Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[mrcush]

Does anyone have any suggestions for me. I've been trying to introduce my 2 new hens to the rest of the flock. They do free range together but the new ones seem to keep their distance. They go in by themselves at night but always roost in the run. We need them to start roosting with the others in the coop considering winter is on it's way. For the past week I've been moving them myself from the roost in the run to the coop with the rest of them. Tonight when I moved them the other ones kept pecking at them. I have decided in the next couple days to remove the roost from the run so they won't have anywhere else to roost but in the coop. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I have also locked the coop up at night so they can't get out but that doesn't seem to help with them going in by themselves. I moved their food and water back into the coop and to be honest I'm not sure if they are eating. We just switched them to laying feed to give you an idea of their size, they are just as big as the others at this point. Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.

 

[mrcush]

we take our rings off...


http://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spiv...m-inlinelinkcreator&utm_campaign=ted#t-519596

this is a good commentary on bees.... we all can make a difference.

I don't have time at the moment to watch this but one suggestion I have if she didn't suggest it is use plants native to Michigan. I have switched my gardens to 90% natives over the past few years and the amount of pollinators, butterflies and other wildlife that visit my garden is AMAZING! Even if you don't want to re landscape like I have you can always just add natives to your existing gardens!

 

[ladyrsanti]

Hey guys, I'm finished with the farmer's market for the season (maybe forever - didn't sell much) and I opened my Etsy shop back up for the winter months. I'm always on the lookout for unique feed sacks for those totes. I've got plenty of my own (chicken/bird seed/cat food) but I'm always looking for a couple of different ones, conversation pieces. If you have a stash and looking to get rid of them, send 'em my way. I'd be willing to pay a small price per bag (like $.50 each). But they have to be the woven plastic bags and preferably with nice imagery on the front (rather than just words and info). Especially looking for dog, hog, goat/sheep and cattle bags. They don't have to be clean but I prefer bags with no bugs, moths or poo in them.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HudsonHobbyFarm

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Does anyone have any suggestions for me.  I've been trying to introduce my 2 new hens to the rest of the flock.  They do free range together but the new ones seem to keep their distance.  They go in by themselves at night but always roost in the run.  We need them to start roosting with the others in the coop considering winter is on it's way.  For the past week I've been moving them myself from the roost in the run to the coop with the rest of them.  Tonight when I moved them the other ones kept pecking at them.  I have decided in the next couple days to remove the roost from the run so they won't have anywhere else to roost but in the coop.  Does anyone have any other suggestions?  I have also locked the coop up at night so they can't get out but that doesn't seem to help with them going in by themselves.  I moved their food and water back into the coop and to be honest I'm not sure if they are eating.  We just switched them to laying feed to give you an idea of their size, they are just as big as the others at this point.  Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.

I put mine next to one of my nicer chickens and the wall at night. They now go into the coop and know there spot on the pecking. They got pecked at first, but there all good now

 

[aart]

Does anyone have any suggestions for me. I've been trying to introduce my 2 new hens to the rest of the flock. They do free range together but the new ones seem to keep their distance. They go in by themselves at night but always roost in the run. We need them to start roosting with the others in the coop considering winter is on it's way. For the past week I've been moving them myself from the roost in the run to the coop with the rest of them. Tonight when I moved them the other ones kept pecking at them. I have decided in the next couple days to remove the roost from the run so they won't have anywhere else to roost but in the coop. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I have also locked the coop up at night so they can't get out but that doesn't seem to help with them going in by themselves. I moved their food and water back into the coop and to be honest I'm not sure if they are eating. We just switched them to laying feed to give you an idea of their size, they are just as big as the others at this point. Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.

Add another roost?
Put some kind of partition/curtain up splitting part the roost off for the newbies?

 

[iamfivewire]

very cute puppydog sillychicken

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Sorry taprock.

I use the pour-on ivermectin as well, may be some oral dosing in my siggy link. Scroll down to either the worming section or the medicine chart links... i use something similar to zimectrin gold horse paste for serious cases but it is so hard to get them to eat it!!! The pour on is around $10 and lasts forever. 5 drops on the *skin* at the base of the neck for standard chickens, 3 for banties. Down the roost at nightfall with a flashlight if they aren't tame.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Lots of food and water dishes and set up hidey holes for newbie intros

 

[snowflake]

mrcush,taking the outside roost away may help,you may need to put them in for awhile....there is going to be some pecking at first till the adjust, but that should stop after a week or so I have some young ones that keep roosting were I don'twant them,I just go in at night and move them to a roost. after a while they get the idea,roosts are were we sleep, nestbox's and cupboards are not

 

[snowflake]

was just reading that wild grapes are edible, think I will go harvest some they are all over our property may freeze some for a mid winter hen treat