Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[chickflick]

Watch the rooster with the bantams! A large rooster can harm the bantams. I had a rooster mount a bantam and it must have done internal damage and she died shortly after.

 

[ToniTalley]

Following some fun suggestions here, I made warm oatmeal for my chickens to give the something new

it came out like glue!

. So now they have a gloppy ball to investigate and eat. So far I did see one of the girls tasting it. Any suggestions for a small feed container that they can't tip over?

 

[yochickiemomma]

Sounds like everyone is fairing well so far with the fridged temps. Went out to my big coop this morning and there was light dusting of snow inside! Had to staple a couple feed and bedding bags over the eves facing east before I could leave for work. Can't have a wet coop. I knew there was a reason why I have been saving the bags . Riled everyone right up shaking the bags out LOL! Now I just need to do the same thing to the east side eves of the run to keep the snow out.My girls don't like the white stuff.

 

[1muttsfan]

They make no-spill pet bowls that are wider at the base. Heavy black rubber feed tubs work well too.

 

[yochickiemomma]

old round cake pans are my favorite

 

[robyn8]

Has anyone here had success keeping a full size rooster with mostly full size hens and a couple bantams? Does it just depend on the rooster? He seems pretty gentle so far but he's just started mounting the girls. If I waited till spring to see what he's like at that point would it be ok to add some bantams if he seems gentle or is it always too big a risk?

 

[rachelsflock]

Has anyone here had success keeping a full size rooster with mostly full size hens and a couple bantams? Does it just depend on the rooster? He seems pretty gentle so far but he's just started mounting the girls. If I waited till spring to see what he's like at that point would it be ok to add some bantams if he seems gentle or is it always too big a risk?

Yes. I've got a silkie and bantam sized silkie-marans cross pullet around 6 months (no eggs). They are my only bantams. Obviously the silkie did fine with my Marans cockerels, and she's doing great with my english orpington. No issues, although they do get in tiffs once in awhile. He's a pretty mellow guy, and she's not so sometime they fight like hens over stupid stuff-like the most valuable pellet of chicken food in the feeder et c.. She gets mounted occasionally-although he's not a very aggressive rooster mating-wise, so it winds up being once a week to once a month. She got bred more when she was in with my Marans. Still no problems. Her gentle daughter is one of the rooster's favorites. He feeds her all the time, and if he ever tries to mate she runs back to momma and Ms. Silkie beats him up and sends all 8 lbs+ of him running.

I didn't think chickens had the anatomy to cause internal damage when mating, but what do I know? I have had a rhode island hen kill a marans rooster for mating her buddy, but that's a whole other issue.

 

[rachelsflock]

I forgot to add, I'd just wait and see if I were you. All roosters are different, as are all bantams. You may have you may have rooster-bantam hen issues, you may have bantam hen-LF hen issues, you may have no issues. Some roosters are mellow, and some bantam hens can really kick chicken bu++.

 

[1muttsfan]

Larger roosters can definitely damage or even kill smaller Bantam birds if they are rough. That doesn't mean all of them will, but I would certainly keep a close eye on them to make sure that the bantams are not being injured.

 

[dyorto]

A couple of my eggs froze today. The shells cracked. Is it ok to hard boil them right away and still eat them?