Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[naglady]

All of mine are 16 wks (2 EE, 4 Red pullet, & 3 NHR). The 2 EE & 1 NHR cockerel are trying to mate with anyone of the girls they can get their "hands" on!! One poor girl had all 3 try in succession! Got mine at TSC also. Could have been any of the pullets except the EEs.

Tomorrow will be adding my 2 FBCMs to flock, 20 & 23 weeks. Haven't layed yet, but expect soon. Very red & squatting. And big EE roo already courting them thru the fence!!

This is so exciting for a newbie!!!

That is so exciting.. keep us posted..
i cant wait for my girls to start laying. i have 7 older ones and get 5 eggs a day..this was the first time also from raising chicks to laying age.. and i would say they are getting close. did yours lay in the nest box or did you find it somewhere else

my new leghorn roo is awful noisy.. he crows all the time, and when one of my big girls lay and annouce with the egg song, he mocks the same song.. what is up with him, is that normal for leghorn roos.. he is only 3 month old.. thank god my ee roo is a peacefull fella..

 

[RTFchickens]

The public is welcome to speak. You actually have 2 opportunities to speak, 1 regarding the agenda items and later for any any topic you think is applicable to MDARD scope, ie backyard chickens for small farm rights!

I'm starting to plan for the 8 hour drive up to the UP. I will probably have to make it a 2 day trip and come up the night before the meeting.

RAZ, when and where is the meeting in the UP? Our 59 acres is in Baldwin, which is a little closer to the UP. Maybe I could try to make it. Unfortunately I'm nowhere near retirement so, chances are I will have to work whenever the meeting is.

 

[RaZ]

Wed., Aug. 14, 2013
9:00 a.m.
Bay de Noc Community College
Joseph Heirman University Center, Room 952BC
2100 North Lincoln Road, Escanaba

Wed., Sept. 18, 2013
9:00 a.m.
Southwest Michigan Research & Extension Center
Jordan Tatter Conference Center
1791 Hillandale Road, Benton Harbor
The schedule can be found here, http://michigan.gov/documents/mdard/2013_Commission_MEETING_SCHEDULE_402877_7.pdf
Be sure to check back with the MDARD web-site home page often as the new GAAMP proposals are due any day now.

I'm curious to see if any mention is made tomorrow regarding the Baker case.

 

[1muttsfan]

It is interesting that bumblefoot will arise in well-cared for birds in clean surroundings. My birds' pen is full of hard, sharp rocks and bits and pieces of woody debris, and the perches are 3' high; when they free-range they dig around in hard stony soil with piles of brush and into the dense thickets in the surrounding woods, and I have not had a single case. I wonder if there is a certain bacteria involved that is only found in some areas?

 

[1muttsfan]

Raz, if you need a place to stay on your travels let me know

 

[ladyrsanti]

Couldn't sleep last night. I had resolved to process the remaining extra roosters and the midget turkey and though I am not emotional about killing chickens, it's never easy for me to take a life - well - anything bigger than a bug that is. Mostly it is the worry that I'll fumble and cause suffering and regardless, I have to process the processing, pre-processing. Does that make sense? ANYHOO - in one of the short stints of actual sleep last night, I dreamed that while laying in bed over-thinking, I decided the processing could wait til the next day (Tues. morning) and turned off the alarm clock. I was so tired from drifting in and out all night after all, with the heat and humidity to boot... it could wait, right? So when my alarm clock actually did go off at 4:30am, I was a little stunned that I was still apparently committed to processing the chickens. *sigh* But I dragged myself out of bed and did it. That's six under my belt now. I think it would be much easier for me if they were meat birds. Maybe next year I will try some, or this fall. On the upside (as if having three meals in the fridge isn't good enough), IT'S FINALLY QUIET!!! Oh! the silence! It is golden. The only crowing I hear is from our resident roo out back in the coop and it is adequately muffled. So we had two 3-pounders and the midget turkey was only 6lbs. but that's still much more than we can consume in a meal so who am I to be stingy as a result of commercial norms. It's perfect.

Custard hatched out her second chick last night too, around 7:30pm. They're both out and about today. So exciting! And she's being such a good mommy. It's heartwarming. Now if they could only both be girls...

Then there's this HUGE bag of zucchini and summer squash in my fridge and it's too hot to bake! I pick at least two a day. Zucchini bread sounds really good though. We had fried zucchini/summer squash a couple nights ago and the boys are begging for more of that as well.

Nap time.

 

[preciouskitty]

That is so exciting.. keep us posted..
i cant wait for my girls to start laying. i have 7 older ones and get 5 eggs a day..this was the first time also from raising chicks to laying age.. and i would say they are getting close. did yours lay in the nest box or did you find it somewhere else

my new leghorn roo is awful noisy.. he crows all the time, and when one of my big girls lay and annouce with the egg song, he mocks the same song.. what is up with him, is that normal for leghorn roos.. he is only 3 month old.. thank god my ee roo is a peacefull fella..

Got a 3rd pullet egg this morning! She laid it in the corner of the of the coop below nesting boxes ( where I found the 2 yesterday). Peeked in window this morn, saw her "cuddled" in corner; peeked back about 15 mins later & egg was still wet & she was rolling it around!

Well. FBCMs went in with birds this morn. All was well except for what I expected. The roo that has been courting went right after Maia & injured her comb (went after Lela, too, but she didnt really resist too much!) Maia doesn't seem too uptight about it. Went right to eating & drinking. Cleaned her up & put a little Blu-Kote on it.
Tho, when going to put top back on bottle, was startled & managed to cover my hands in it. Nice.

I really think I am gonna have to get rid of 2 of the 3 Roos...or all. Just too many for 11 hens, not to mention the crowing contests

Well time to go change water for third time & add more ice. Birds are pretty much hanging in shade & digging themselves holes in dirt to try & stay cool.

 

[MashedPotatos]

I want to hatch my own eggs but i only want to hatch a couple at a time what incubator should i use?

 

[preciouskitty]

Ladyr...

Just read your post which must've posted as I was typing mine. I feel the same way about the most likely processing of my 2 EE Roos. I simply cannot take the constant "un-romantic" abuse they are inflicting upon the hens & those crowing contests. Plus, I know they are bothering my 1 & only close neighbor (though they haven't complained).

I may keep my little sweetie, Roo, for the time being. He lets me pick him up & just plops in my lap & dozes. Basically he is a wuss due to the other two. Though I fear he may change if he becomes the de facto alpha roo. I guess if that happens, he, too, can go to freezer camp.

Having raised them all since they were just 3 days old, not easy. But I know this is part of the deal. And since I don't plan on breeding, their main function is/was protection/early warning system!

Hope you gets some rest

 

[Scifisarah]

We have a silver laced wyandotte and a black australorp. We also have bantam pullets: a d'uccle and a silkie. The big girls have the scabs. Are you using the Dawn soak as prevention or as treatment? I'm going to do an Epsom salts soak this afternoon, and hope that we won't have to do any cutting. CS was nice, but overwhelming for a bunch of introverts. So, right back at you on the meaning to talk more.

So... bumblefoot. Do you all eat the eggs from the birds? What precautions do you take in the coop/run to help curb environmental factors? Should I completely clean out the coop with disinfectant?

We had an easy first year of chicken keeping. With this and our cross beak (who died not too long ago), this stuff is getting real. Still, we're not hipsters who will be turning our birds over to local shelters...

The Dawn is mostly just to help dissolve any yuck off them more easily, not for the feet specifically. I think the Epsom salts would be great. My birds actually seemed to enjoy a foot massage in the warm water. Pick a shady spot or indoors if you are going to do it today though, yuck.