Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[uchytil]

Anyone that wants some firewood for next winter contact me via PM or email. You haul.

 

[RaZ]

Home from the Ag Comm meeting. Once again they cover so much that affects our daily bread (as it were).

There still seems to be some confusion over what the MRTFA really means, i.e. "real" farms vs. backyards or "wannabees". The presentation of Detroit ag potential was met with some skeptical, raised eyebrows by a few.

Sadly, while it appears that while MDARD is promoting ag business in the state, they are ignoring and/or belittling the efforts of small farm operations. We need to keep the letters and e-mails going out to our elected representatives and senators. Too many local governments are actively seeking to shut down ag in their communities, Garden City, Livonia, New Baltimore and Midland come quickly to mind.

More later, after I get some chores done before the rain starts.

 

[Trefoil]

I'm just not having a good week. I got my grain barrels secured and then forgot to close up my brooder tractor last night. I lost all the eggs and I'm not sure how many hens. The thing about coons is that they keep you on your toes, with immediate feedback. I had a white silkie rooster that was being picked on so I put him in the pen with my chukar 1" x 2" wire. Its a large pen and I have never had a problem with it, the silkie evidently slept too close to the wire and a coon pulled it 1/2 way through and ate it. So, no more chickens in there at night. I haven't had loses like this in a couple of years, I must be getting sloppy. And I was thinking about putting 1" x 2" wire on my new hoop run,not going to happen now, I'll stick with the 1/2" hardware cloth.
Welcome Kat and the other newbies , aren't chickens great!

 

[kimmie6067]

If Jiily ever has pups you are on the list to get one - right?

Ok!!!!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Must be something about those Wyandotte ladies. LOL. Our SLW was quite grumpy towards our spring pullets as well. So we kicked her out of the run & let her hang in the goat pasture for a few days to knock her off her high horse (she sure was ticked at us, being stuck with the goats really got her feathers in a twist. Ha!).

The rest of the ladies were able to establish their pecking order without much incident after that. When we let the SLW back in with the flock there were no more issues. In fact... grumpy feathers hung out off to the side for the first couple of days. That'll teach ya. Every once in a while now she'll peck a youngster if they get too close to her, but she no longer goes out of her way to cause trouble.

I was thinking about doing this with those two but I have to work out arrangements for them first. I would worry they'd fall victim to the local wildlife if I simply kicked them out to live with the sheep. The chicken tractor is currently booked solid for at least a month. But maybe I could kick the chicks out of the grow-out pen, into the "big girl" coop, and stuff the two old biddies in the grow-out without access to the run. Do a swap of sorts.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Thank you!Now. Silly question(s). How do you get the cool cute "smileys", "BYC", etc. in replies? Also, when I type a reply, it APPEARS that I have "real" paragraphs, but comes out as one lump of sentences! Remember, I am totally new to this "forum" thing...! Thanks!

There should be a toolbar in the reply box at the bottom of the page. That's where the smileys are. If you don't see it then you are having trouble with getting the page to load up completely. I have that issue every now and again, also with the sentences running together and not making paragraphs. Maybe try using a different browser, like Firefox or Google Chrome.

Also, you will find out that here, there is no such thing as a silly or stupid question. It's only silly or stupid if you don't ask.

Most folks are glad to help if they can.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

I'm just not having a good week. I got my grain barrels secured and then forgot to close up my brooder tractor last night. I lost all the eggs and I'm not sure how many hens. The thing about coons is that they keep you on your toes, with immediate feedback. I had a white silkie rooster that was being picked on so I put him in the pen with my chukar 1" x 2" wire. Its a large pen and I have never had a problem with it, the silkie evidently slept too close to the wire and a coon pulled it 1/2 way through and ate it. So, no more chickens in there at night. I haven't had loses like this in a couple of years, I must be getting sloppy. And I was thinking about putting 1" x 2" wire on my new hoop run,not going to happen now, I'll stick with the 1/2" hardware cloth.
Welcome Kat and the other newbies , aren't chickens great!

I hope things improve for you.

 

[gaitngirl]

First off

to all of the newbies.

Trefoil - I'm so sorry for your losses! How awful!

I've been nursing a pullet that I found Sunday morning laying on her back with her left wing bloody and limp. I've been holding her up to eat and drink several times a day. She has a healthy appetite, is alert, talks to me in soft little peeps, but . . . she can't stand on her own. She can't walk. She falls over onto her right side and her feet just scramble around. Her left leg seems fine but her right doesn't seem to respond properly. She seems to have some pain when I touch her on certain areas of her back. I noticed today that her back and tail curve to one side quite a bit. At first I thought she just couldn't balance without her wings to help (kind of like we would have to relearn balance without our arms). I had a shirt sleeve slipped over her body to keep her wings immobilized thinking that she would heal and possibly have some use of her wing in a couple months and I would just have her as a house chicken for the summer. I read a couple of articles on how to deal with a broken wing and ended up using vet wrap so I could leave the right wing free and hopefully give her a bit of her balance back. Now I think her back is really what's injured and the wing probably was broken at the same time. All of the other pullets and cockerels she was in with are healthy and lively as is the rest of my flock. I don't suspect Maraks or anything like that. It was probably a scuffle or perhaps too lively playtime in the grow-up pen and she may have gotten silly and flew into the side of the tractor or fell off the ramp, maybe landing wrong or breaking her wing/injuring her back in the process. I think I'm going to have to put her down but I've never had to put any of my chickens down before and I'm dreading it. What is the quickest and most humane way to do this???

 

[RaZ]

I just had a surprise visit from a fellow BYC member and her sister. Leah from TC was in the area visiting and taking care of family business. Leah took in Crispy (BO) and Gravy (BLA).

Crispy was broody when Leah took her home and is now is a full blown hard moult. But she is the dominant hen with Gravy as second in command.

I am happy that the hens are so well taken care of, and I am a little POed that Gravy has been laying an egg a day since being re-homed. I'm pretty sure that these birds will not be coming back to me. I'm OK with that. And I'm only slightly jealous.

 

[RaZ]

I think I'm going to have to put her down but I've never had to put any of my chickens down before and I'm dreading it. What is the quickest and most humane way to do this???

Not for the squeamish...

Cervical Dislocation/Decapitation
Cervical dislocation is the manual stretching or instrument assisted separation of the cervical vertebrae from
the skull. Decapitation is the rapid separation of the head from the neck.

Quoted from http://www.agri.ohio.gov/LivestockCareStandards/docs/OLCS%20Poultry%20-%20Final.pdf