Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Opa]

So I have a question for people with isa brown experience. I have 16 chicks ( think they're around 6 weeks now??) and I'm suspecting at least one if not 2 or 3 boys in the group. Is this common??? I thought they were sex links which means that there isn't much of an excuse for that many cockerels......
Or do they just develop everything faster??

Sex Link chickens are a cross bred that at hatch the cockerels are a different color than the pullets. ISA browns are not a sex link breed They were developed in France for their egg productivity by crossing several breeds. The result was bird that starts laying at 16-18 weeks and will lay over 300 eggs per year. However at hatch the chicks all look alike and they must be vent sexed.

Occasionally they are sold "straight run" where they haven't been sexed and you get what you get. If they are sold as "pullets" then you are paying a premium for all females. However, vent sexing is difficult and occasionally some males get through.

 

[RaZ]

so iron man, not so cool, the sight I found doesn't say what can be done other then diet. do they think that is the cause of your heart issue? if they fix the iron will you still need the heart surgery?

It must be my magnetic personality.
They are going to bleed me. If the iron levels come down they tell me that it will help with the heart condition and the joint pain.

In any case, the surgery delay will help me out in the short run.

 

[wannahomestead]

Kind of a sad day for me today. I found that the roosters are fighting and can't be friends anymore. Chicken B has some scrapes and bumps on his comb and his feet from him and Rudy fighting. I had them out today and Rudy would not leave Chicken B alone, so I took Chicken B to the other side of the yard. Rudy decided to come across the driveway a few times to antagonize Chicken B more. I have Chicken B in the house with me tonight in one of the dog kennels.

I think I will have to rehome him. I expected this would potentially happen, just didn't expect it when I am working an almost 60 hour week.

Anyone interested in a RIR rooster that's about 16 weeks old? We're near Lansing. I weighed him in at over 5 lbs earlier in the week. I'd prefer he not go for meat since I can just do that myself.

If anyone is interested shoot me a PM. I cannot deliver unfortunately.

 

[taprock]

Last night about 7:30 I hear the guineas going nuts. At this age they are pretty reliable so I went to see what was up. I open the front door to the guineas all single file following a wild tom turkey through the front yard. While they were definitely suspicious, they were raised in the same coop as turkeys so I think they were wondering if it was a friend.

This morning I'm getting breakfast when the little Serema flock right behind the house starts up. I step into the French windows only to find a doe in the backyard staring at me and the cackling chicken flock. After standing their a few minutes she headed to our back field.

We have always had Kestrels in the area but this year is the first time I've seen them hunting our fields. At this point I think the chicks running around are too big for them so I've just enjoyed watching them hunt.

Also I am looking for call duck eggs or a male and about 5 heritage turkey poults or young birds.

Everyone have a great time at CS. It wasn't even a possibility this year for me.

 

[aart]

GULP!!...saw a small coyote or large gray fox cruise thru the back field this morning.
Camera wouldn't turn on fast enough to get a pic, even tho it stopped for a sec when I heyed at it.
Hope it keeps moving, glad I hadn't let the chooks out yet.

 

[gladahmae]

ISA browns are not a sex link breed  They were developed in France for their egg productivity by crossing several breeds.  The result was  bird that starts laying at 16-18 weeks and will lay over 300 eggs per year.  However at hatch the chicks all look alike and they must be vent sexed.
[/SIZE]

Thanks opa! I thought they were just an amped up form of a red sex link. If that is not the case then it looks like I am going to have at least 3 of the 16 end up as cockerels. Ugh.

Might be candle day here....will have to look at the dates on the eggs in the incubator since I forgot to write the set date on the calendar.

 

[taprock]

Cautionary tale for those with hen aprons.

This morning while outside I heard a chicken cough, not good. I go looking and see Earl a EE hen hunched up. I'm thinking oh no! I catch her only to find her apron has frayed and around is her neck. I think it's strangling her but no. She was grooming herself and got a stray thread wrapped around her tongue. Bloody, partially severed. Anyway I untangled her and left her outside since I can't treat it and it's not visible. I did see her eating just a few minutes later so maybe it's not as bad as it appeared. Anyway check for fraying!

 

[gladahmae]

So I have a potato question. We grow our potatoes in boxes (because we don't have a root cellar or unheated garage/basement to store a significant quantity) and last year we had kind of hit and miss success. The red potatoes did quite well but the white potatoes weren't as prolific and didn't seem to ripen (the skins stayed green even though we let the plant portion die back before harvesting). I'm wondering if it was something kind of simple that we did. When we "hilled" the plants (filled up the box) i diligently trimmed off all of the leaves on the portion of the plant we were burying thinking it would help prevent any plant matter from rotting or molding in the area where potatoes would be growing. And THEN this year I'm reading about pruning indeterminate tomatoes and how the "suckers" are what will produce the fruiting branch and so on. SO. Should I continue with clipping off the "branches" on the potato plants before I hill them, or just dump the soil in and call it good?

 

[uchytil]

So I have a potato question. We grow our potatoes in boxes (because we don't have a root cellar or unheated garage/basement to store a significant quantity) and last year we had kind of hit and miss success. The red potatoes did quite well but the white potatoes weren't as prolific and didn't seem to ripen (the skins stayed green even though we let the plant portion die back before harvesting). I'm wondering if it was something kind of simple that we did. When we "hilled" the plants (filled up the box) i diligently trimmed off all of the leaves on the portion of the plant we were burying thinking it would help prevent any plant matter from rotting or molding in the area where potatoes would be growing. And THEN this year I'm reading about pruning indeterminate tomatoes and how the "suckers" are what will produce the fruiting branch and so on. SO. Should I continue with clipping off the "branches" on the potato plants before I hill them, or just dump the soil in and call it good?

When I lived in Northern Maine the huge commercial farmers just ran down the rows and kept hilling over the plants until Blossom Festival. I met a bunch of these good folks and asked a lot of questions. The stuff I got was to keep them covered well with soil as light can cause potatoes to be green especially on light colored skins like Kennebecs. I dig a trench 12 inches deep toss in the seed with 2-3 eyes and cover with a little soil, when I see stems/leaves I cover almost to the top of the plant, and so forth until I am actually hilling higher than grade. My interpretation of trimming is you are removing possible potaoes. I would not trim anything and start low and go high for maximum yield.

 

[preciouskitty]

When I lived in Northern Maine the huge commercial farmers just ran down the rows and kept hilling over the plants until Blossom Festival.  I met a bunch of these good folks and asked a lot of questions.  The stuff I got was to keep them covered well with soil as light can cause potatoes to be green especially on light colored skins like Kennebecs. I dig a trench 12 inches deep toss in the seed with 2-3 eyes and cover with a little soil, when I see stems/leaves I cover almost to the top of the plant, and so forth until I am actually hilling higher than grade.  My interpretation of trimming is you are removing possible potaoes.  I would not trim anything and start low and go high for maximum yield.  

Ditto.
I just started doing potatoes 2 years ago & that is exactly how I do them..& have had great success