Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Sally PB]

Remember the winter of '78? Our driveway was a steep hill. Sometimes people drove down it by mistake. My stepdad put up a sign that said "4-wheel only." (This was before front wheel drive was the norm.) He said if they still drive down it, he was gonna charge them $50 to pull them out with the tractor.

One day it was so deep he couldn't get the tractor out. My brother drove one of the dairy farm tractors about 5 miles home to plow us out.

We're at the end of a dead end road here, so Aart, I sure get what you're saying.

 

[aart]

Our driveway was a steep hill. Sometimes people drove down it by mistake. My stepdad put up a sign that said "4-wheel only."

Mines pretty steep too, on straight part of a fairly busy rural hwy, people often turn around.
They pull in too far and have to go down, big mistake in winter.
Have often thought about a sign that says "no turn around, slippery slope".
Then sit there spinning their tires, which just PISSESmeOFF!
Luckily, it doesn't happen often.

 

[1muttsfan]

I don't use lights most of the winter because in a normal year the temperature is so cold during the day that the eggs would be frozen by the time I could collect them after work. It has been so warm this year that I probably could have gotten away with it, but I like to give my hens a break. when chickens are laying they do not store pigments, which are so crucial to eggshell and yolk color. Most years I've added an early morning light somewhere around mid-march when the temperature starts drifting up into the upper 20s to 30s again.

Today was far more typical winter weather than we have been having lately, the high around 2 pm was 16 degrees. We still have way less snow than normal.

 

[1muttsfan]

I'm all for a fall chicken stock, there are certain advantages to having it when the weather is a little cooler anyway as far as the chickens' welfare. And a better chance that more of us will have been vaccinated. Maybe September.

 

[Sally PB]

A few cold nights (low of 10) coming up. While I'm pretty sure the chickens will be fine... I'm gonna worry, just a little bit, too.

 

[snowflake]

we got a fair amount of snow here, but thankfully the roads are clear today.

I opened the people door on the run, and banged around to get him to go that way and he flew out
It's about 10 here with the wind chill, bos for the chickens , then walk the dog, then figure out how to paint the high part of my stair well.

 

[1muttsfan]

We had zero here at the house, a little warmer downtown by the water. Ice is starting to form out on the Bay, but still open water all the way across to Mackinac Island.

 

[1muttsfan]

Aaand 6 eggs today - all beautiful blue from my Arkansas Blues, they are such good little girls

 

[RaZ]

We had zero here at the house, a little warmer downtown by the water. Ice is starting to form out on the Bay, but still open water all the way across to Mackinac Island.

The ice here has been crazy. One day almost none, then the next day out as far as you can see, then gone again. The wind has been very erratic this year. A lot of swirling. almost circular direction.
Tomorrow should be interesting. They are predicting high winds with a wind-chill of zero or below. I'm so glad that I used house wrap on my coop when I built it. The coop is pretty much draft-free. I also think that where I put my wood racks help to break up the wind actually hitting the coop directly.

 

[aart]

Aaand 6 eggs today - all beautiful blue from my Arkansas Blues, they are such good little girls

Got Green Eyes over your Blue Eggs.