Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Candy442]

Riss, we must be in Michigan because I will not see past 58 today,

It got to 70 yesterday in my area YAY

 

[Candy442]

It's been 6 years that I have been in Michigan and yet been able to grow cilantro or culantro - https://www.seriouseats.com/2019/10/what-is-culantro.html

I even brought seeds directly from Puerto Rico and bought directly from Vietnam with no luck.

Hey Dreamz,

How lucky you are in a State with the most fantastic agricultural university around (yup, I graduated from MSU). Here is a link to the MSU extension. It's the BEST place to research growing items here in our great state

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_s...ed full sun,location that has afternoon shade.

Candy

 

[Candy442]

I don't see an alternate feed on the bag but the type I'm using currently is Mazuri Exotic Animal Nutrition. They are also on chick grit and I feed them minnows in the pool they play in. Don't know if there was a certain type of brand anyone would recommend that they used that worked great.

Hey Riss,

We fed our Ancona ducks Mazuri duckling food (https://www.chewy.com/mazuri-starte...gmqPVm1jCX5yB03CKcILV-ONrtJhQj94aAhv1EALw_wcB) until they were all feathered, approximately two months old. We chose that special food because it has the correct vitamins/nutrition for growing ducklngs. After that, we just feed them regular chicken feed along with their insatiable appetite to find bugs/grubs/snails around our property .

Candy

 

[Candy442]

I am having fun catching up on the posts in here! Are we not doing the Chickenstock this year either? Does anyone know?

 

[riss]

@Candy442 Thanks so much for the input! I'll probably have to order another bag of that Mazuri then cause I'm about out. And I'm a state fan myself, I'm attending college there next year once I finish my Associates at the local community college near my house.

Yes I have a heat lamp out there and a heater that I turn on and off so it's not too warm in there. I have their heat lamp preset to where the highest it can reach is 80 and next week I'll be bringing it down to 75.
Please let me know if that's the correct temperature for them they are almost 3 weeks old

 

[Candy442]

Well, ladies;

I spent my day thinking while crocheting. I am almost done with my 56 squares to complete a California King bed cover. It has taken me a few weeks. I stopped that and went to see a man in Shelby that I was told that he makes coops. Very nice and big and even with a front porch but only 2 windows and no nesting boxes. Just the raw wood which I like that. Paint is the last thing I have in mind. But he wanted 1,100 + 200 to deliver it 20 min to my front entrance. So, I picked up some books that have different plans and with the ones that I am checking up here, something will birth up soon.

My girls, Phoebe who is the biggest one (Leghorn) is very defiant. She looks at me and I say, you guys are messy eaters. And she flies, literally flies on top of the warmer and just looks at me. I had to put the top of a table on top of the can because, I am afraid she will fly out. They are growing so fast. The best part, since I put triple antibiotic on their butts, no more butt cleaning for the past 2 days

Thank you all and have a good night. I am hitting the sack for 45 to 50 min before getting up to check on the girls.

I am a beginning crochet-er. I have knitted for years and decided to teach myself crochet. Fun times so far

That is a lot of money, but building coops does take a lot of expense for time and wood. We just go and get those plastic/resin storage sheds and convert to coops. We have 4x6 ones for the breeding pens and 7 X 7 or so for larger coops. The most expensive one we have purchased was around 500.00 at Menards on sale. We make hardwire windows and vents and make a pop door in the main door for winter. They are great and so easy to clean! https://www.homedepot.com/p/Suncast...702/302345861?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US

They always say to make sure any ointment is applied away from the actual vent so it doesn't get clogged. Pasty butt happens and can be deadly so it's great you are on top of that for your girls .

Candy

 

[Candy442]

Thanks so much for the input! I'll probably have to order another bag of that Mazuri then cause I'm about out. And I'm a state fan myself, I'm attending college there next year once I finish my Associates at the local community college near my house.

Yes I have a heat lamp out there and a heater that I turn on and off so it's not too warm in there. I have their heat lamp preset to where the highest it can reach is 80 and next week I'll be bringing it down to 75.
Please let me know if that's the correct temperature for them they are almost 3 weeks old

Yay another STATE fan .

If they have heat now and they should at their current age, then I would wait until they can go into an outside coop and be comfortable without heat. That is usually by 6 weeks and feathered in well. I am thinking the rule of thumb used to be 85 at around 4 days to one week old and reduce by 5 degrees each week after until they are fully feathered? so at this point, if they are three weeks, they should be at 75 now. Ducks do not like to be overly hot, so if they have a way to get cooled off now, that is fine. You didn't mention how many you have, that also makes a difference, the size of their current pen, etc. They can and will also keep themselves warm. However with unpredictable Michigan weather it is safe to say when they are fully feathered around 2 months old for most breeds, they can be in their outside coop without any additional warmth safely

 

[chickflick]

People were still a bit iffy on the chickenstock picnic. I did not reserve a pavilion. I don't know if folks have changed their thoughts on having it or not.

 

[Candy442]

Starting to have thoughts about adding chicks to my flock. Still undecided it's been a good few years since I've had chickens. Might wait till my ducks get a little bit bigger before I bring in some new comers.

Once you start, it is SO HARD to stop LOL. We raise BLRW, White Chanteclers, Iowa Blues, EE's, Mottled Houdans, and Black Penedescencas right now. We also have Minature White Turkeys and Ancona ducks LOL. Terrible addiction for sure!!

 

[Candy442]

People were still a bit iffy on the chickenstock picnic. I did not reserve a pavilion. I don't know if folks have changed their thoughts on having it or not.

I was wondering now that it looks like things are opening up a bit. I think we can look at reserving the Williamston Township Pavilion too if things change or we all want to try for a meet and greet