Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[snowflake]

Opa, I agree, it is so wrong that Dr.'s so rarely take blame for mistakes they make,
snow coming down hard right now, chickens seem to be doing well but staying under cover
lovely knitting project, and I love the coop several posts back

 

[gladahmae]

Speaking of dyeing yarn, i just died a whole skein of lion brand fisherman's wool with some wiltons! I have soooo much fun concocting dye stuff and yarn. When I used to make ringslings for friends having babies I even got into gradation dying the fabric for those....talk about addicting! I had one I made for myself that was orange to purple that I loved until I I wore holes in the fabric.

It seems that I got my run covered just in time! We got a few inches of snow last night and just to the north of us they are forecasting 5-10in today in lake-effect bands, so we will probably only get 2 or 3in here. I still have to cull my sex-link roo to free up the A-frame he's in, and pick up the other coop from my BIL to move the chicks into to free up THAT A-frame. Then I'll have to take the tarps off of those and cover them with plastic so we don't have to run a light out there all winter. Ugh. I wanted to have all of this stuff done BEFORE winter came this year! My fingers and toes are going numb just thinking about working outside in this weather!



I've already started saving milk jugs for winter sowing this year! Who's with me? I want to have most of it done before January this year, and only have to mess with the veggies in March.

 

[ladyrsanti]

Thank You All! Whenever I show it off IRL, the 1st 2 words out of anyone's mouth have been "Michigan State"... Which really was not my intent. Actually has created a bit of an issue for me, since the person I originally planning to gift this to is very Pro-Wolverines! So y'all did make me feel a bit better about the colors. I guess I will decide later who will get it. I appreciate the compliments, too.

Cables are easy, it's the seed stitch that drives me crrrraaaaaszzzzzzzyyyyy! My 1st cable project was a v-neck sweater vest done in Box Stitch back when DS was Kinder age. The vest had a Staghorn Cable that ran the center front. I must have donated it, but I'd love to make another one day. The Staghorn Cable is my favorite.

The afghan is 2 strands, the green is a fuzzy acrylic and the white is simply WW. I really prefer natural myself, but for ease of care for gifting (& price!) I suppose its the way to go. The white skein I'm working with is "contrary" -- both ends of the yarn come out one side and I've been fighting the knots for 2 days now. Finally I did cut it and now am trying to just make a yarn ball but even that is wicked PITA. (If offended, I am sorry). I'd be very interested to see your dyeing techniques, Lady. I did just get a lead on a few bags of raw wool. Not sure of age or condition tho. Plus I lack a spinning wheel or other. Or the time to actually do it! Lady, you'll get your shop up, I know that! Have a good day y'all. Little dust of snow here,

Ah, I am not a sports fanatic or even mildly interested so such color combinations don't do anything for me that way. In fact I think it's an injustice to good color combinations to be associated with such biases. But that's life. I would hope the fan you'd give it to would understand that and see it for how it was intended, as a beautiful and warm wrap that was made with love.

 

[preciouskitty]

Ah, I am not a sports fanatic or even mildly interested so such color combinations don't do anything for me that way.  In fact I think it's an injustice to good color combinations to be associated with such biases.  But that's life.  I would hope the fan you'd give it to would understand that and see it for how it was intended, as a beautiful and warm wrap that was made with love. 

I, on the other hand, am a HUGE sports fan! And a Michigan alumni...

That being said, I agree with lady...color combo is beautiful & I, personally, didn't even equate it with "school colors" (never even crossed my mind) & even if I had & someone spent the time making me such a gift, I would use it throughout the whole winter & proudly display for all to see

 

[RTFchickens]

Anyone worried about heated waterer growing bacteria? We have a homemade heated waterer, and it keeping water toastie, but I'm afraid its warm enough to breed bacteria. Should I add a few droops of bleach?

 

[chickflick]

I dump the water out every couple of days. A spray bottle with water and vinegar works well. Just spray and wipe clean with paper towel and all is good.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Personally i think as long as you are changing the water daily you are fine. I have to use city water for my birds and i really regret it, i do think that it is bad for their natural gut/ crop bacteria (and ours)

Today was so cold that even my milk jugs of water were frozen that i had left out in the car! Usually sealed water takes quite a bit to freeze so....... But i brought nice warm water out to the girls. I usually do up one hot and one cold, that way i can make lukewarm out there with the cold water dish! I had to buy another rubber dish today. I had the one little water dish with the little coop, and for the big i had planned on using the goat sized rubber dish (holds about 3 gallons) so it didn't freeze as easy as a small amount of water. Well, with the one baby chick barely clearing the small bowl..... drat. Hope he/ she grows quick! The other 3 hens may be rehomed soon... They really are too flighty to be happy in that setup but with them being hostile to the baby it was necessary.


I am considering buying the winter's worth of feed and storing it in buckets out there; Every year i have to lug those heavy bags through what seems like a mile of knee deep snow! Maybe i'll be proactive and then all i have to lug is the water. I have a water trough heating coil, but no electric out there this year. So early mornings and cold fingers!

Did anyone do a "new and improved" heated nipple watering system this year? And has anyone used a solar panel in the winter to know if it actually gets enough sun to make reliable energy with our MI snowclouds???

 

[Opa]

If the water is warm enough that you worry about bacteria or alge forming then you are wasting money heating is beyond what is necessary. Just about freezing will be fine for the birds. I'd recommend a thermo cube plug to turn the heat on and off. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/larger/lg_177000_18897D.jpg

 

[fuzzybutt love]

sorry to keep blathering. I am bookmarking this because i've been thinking for some time about this type of system and this one comes fully assembled! Just have to figure out how to keep the metal parts of the nipples from freezing?

http://www.qcsupply.com/farm-livestock/waterers/nipple-waterers/qc-hanging-bucket-waterer.html

and this

but i thought someone else may enjoy reading it as well
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/401473/getting-ready-for-winter

 

[preciouskitty]

If the water is warm enough that you worry about bacteria or alge forming then you are wasting money heating is beyond what is necessary.  Just about freezing will be fine for the birds.  I'd recommend a thermo cube plug to turn the heat on and off.  http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/larger/lg_177000_18897D.jpg

That is cool...too bad I don't have power at the coop

At least it's a short walk.