Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Monstro]

This is also what i have read. Plan for at least 2 goats seems to be the rule

Agreed. Always had atleast two. Do you have a specific breed in mind? Our Lamanchas (sp?) were escape artists. Always finding a way out or over the fence and meeting us at the house. Never had that problem with Pygmy or Fainter.

 

[Stacykins]

I have a question. We just moved into our new house and the wife is wanting to get goats now that she has seen your pictures. I know nothing about raising them. The previous owner had a pen that he raised sheep in for 4H. I want to say its about 24 x 24 with a little 3 sided coop in it. What else if anything would I need? Thanks for any info you can provide.

That is kind of a small pen for a pair of goats. Any chance you can expand it? They're so active, always running and jumping!

Here is a good getting goats 101 page to read.

It would be a good idea to locate a supply of hay and find if there is place you can store some bales where it is dry. See what goat loose mineral is available in your area (don't use mineral blocks for mineral needs, too much table salt to hold the block together, not enough trace mineral). Do a lot of research before deciding to bring them home! You'll need to decide why you want goats. Meat? Boers are great for that. Milk? So many great dairy breeds. My Nigerian Dwarves are a small sized dairy breed, so they're small but are for milk.

 

[wannahomestead]

I myself want to have goats for milk. I originally considered a cow, but it seems goats are more "economical" and have less of an impact on the area they're kept. Milk, Cheese, etc.

 

[birdman55]

Just back from the Imlay City swap.
Ran into tons of folks and yep, birdman made it and wore his green shirt. Meet shook hands said hi and moved on. But did pick him right out. Lol
Nothing good there as far as chicken wise other then some yucky sickly looking birds and of course tons of roosters.
All that look healthy and well kept was pigeons exotic geese and ducks. Peafowl and pheasants.
And the only chickens I was interested in was sold. My luck but I really wasn't there to buy birds anyway due to biosecurity practices in my flock. I was there for leg bands from Cutlers. And I got them.

But I did buy some birds for my daddy-in-law. He showed up as everyone was done. And I knew he wanted some new pigeons. Fantail's. But I couldn't find any. How ever I got him a very well bred and beautiful pair of owl pigeons. He was so happy when I gave them to him. I was glad he loved them.
Otherwise cold but always fun to look and see everything and everyone.

well it was good to meet a bunch of people from here...all i heard when i walked around is BIRDMAN!!!!...and i so agree with you those birds looked like crap....my birds would fly off the shelfs if i brought them to something like that...you seen a bunch of birds in bad conditions....i wouldnt even bring birds like that to something like that...this was the first swap i have ever been to ....and there was only one breeder there that i would have bought from...some birds were indeed sick...i spend tons of time with my birds...i can just look at a bird....and know....bloody birds, scaly legs mites, sick birds, birds with no feather on the back, droopy wings on the peafowl....no wonder y the bird flu is going around...if i brought birds to a show....and i didnt sell them....they would make freezer camp and i would not take the chance of bringing the birds back...sad to say...but when people bring birds in that condition and then sell them to someone...i cant even close to justify on buying something like that in that condition....even if there is a quarantine away from the other birds....im glad i have good sources....in my eyes...98 percent of those people should give up caring for birds...and some of the breeders didnt even know what their stock was...this one guy was selling red goldens....and they were a mix of the red and the dark throat goldens....and his birds were missing their tails and some of their feathers....anyways here is some pics...
was going to get these birds...but then fellow bycer...bought them

supporting the shirt and loving it

the eggs i got.....silver goldens, blue mutant ringnecks, and three impeyan eggs...

cool art

what i thought of the birds





glad to see and meet some people that came...dissapointed on the conditions for sure....hope the next one is better...otherwise i wont take the chance of spreading diseases to my birds...and ill just stay home

 

[wannahomestead]

--snip--

How long have you been working w/ chickens/birds to learn so much? Any good tips for n00bs like myself on resources to learn more?

 

[chickflick]

Stacy, the kids are sooo adorable!!

Glad I didn't bother to go to the swap! Went to Zumba instead! lol Theron's Farm said he sold all his birds within minutes so he was able to go home and take a nap. He use to post on here but now is on FB. Has beautiful birds.

Planning on going to the Lansing area tomorrow and check out some open houses just to get an idea what the prices are down there. So far what I've seen on the internet has me worried. I want a move in home. Just got done with all the updates on this house. Would rather not start again. Why don't people update their homes?

Have a nice day...

 

[wannahomestead]

Stacy, the kids are sooo adorable!!

Glad I didn't bother to go to the swap! Went to Zumba instead! lol Theron's Farm said he sold all his birds within minutes so he was able to go home and take a nap. He use to post on here but now is on FB. Has beautiful birds.

Planning on going to the Lansing area tomorrow and check out some open houses just to get an idea what the prices are down there. So far what I've seen on the internet has me worried. I want a move in home. Just got done with all the updates on this house. Would rather not start again. Why don't people update their homes?

Have a nice day...

Any particular areas in Lansing you're thinking of looking at? I sold my home in Lansing last October. It was move in ready, had a lot of original woodwork/wood floors from the 1920s, original plaster in very good condition considering the age, 4 bed 1.5 bath. If I could have moved that house to my current lot, things would have been perfect

The biggest issue with that house was the location. You can only deal with so many shootings before you're ready to be done.

 

[birdman55]

How long have you been working w/ chickens/birds to learn so much? Any good tips for n00bs like myself on resources to learn more?

ive worked with chickens for only three years now...i have worked with pheasants and peafowl for under a year....and when you spend the time and resources that i have you can just walk into a pen and see a bird feeling ill....or mistaken care of....or picked on...and if the owner dont take matters into their own hands and fix the problem whatever it may be...then it makes it worse....i spend at least four plus hours in my pens aday...and have well over 20k into birds and buildings....so you just cant wing something like that...that is y my birds can be hand fed in each pen...that comes with time and trust between you and the bird...even the ringnecks...as was mentioned before after being moved to a fellow bycer are very tame and not really flighty...you learn thru time and effort...not saying the sellers there dont spend there time with their stock, but i would not bring a bunch of birds that were tore apart and try and sell them...especially for top dollar.....i take pride in my birds and i was not thinking the birds that i was about to see where in the condition that most of them were in...and obviously i wasnt the only one seeing that...i should have taken pics of the birds there that were pheasants and put a pic of mine next to them....you would understand just by looking at them...its understanable to see picking on the females right now bc of the breeding season..but there were no female pheasants there...when you looking for good stock....money talks and you get what you pay for....you can tell if a person knows about the birds and their reputation by just one simple conversation.....and it takes time to meet people....you can see how one takes pride and care for their birds just by seeing their pens and such...there is over 15k in coops in the backyard...there living conditions, how big the pens are, if the birds have tails...(pheasants)...if there is standing blood on them...for example....i had a male golden kill another male in my male pen....well that was it for that bird...no chances..so he got peepers...some other males started to get aggressive with females, they got peepers...most people dont put peepers on their birds...from what i have seen....anyways...for michigan...go to the website mbgba.....and get a membership they will send you a copy of the people of michigan and what they breed...start calling and asking questions you are interested in....and do your own research...once you find someone that sounds like they know what they are talking about....then you go and look at their parent stock...i could go on for days but i have to get to work....spicer is on the board of the mbgba and their stock was quality...hands down the best their...peacocks and pheasants..nice display good looking birds, no blood, no ruffled feathers, or droopy wing feathers....no birds with the backs ripped to bare skin, no blood on the birds...no leg mites (scales on their that would look like mountains...)hope this helps
am im no expert....however you can see a difference in the people that spend alot of time and money with their birds compared to ones that dont. peacocks for example need 100ft 2 per bird...that means for a trio you have to have 10x30ft section for three of them...if birds have to small of living space...disease, picking, all the negative things happen...we went from 30 birds to after the first week in may...we will have over 300...and that was no easy task by any means....

 

[birdman55]

we got their at about 9am he was prolly gone by then.

 

[birdman55]

here is another example....met this one guy there selling game chickens....after talking with him he said i dont know anything about these birds...i just bought them a couple of days ago....and then he brings them to a bird swap...he doesnt know their condition, if they are sick...and should not have brought them just on the fact of spreading anything that they might have to something else...he sold two sets of birds when i was talking with him...n those people dont know he just bought them....now there taking a huge risk...all my birds get wormed...twice a year...it just gets me worked up...somethings...and putting people at jeopardy of bringing something back to their flock is unreal...he had serious leg mits on one of the birds...you could see the scales ruff at about ten feet...that is seriously bad...
in my eyes the four birds in pic below could be sold (below are some of the free range chickens)

in my eyes i would not sell this bird...alot of birds looked like this...beaten up....this bird is molting...which means your not going to get egg production, and is getting picked on by the roosters...something i would not try and sell someone

you can see the one black one...is good...the other one is not...i guess some people dont care about reputation...however you wouldnt find me selling someone a bird in that condition...

you can clearly see the ones that would be ok to sell someone and the ones that you should wait for them to stop molting or getting picked on in order to sell someone nice birds...if you were buying birds im sure you would like a bird that is not bleeding, has no diseases or illnesses, and is fully feathered..im just super picky...so maybe i was being to picky..but better to be to picky and bring home nice birds then to not be and get your entire flock you worked so hard to maintain sick...even with quarantine you still can move bugs and diseases very easily