting a new profile. I have 13 hens (all different breeds) and 1 RIR rooster (Elvis), a Morgan mare, 2 mutts, and a wonderful loving husband and two amazing daughters.

I'm with you all in wishing the warm weather would hurry and arrive. Anxious to start working on the yard and get the garden ready.

Have a blessed evening!

welcome back!!

Wow what a coincidence, I was gone for a few years myself and came back yesterday. Well, welcome back!

welcome back to you too

Picture time!!!! Here's my blue rooster named (wait for it...) Blue! lol I can't wait to show him this spring.


Spring just got serious at our house...instead of a few eggs here and there I set 73 eggs last night!


Our new white pullet we picked up while in North Carolina...i just looooove her!

VERY PRETTY!!!! what will you do with all the chicks that you hatch? Are they all silkies?

 

[RIRJen]

And more pictures!
My son Aaron on the beach...looks like he was eatin our bait lol


My husband and me with the fish we caught (false albacore) while deep sea fishing. It was very cold 2+ hrs into sea.


my daughter Hannah at the beach...love this picture I got of her...made her laugh with a joke about boogers


Sunrise at the dock <3



My husband and me on the way out to fish


Snapped this picture of a seagull at the beach...my son kept calling them BawkBawks (his name for chickens) and telling them to go away LOL

 

[RIRJen]

VERY PRETTY!!!! what will you do with all the chicks that you hatch? Are they all silkies?

All but a handful of the eggs are silkies. There's a few Showgirl and Speckled sussex eggs in there too. For now whatever hatches will go into the brooder.