Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[morrisonmanor]

I was woken by DH's 4 a.m. call for work as we managed to get several inches of the white stuff over night.  My weekend highlights...

Found a local pet store with a hedgehog, he was priced high as there are none in 250 miles of here.   But, I never do this, but I offered him less and he took it.  So I pick him up next weekend. 

I'm only getting 1 or 2 eggs a day still.  I had considered putting the light on the timer again but I decorated with a star above my Chicken coop and it is on the timer right now so the chickens get to sleep in until after Christmas.

I've been needle felting and found a wonderful local - as in a mile down the road - source.  She dyes all the wool herself and they are just beautiful.  I've been making birds and dogs. I really hope to move on to chickens!

My DH has a crazy family.  They all create great messes and want DH to fix them.  He is the youngest and the only responsible one in the bunch.  On Friday my MIL got stuck in her drive way so BIL who is 45, lives at home with daughter, and doesn't work got a friend to pull her out.  He in his great wisdom hooked the chain around her radiator hose.  So she was no longer stuck but the hose was pulled out of the engine.  So she calls my DH and wants him to fix it.  He told her this is not some spark plugs you can run down and get from any hardware you need to call a dealer as it is a new van.  He can not fix it.  So Friday MIL calls me and reminds me he needs to fix the van.  Saturday she and BIL both call reminding him it needs to be fixed.  Both times he tells them he cannot fix it.  He says maybe his brother should go to the dealer since he is the one who broke it.  Last night MIL calls again complaining to DH that he didn't fix it and wants to know how she is going to get to work today.  My hubby is very patient with his family, I lose mine just talking with them.  Anyway, DH lost it with his mom.  I will add there were two more issue also this weekend with a furnace and a faucet leak that they also wanted him to take care of.  Ahhh families, sometimes I do wish we lived more than 5 miles away!

On the Beaks 'N Books front I have 5 kids signed up for next Saturday.  I'm not sure how I am going to clean chickens this month.  I don't want to bring them in for more time than I have to.  I think I will do a spot cleaning, dry them and put them in a clean cage in the garage for the night.  Then on Saturday I will leave them in my car until it is time for the program.  I don't want to go through re-acclimating them to the cold if I bring them in to the warm house.

I didn't intend to leave you a book but it's been a crazy weekend.... and we did manage to get our tree before all the snow!

Can you tell me a little about hedgehogs? That is a pet I have never had. I think they are so cute but don't really know much about them.

 

[SillyChicken]

I was woken by DH's 4 a.m. call for work as we managed to get several inches of the white stuff over night. My weekend highlights...

Found a local pet store with a hedgehog, he was priced high as there are none in 250 miles of here. But, I never do this, but I offered him less and he took it. So I pick him up next weekend.

I'm only getting 1 or 2 eggs a day still. I had considered putting the light on the timer again but I decorated with a star above my Chicken coop and it is on the timer right now so the chickens get to sleep in until after Christmas.

I've been needle felting and found a wonderful local - as in a mile down the road - source. She dyes all the wool herself and they are just beautiful. I've been making birds and dogs. I really hope to move on to chickens!

My DH has a crazy family. They all create great messes and want DH to fix them. He is the youngest and the only responsible one in the bunch. On Friday my MIL got stuck in her drive way so BIL who is 45, lives at home with daughter, and doesn't work got a friend to pull her out. He in his great wisdom hooked the chain around her radiator hose. So she was no longer stuck but the hose was pulled out of the engine. So she calls my DH and wants him to fix it. He told her this is not some spark plugs you can run down and get from any hardware you need to call a dealer as it is a new van. He can not fix it. So Friday MIL calls me and reminds me he needs to fix the van. Saturday she and BIL both call reminding him it needs to be fixed. Both times he tells them he cannot fix it. He says maybe his brother should go to the dealer since he is the one who broke it. Last night MIL calls again complaining to DH that he didn't fix it and wants to know how she is going to get to work today. My hubby is very patient with his family, I lose mine just talking with them. Anyway, DH lost it with his mom. I will add there were two more issue also this weekend with a furnace and a faucet leak that they also wanted him to take care of. Ahhh families, sometimes I do wish we lived more than 5 miles away!

On the Beaks 'N Books front I have 5 kids signed up for next Saturday. I'm not sure how I am going to clean chickens this month. I don't want to bring them in for more time than I have to. I think I will do a spot cleaning, dry them and put them in a clean cage in the garage for the night. Then on Saturday I will leave them in my car until it is time for the program. I don't want to go through re-acclimating them to the cold if I bring them in to the warm house.

I didn't intend to leave you a book but it's been a crazy weekend.... and we did manage to get our tree before all the snow!

Tap.. just a thought..If I were in this situation and I couldn't help, I would call the dealership and have them come pick it up for her and fix it, give the dealership the BIL's information to cover the bill. Same for a plumber.. except this bill goes to the MIL. More than one way to skin a cat!

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

[quote name="taprock" url="/t/697050/michigan-thread-all-are-welcome/18510#post_12458392"...He in his great wisdom hooked the chain around her radiator hose.  So she was no longer stuck but the hose was pulled out of the engine.  So she calls my DH and wants him to fix it. 
[/quote]

Got quite the chuckle out of that! Sorry- Tap's MIL!! That's the problem/issue when one is mechanically minded, esp with cars, everybody wants you to fix their stuff. Tell ur DH -- Don't feel bad about declining the job!! Don't even given it a 2nd thought.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

[...

Snowflake is exactly right about the possibility of the chicken being sick.  I've noticed that usually the others in the flock will know a bird is sick before it becomes evident to us.  I would isolate the harried bird and give it some Nutri-Drench to ease the stress. 

Exactly what I would do with a duck.

 

[lbrykowski2011]

Tractor Supply usually carries Nutri-Drench. I would keep the bird in isolation for at least a week. Any illness should be apparent within that time period.

Some time the pecking behavior is initiated by a dominate hen picking on a bird she has taken a dislike to. The others will join in and you soon have a damaged bird. If that is the case, removing the dominate hen for a couple of couple of weeks will change the flock dynamics and when you put the offender back she no longer will be the dominate bird.

Makes sense. I have the Ruby in now, I tried to check her over, she looks like a mess from molting and although i didn't c any on her, I noticed 2 itsy bitsy bugs on the top of my hand where I was holding her. Now I'm wondering about mites maybe. I've heard sevin works best, but don't know if they sell that right now. I have food grade DE, can I dust her in that just in case? Do i do the whole flock also?

 

[SillyChicken]

Makes sense. I have the Ruby in now, I tried to check her over, she looks like a mess from molting and although i didn't c any on her, I noticed 2 itsy bitsy bugs on the top of my hand where I was holding her. Now I'm wondering about mites maybe. I've heard sevin works best, but don't know if they sell that right now. I have food grade DE, can I dust her in that just in case? Do i do the whole flock also?

You may be able to get at TSC or they have poultry powders as well.

Treat the whole flock, clean the coop and spray down with pyrethrin (you can get it in a bomb too) :http://www.hydroponics.net/i/132550 though I've never used a bomb, it may be the best option during the winter... though you'll have to boot the birds, food and water out of the coop for several hours.

 

[SillyChicken]

Raz..........

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Can't you use wood ash too?

 

[uchytil]

Anyone using water heaters to keep them from freezing? I've never used any but am considering something. Already looked at a slew of homemade devices and store bought. Have to be something very safe for me to even consider. Not going to spend a fortune either. Just for the chickens. I use rubber bowls for all the other critters and just stomp them and refill.

What ya got?

 

[Opa]

I have 3 gallon hanging waterers with built in heaters, but I've found that the easiest to use is the cookie tin/light bulb heather with a metal bowl. I don't advice using it inside a coop so it is outside in the run, and on all but nights with near zero temperatures it has kept the water open.