Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[JackieandChicks]

If anyone is close...there are a lot of ducks, some chickens, pigeons,game birds, and doves right now at the Hudsonville Fairground (the MI Game & Fowl club sale) . Goes on to noon.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

My friend has a blind chicken. She's really old and friendly!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Is anyone interested in adopting a dove? Acts like a male but other than small occasional sounds ...? Confusing. But i have my girl that is attached to me out of the three. The tangerine boy could go too if someone had a sure girl to pair him with as he's not human oriented and would be lonely alone. He isn't bonded yet.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

My girl

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Is anyone interested in adopting a dove? Acts like a male but other than small occasional sounds ...? Confusing. But i have my girl that is attached to me out of the three. The tangerine boy could go too if someone had a sure girl to pair him with as he's not human oriented and would be lonely alone. He isn't bonded yet.

if I didn't get chickens I was going to get a dove

 

[Candy442]

if I didn't get chickens I was going to get a dove

We have a sweet adorable light smokey Iowa pullet that we named "dove" (for lovey dovey). does that count for having the best of both?

 

[mistyhollow]

If anyone is close...there are a lot of ducks, some chickens, pigeons,game birds,  and doves right now at the Hudsonville Fairground (the MI Game & Fowl club sale) .  Goes on to noon.

Did you bring anything home?

 

[snowflake]

got back from a grandson,football game a short time ago,cold,wind,rain,sleet, I think I am just about warmed up enough to go out and check on the baby chicks, orphaned and it is just to cold to let them run loose today, so they get to stay in the brooder,
Hi, Gammi, nice to see you,

love the dove, very sweet
the goat barn is also nice the walk in area was a great idea

pics of the goat and shed when you get them right John?

 

[SillyChicken]

Wow! You did a great job. I like the fact that you roofed conventionally rather than continue with metal - very unique. I love the thought process having one side outside the fence. I don't get how you keep the hay rack full all of the time unless you visit more often than not. My girls would strip the hay down in an hour - all gone, or wasted on the floor. I need a better hay rack design. I've seen some "no-waste" but my girls can waste anything in the blink of an eye.

My biggest challenge with my goats is the roofing game. When I built the first house they learned to jump up and never looked back. Well, within a few months I was replacing shingles. Then I added some cedar boards along the sides and top edge. They still ripped off shingles. They slide down the roof - jump around on it like little kids, and the average weight is 150 pounds each! I'm considering putting wood boards lapstraked over asphalt to minimize wear. I need an armored roofing system!

Thanks!
Shingles are less noisy than steel for sure. But I have to admit we used them because we had a bunch of them. I got them when I worked at lowe's... a special order that was returned.. got them dirt cheap!

We close them in every night.. a bale has been lasting a few days. They go through more now that the pasture has been cleared and it's getting colder.. We used a 4x4 hog panel to cut up for the hay rack. It does help to minimize the waste a little, they can't yank out wads of hay this way. We did the same for a purchased hay rack, that had long slats.. just secured the hog panel inside it and they can basically only get their noses up into it. You may also want to consider a different hay or more pasture? I'm feeding a second cut grass/alpha mix... they're going through that like crazy, the resins on this hay are nice and thick... good stuff!

Is there anyway to raise the building so they cannot jump on it? Fencing up around the edge? Steel roof would probably hold up better. You can secure it to some wood slats right over.

 

[JackieandChicks]

mistyhollow Yup Four pullets Amerucana - two lavender, two black, and one maybe lavender pullet (one of those undecided). From two different breeders, and I have the lavender roo and the black roo here, so hopefully will be breeding some fun colors this spring. Not the best pics - they were pretty nervous and hungry!