Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[RaZ]

Seems extreme....what about dogs who may engage with wild animals daily(like RaZ's)?

Indeed.
Three raccoons in a week and a half.. Not to mention squirrels, chipmunks, wild turkey and 2 deer carcasses. That is just what I know of. What about the cat? He gets a chippie nearly every night. I'll be going to the vet every day.

 

[Folly's place]

Rabies testing of animals is done by the state and is FREE, and should be done more often than it is. Your vaccinated dog, cat, horse, or cow is likely safer than you are unless you have current rabies vaccinations yourself, so handling a pet who has saliva present from a possible rabid animal is a big issue for you. Lightning strikes are more survivable than rabies infections!!!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Bats, skunks, foxes, and raccoons are the most likely rabies infected critters, especially bats here.
Mary

 

[RaZ]

Bats, skunks, foxes, and raccoons are the most likely rabies infected critters, especially bats here.
Mary

Maybe I'll just seal my house and stay inside.

 

[gladahmae]

Looking for some garden advice!

I have a problem every year with grass in my garden. And purple thistle, but I just keep pulling that out. ANYHOW, I'm looking for some suggestions for a better mulch to put into my veggie garden so I don't spend the entire summer nagging my kids to go pull weeds (because 3rd trimester and pulling weeds just sounds awful.) I have a big pile of pine shavings from the coop clean out I did last spring and the fall of 2017 that sits in the sun the entire summer. Could I use that? Even around zucchini? (I have less of a problem using manure-laden mulches around plants where the part we eat doesn't sit on the ground.)

ALSO, I have a small flower bed along my front [covered] porch that is pretty much solid grass. Cardboard/newspaper and wood mulch over this??

 

[RaZ]

Looking for some garden advice!
ALSO, I have a small flower bed along my front [covered] porch that is pretty much solid grass. Cardboard/newspaper and wood mulch over this??

I like the cardboard/ newspaper and mulch method. You can even try that in your veggie garden. The coop clean out material should be decent to use now. It's been sitting for a year now? Did the shavings have a hot compost time? You might have some seeds that found their way in if it was a cold compost. Still should be okay to use, weeds will be easy to pull.

 

[gladahmae]

I’m a failure at composting. The shavings basically have sat there and I have done absolutely nothing with them. I mulched my tomatoes with aged coop litter one year and got an obscene amount of fruit, but that was also a pretty perfect summer for growing conditions.

 

[SillyChicken]

So far, I have 10 chicks that hatched over the weekend. They are a cross of Sumatra and not sure which hens, but a mix, and yet the chicks all look the same all black with fuzzy white butts and wing tips. Only one I know is an EE mix, green egg, hatched last night. There are still a few eggs in the bator. As much as this batch was disturbed, I'm surprised I got as many as I got. They sure are cute though.

Raz, hope your knee is doing well.

Folly, thanks for the info on the rabies, good to know.
I'm sure Raz has weighed his situation on what works best for him.

Glad, my DSL uses a thick layor of straw in her gardens.

 

[chickflick]

I do the rain gutter grow system. Really like it. I can go camping now and not worry about watering.

 

[aart]

Grats on the hatch, Silly!
Glad, takes time and a hot and managed compost to break down shavings.

No chicks here this year, too many birds, too many eggs, need to reevaluate.