Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[RaZ]

Reporting that all animals received good care while I was gone. Dogs were very happy to see me, especially the old girl.

Flock dynamics are quite interesting. The young new birds are together in one flock and the cockerel is taking his job seriously. He keeps the 8 young girls in line which is made more difficult since the white ones keep together and so do the brown ones. So that young roo has extra running to keep them all together. Big Boy, the mature rooster is twice the size of the existing hens. He took control over them right away by following them while they ignored him. Now they listen to him a little more. He is good at finding them good things to eat. He is huge compared to the hens. It will be interesting to see how things go when mating commences. He is a well tempered, calm, and seems to be gentle. Plus he seems to know that I am still the big rooster of the run. He has showed no signs of aggression towards me at all. I'll have to ply him with treats to keep it that way.

I can't tell you how happy I am to be home and find my critters are all taken care of. I'm going to owe a couple of people in a big way.

 

[aart]

Reporting that all animals received good care while I was gone.

You'll continue to have some help with chores, right, so you can rest and heal??

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, hope you have help still!!!
Big Boy (nice new name!) has never had a bad thought towards people here. He's been a very good flock leader, and mated often with two of the EE bantams, no harm done. They were part of his group.
The Buckeye pullets are three week younger than the Chanties, so have been separate groups here. I'm glad the cockerel is working to pull them together!
Take it easy, and heal up!
Mary

 

[bigmrg74]

HI Jim, of course you are welcome!

Hi Raz, sorry you are not feeling better


Speaks the voice of experience

KC, you will want ventilation, but not a draft. As Big says, you may need to put a baffle on to allow air to exchange without a draft. I have a much larger coop and keep a south window always just cracked; the pop door stays open most of the time into an enclosed run, but I close it when it is unusually cold or very windy from the north/northwest.

Wind breaks around the coop help as well. My coop is a tractor so I can move it all around the yard in the summer, but for winter I park it up by the garage. That allows me to block the west wind that way. I then stack a single layer of straw bales around the coop, and then a couple of feet away from the coop I'll stack straw bales 3 bales high on their sides with some rods in them for additional support to serve as windbreaks from the south and north. I've got bit of an overhang over the back of my coop where my nest boxes are at, and with the wind break around that end it provides a good additional outside space for them to hang out during the winter day. I might have to shovel it out to get the brats to enjoy it, but its usually better for them to get some time outside than to just let them set in the coop all day.

 

[RaZ]

Yes, hope you have help still!!!
Big Boy (nice new name!) has never had a bad thought towards people here. He's been a very good flock leader, and mated often with two of the EE bantams, no harm done. They were part of his group.
The Buckeye pullets are three week younger than the Chanties, so have been separate groups here. I'm glad the cockerel is working to pull them together!
Take it easy, and heal up!
Mary

Big Boy is doing a fine job. He took to the old girls right away even though they seem to ignore him. He isn't jealous when I go out and they all run to me for treats. But damn, he is a big bird!
Little Boy is quite watchful over the young birds. No real difference of 3 weeks to see. That flock just doesn't venture out to the extent that the adults range.
Overall, this is a very nice flock.

 

[RaZ]

Visiting nurse was here this morning. Paperwork took longer than any real care but ya gotta keep the lawyers happy.
I'm all good, even better than she expected. I do feel good. As in really good. No pain meds for 2 days now. Just have to play it low key.

 

[Folly's place]

He's not as big as Solo, my avatar, was, or Candy's Walter, Solo's hatchmate. I hope one or two of the new cockerels grows up well!
Keep up the good work!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I've never fed him treats individually, just tossed stuff out there for everyone, and walked through him if he was in my path. May both boys do well for you!
Mary

 

[RaZ]

He's not as big as Solo, my avatar, was, or Candy's Walter, Solo's hatchmate. I hope one or two of the new cockerels grows up well!
Keep up the good work!
Mary

I thought there was only one cockerel in the group of Chanty's. It looks like 1 and 4 pullets. The young ones are venturing out further from the coop run. Ah the healing power of watching chickens be chickens.

 

[Folly's place]

Sorry , Randy, I was talking about the cockerels still here! If you have a ringer in there, it will be a suprise to me too!
Mary