Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[tmkuroda]

I need peoples facebook account names Mine is Tina Kuroda

 

[Farmerboy16]

RaZ- Can you type a brief summery or something like that about your situation so I can post that my Facebook status?

 

[ladyrsanti]

Anybody see this? It was only a matter of time before this made the media.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...-diapers-urban-farming-spawns-accessory-lines

 

[RaZ]

Daron, I'll be doing that shortly. I've been to tad aggravated and want to approach the story objectively.

Lady, there are a bunch of accessories for the well-dressed house chicken. A lady in Oregon makes a harness to walk her chicken and turned that into a business venture.

I've been splitting, moving and stacking wood today. A full cord of wood is 128 cubic feet (4'x4'x8'), my yard wagon holds about 20% of that and I've moved 5 loads so far today. The sad part is that with 110 feet of wood stacked 6 feet high, you can barely tell that I did anything today. Perception is everything.

 

[ladyrsanti]

Lady, there are a bunch of accessories for the well-dressed house chicken. A lady in Oregon makes a harness to walk her chicken and turned that into a business venture.

Oh yes, I know about the accessories. I make my own chicken saddles. I meant it was only a matter of time before urban chicken owners became the laughing stock as a result of the media. The comments aren't kind.

 

[RaZ]

Oh yes, I know about the accessories. I make my own chicken saddles. I meant it was only a matter of time before urban chicken owners became the laughing stock as a result of the media. The comments aren't kind.

I think it was Oscar Wilde who said, "The only thing worse than being talked about, is NOT being talking about".

Media coverage can be both good and bad at the same time. As much as we like to pretend it isn't so, bias and prejudice are as strong today as they ever were.

 

[Totalcolour]

Hi Michiganders ! Long time no chat.

RaZ, this is some serious stuff you have going on. how can a government get so stupid

I've had another surgery, this time an "anterior cervical discectomy and fusion". I'm still wearing the neck brace but should be out of it in a few more weeks.

My goats had babies last week, one girl had three and two died, the other had three and all survived. We solld all the laying hens and ducks, and only have the meaties left right now. We are trying to regrow the pasture that the ducks destroyed (we had too many ducks).

I tell you, if RaZ had problems, we would be in the clink for over a hundred years for the over a hundred ducks we had! (if we had those ordinances - glad we are unincorporated).

WA thread is closed right now - hope you don't mind me getting my fix here. (I'm bad, I take my neck brace off so I can read the screen).

 

[snowflake]

Doing some work on designing new smaller chicken tractors. The one we have now has been going for about 5 years and is just too big. I am hoping I will be able to move these myself. Continuing with the cottage theme and am thinking of light aqua, lavender or salmon with white roofs and trim. Not sure if I should use 2x4's for sturdiness or 2x2's to keep weight down. See any problems with my design? Oh and just ignore the materials list, that is for my husband to figure out.

very nice coop but if you want it to be light you could use all PVC and tarps unless you are going to use them in winter.mine have a ply wood 4x4 coop on the end and they are very heavy. I can move them but I have seen some made out of pvc and tin or tarps, look so easy to move, the A frame with wire and tarps looks light and easy also....just a thought.

I've been splitting, moving and stacking wood today. A full cord of wood is 128 cubic feet (4'x4'x8'), my yard wagon holds about 20% of that and I've moved 5 loads so far today. The sad part is that with 110 feet of wood stacked 6 feet high, you can barely tell that I did anything today. Perception is everything.

that is a lot of wood is that one of your infractions?...Not allowed to heat your house with wood or have a rain barrel,no flowers in the front yard(wasn't that one?) I don't think your little city is very friendly.

I think it was Oscar Wilde who said, "The only thing worse than being talked about, is NOT being talking about".

Media coverage can be both good and bad at the same time. As much as we like to pretend it isn't so, bias and prejudice are as strong today as they ever were.

 

[Mish]

Raising quail for release in the wild while laudable usually isn't very effective.  Even the bottom tier counties of Michigan are at the northern edge of their range.  While there were scattered population pockets of quail in the bottom third of the state when I was much younger, most of those a gone.
Qua
Quail depend upon habitat that is practically gone from our state.  Fencerows provided both food and cover and the farming techniques of today have eliminated those.  Quail are a grasslands bird that feeds, nests, and roosts on the ground.  Our winter snow depths may survival doubtful.  A single deep snowfall can decimate a flock.

I have heard people claim that our increased turkey population is responsible for the decline in both quail and grouse but if they would just think about it they would realize that both of those species have different habitat requirements that no longer exist in our state.  Quail need old fields and meadows where they can feed on native grasses and forbs in close proximity to brushy cover (fencerows).  Grouse are a woods bird that require young growth to feed upon buds.  This mean trees less than 20 years old.

There will be grassland, farmland and brush close by as well as we'll be adding additional habitat/ feeding / nesting plants

Good morning Michigan, cool but nice here this am.

Mish, moving a broody will usually put her off and stop her from brooding.
When I lived downstate I had wild bobwhite quail around my home. Their biggest issue in Michigan seems to be the weather, southern MI is the very north end of their range and they do not tolerate bad winters well.

Survival of even wild quail is only 20%. Pen raised is 1%. Biggest problems of pen raised is they don't nest or know how to watch for predators or forage well on their own. From research I've read it does improve their chances when their raised by a mother even a hen

 

[RaZ]

Hi TC, glad to see you again. CR e-mailed me with the skinny on the WA thread. It seems that the whole darn country is wonky.