Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[gladahmae]

Well, our neighbors gifted us with a half bushel of pickling cukes and some dill, and I NEED to get them taken care of before things start rotting. Does anyone have an easy recipe for dill pickles or garlic-drill pickles? I have a smooth-top stove, so I can't do water bath or anything like that, although I'm not sure that's even what you DO to make pickles.


Trying to figure out the chicken musical-coops again. I would very much like to integrate my 9wk old pullets in with my 12/14wk old pullets, AND figure out how to get my new BLRW roo in with them as well. Of course, this means figuring out what to do with my sex-link cockerel (he needs another month at least to be decent size for butchering) and worrying if the BLRW will injure the pullets since he's about 6mo old and BIG. In the long-run, I will be moving most of the 12/14wk-olds in with the layers, but not until November probably just because of the size difference still.

The BLRW is in isolation (has been for 2.5 weeks), the 9wk olds are in the small coop, with no acces to the run, the 12/14wk olds are UNDER the small coop and have access to the run. And then the layers are obviously in the big coop with its run.

 

[RaZ]

This Wednesday, the Ag Commissioners will be meeting in southwest Michigan instead of Lansing. If you are on that side of the state, I hope you can find the time to attend the meeting. There will be a few of us attending.
If you can’t attend, please keep the calls and e-mails going to MDARD urging them to support us small farm operations.

Southwest Michigan Research & Extension Center
Jordan Tatter Conference Center
1791 Hillandale Road, Benton Harbor​

 

[snowflake]

I have a non chicken story for you, but I know you are dog lovers. I thought of you Sillychicken when I heard this. A friend was driving home and almost hit a large black dog. She went back and tried to coax it closer and all it would do was cower. She ended up taking it home with her. It is a pure Great Dane that is skin and bones and looked like it had been dumped after having puppies. She took it home and made sure it had food and water. This was on Friday. Today it gave birth to a puppy under her porch. Her SIL said she would take them and lovingly crawled under the porch and got acquainted before she took them. Now at her new home she has given birth to a total of 6 pups. She was so skinny before she had the pups I hate to think how skinny she must be now. It is nice to know there are animal lovers out there that will go out of there way to care for an abandoned one.

Raz, we named a chick Sheldon because its shell was stuck to it for the whole time it was in the incubator. Our Sheldon is the best little hen. Glad everything turned out ok. It's so fun to watch wiggling eggs.

A very sad story, GOOD calcium and protien boost as she could die from the massave depletion =starrving and having pups

 

[1muttsfan]

Glad, your young birds would be at risk around a rooster much larger and older than they are.

 

[kimmie6067]

Well got home and found not only my JG roo is dead but a ee hen is missing

 

[gladahmae]

Well got home and found not only my JG roo is dead but a ee hen is missing

Time for a tie out!

Quote: That's what I figured. Ugh. Now to figure out what to do with him until the young'uns get bigger....

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Tap-- do you have extra eggs that you could hard boil to give to momma? My dogs literally come arunnin when I peel an egg! Poor thing.

 

[morrisonmanor]

i am looking for an egg laying breed of chicks. does anyone have any or know where I can purchase some? I would prefer not to order from a hatchery. I would take a dozen or so. I live in Homer, Mi (49245). I am willing to drive an hour or 2. If the distance is farther than that, maybe we can work out an arrangement to ship.

Or i am willing to buy fertile hatching eggs. I would take 2 dozen eggs. No shipping tough.

Thank you.

 

[1muttsfan]

Townline Hatchery is located in Zeeland, they may still have chicks available.

 

[tsetse9]

i am looking for an egg laying breed of chicks. does anyone have any or know where I can purchase some? I would prefer not to order from a hatchery. I would take a dozen or so. I live in Homer, Mi (49245). I am willing to drive an hour or 2. If the distance is farther than that, maybe we can work out an arrangement to ship.

Or i am willing to buy fertile hatching eggs. I would take 2 dozen eggs. No shipping tough.

Thank you.

When I was in shipshewana area I saw lots of signs by some Amish farms that they were selling chickens. I didn't have a coop yet and never got a chance to go check them out so I'm not sure if they are chicks or pullets or what, but something to possibly look into. That was where I was thinking of going if I hadn't found d what I wanted around here.