Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[aart]

Thanks for the éclair recipe!

 

[1muttsfan]

Anytime you put additives in the water (with the exception of medications) it is best to offer plain water in addition - some birds may drink less if they do not like the taste, and high sugar levels can have a negative impact on the digestive tract.

Hot water actually freezes faster than cool water. Really.

Fuzzy, sorry about your little hen.

TC, thanks - it is really not that bad, at least not here (compared to normal). Looking forward to spring!!

 

[preciouskitty]

Uuuuhhhhh.....YUM!  I promised I would eat better this year.  I DID!  And then you had to post these.  And I L.O.V.E. eclairs.  *sigh*

I hear ya...and I still have a ton of XMAS cookies left. Had lost some nice weight b4 Holidays. Hah...took care of that. And now, I am gonna HAVE to make these (I love baking!)

So. Good news.
1. Driveway STILL clear after the 4 hour plow debacle this morn. Which means...I GET TO GO TO WORK TOMORROW e
2. Birds all seemed happy & warm today & are all snuggled together on roost for the night.
3. DH is currently picking up his truck, which means we will actually have both of our vehicles for the first time in 3 weeks.
4. Spaz definitely seems better. Acting goofy, eating (was actually excited for some yogurt & oatmeal in the "treat dish" today), droppings almost normal.
From what I have read on here, I can put her back out with the others this weekend when we get back into the 30's, right?? She'll have been in the house about a week & a half.

BAD NEWS...He JUST called me with final BILL on truck...& I am LIVID...

 

[Trefoil]

Anyone want to help me puzzle through this? Someone not terribly far from us is selling apple crates and I'm trying to think of an easy-to-implement way to use them as brooders or grow-out coops. The biggest problem I see with them is that there appears to be gaps in the sides which apples would need, but I definitely would not want to have for chicks. Add to this that DH does NOT like to have a bunch of "junk" out in the yard, so they would need to be fashioned into some sort of "attractive" end product. Paint would go a long way in that department, but I could use some ideas. I'm a planner.....I like to plan things out, make contingencies, and then get it all done with in one fell swoop. http://nmi.craigslist.org/grd/4249422706.html

I have one I use for a brooder, but its in my shed. I put a hardware cloth window in the top and set the heat lamp on it. It works great. If you intend to have it outside you will need to put preservative on the wood and probably cover the gaps with 1 x 2's at least for the first foot or so. I put vinyl floor covering on the floor- easier to clean out. Put legs on it so you don't have to bend over so far to reach them and it should be good to go. Great find.

I have a friend who feeds/shelters feral cats. She said if you put sugar in their water, it freezes slower...and gives them a boost of sugar in the cold. Just wondered if anyone does it? I did it last night for the first time and they seemed to love it. Not real sure it made the water freeze slower.

I am going to try it. My "feral" cats moved in with me during the first cold spell we had, went back outside when it warmed up and have moved back in since its been so cold. My coon doesn't believe in house cats but so far they've backed her down.

Thanks for the recipe. What is AP flour?-

 

[aart]

All Purpose

 

[DavidKerk]

I hear ya...and I still have a ton of XMAS cookies left. Had lost some nice weight b4 Holidays. Hah...took care of that. And now, I am gonna HAVE to make these (I love baking!)

So. Good news.
1. Driveway STILL clear after the 4 hour plow debacle this morn. Which means...I GET TO GO TO WORK TOMORROW

2. Birds all seemed happy & warm today & are all snuggled together on roost for the night.
3. DH is currently picking up his truck, which means we will actually have both of our vehicles for the first time in 3 weeks.
4. Spaz definitely seems better. Acting goofy, eating (was actually excited for some yogurt & oatmeal in the "treat dish" today), droppings almost normal.
From what I have read on here, I can put her back out with the others this weekend when we get back into the 30's, right?? She'll have been in the house about a week & a half.

BAD NEWS...He JUST called me with final BILL on truck...& I am LIVID...

I know how you feel. It seems like all hope of being healthy will have to wait 'till the Christmas candy and cookies are gone!

 

[taprock]

I lost my multiposts and can't remember what all I had to say.

I now have a second injured bird in the basement. My modern game hen is limping badly. I noticed she has been doing a lot of sitting the past couple days, but then what is there to do after being shut up in the coop for the past week! Hopefully it is something she will recover from she is my only one.

Sorry for the lost birds. It is never easy.

After the past couple years I would say while the cold weather is never easy on the chickens they are a lot tougher than they get credit for. I do have more frosted wattles than in past years but we have had more than four nights -12 to -21 degrees and at least 5 days that have not gotten above single digits. We have also had days where the temps have varied more than 60 degrees in one 24 hour period.

This morning I opened the coop with the temp at 0 and the winds gusting, only to have 4 hens come running out and didn't want to go back in. I had the fun of chasing them around and catching them to put them back in. In three of the coops they know how to peck through the ice to get to the water. It has only been on the really cold nights that I have a solid block of ice to dump out in the morning. However, my huge problem right now is that after the past week I now have a frozen layer of poop on my coop floor. There is no turning or chipping or doing anything with it at this point. I think I will just throw more pine shavings down and deal with a HUGE mess once we actually start to thaw out. I am also getting really tired of throwing out frozen eggs!

 

[ChikeeMomma]

In reference to my feral barn cat post - I did see one of my two barn cats tonight. He was all snuggled up in the coop near the heat lamp. I haven't saw the other one at all for a few days, but he is the most skittish of the two. As long as I don't try to pet Freckles, he stays put. I think the other one high tails it at the sound of people or the dog.

Also, not sure how it goes for humane societies across the board, but my county's actually gives away barn cats for free (they are vaccinated, spayed/neutered, wormed, all that good stuff). Most are feral or semi feral, but they do get a friendly cat who prefers the outdoors every now and again. We might not get to cuddle these two, but they enjoy their little lives here. And like I said before, no more mice in my coop!

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

In reference to my feral barn cat post - I did see one of my two barn cats tonight. He was all snuggled up in the coop near the heat lamp. I haven't saw the other one at all for a few days, but he is the most skittish of the two. As long as I don't try to pet Freckles, he stays put. I think the other one high tails it at the sound of people or the dog.

Also, not sure how it goes for humane societies across the board, but my county's actually gives away barn cats for free (they are vaccinated, spayed/neutered, wormed, all that good stuff). Most are feral or semi feral, but they do get a friendly cat who prefers the outdoors every now and again. We might not get to cuddle these two, but they enjoy their little lives here. And like I said before, no more mice in my coop!

Best kind of barn cat, right there! Glad yours came home.

@RaZ Thank you for thermometer guidance I'm not a lawyer or anything, but honestly, if one of my neighbors kept showing up acting all freaky hostile and unstable, then after the 3rd time I'd def phone that one in. Sorry, but that is just not normal and threatening behavior alone is assault. Just my unsolicited $0.02.

@ladyrsanti You're the best! Can't wait to totally throw diets out and eat those Eclairs! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Juise]

**FOUND**
County: LIVINGSTON
City: HOWELL
Location Details: SIERRA DRIVE NEAR TRIANGLE LAKE ROAD
Date: 1/5/2014

Gender: FEMALE
Estimated Breed(s): DOMESTIC CHICKEN
Coloring: WHITE, GRAY, BLACK

Contact: 734-748-2973

Additional Information: Described as well-socialized with people.

Guardian must factually establish a relationship.