Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[vjwilmoth]

Just don't tell Ashli that you are getting eggs. It hurts her feelings because her hens are all boys.

Oh wait...lol

It is the 22nd, Don't know where my mind was though the other date is DH's birthday. Thanks for catching that, I edited my post.

That's my youngest DS's birthday too!

See, I think that is when I started getting the eggs last year. For this girl, I can't remember her hatch date, but I do know it was right before the end of the school year so she is between 3-4 months old. I just don't know if I've ever heard of an early early layer like that. I have chickens I got in March that still aren't laying yet. It's just baffling.

I'm with Opa on those wolf spiders. They get so big. I can handle little ones just not the big ones.

As for the ix-nay, our Baby Girl actually crows from time to time and she is definitely a she. So there is a little itty bitty ray of hope, right?

My Isa is the only one laying though. Well, that we know of. The boys swear there has been an extra egg now and then over the last few days so maybe we have one more layer.

I promised back in the olden days that I would get a pic of my coop set up... SO, here it is, The whole containment it 12 wide, and 28 long. There is that much GROUND space. The coops have 74sq of floor space. I am pretty confident that it will be plenty of room for the winter. The whole run will be roofed with tarping, so that I can take it off in the spring... Maybe. I just need to work on building the supports first. I have an idea, but not sure if it is the best plan. I expect Opa could tell me if it is feasible. The plan is to attach anchor point, use 16 foot pvc to span the 12 wide area. There will be center supports as well as supports for weight bearing that go to the ground, Holes will be dug for those, and anchored in cement. SO, permanent placement. I will place the pvc roughly a 18 inches apart. I could place them closer if it is better to do so.

I like it Nova!

Very nice set-up, Nova! I like it.

I like it too RaZ.

Its still pouring here. Not complaining.

Bella will be going into heat anytime this weekend, and I got the guy ready to AI her. We are having her bred by Guernsey semen, so if she have another heifer, it will be more dairy than beef, so we can have more milk. Its a waiting game right now. I have been checking her a few times a day, so we can catch her in heat, for cows have a very narrow window to get bred. Just 24 hours.
Here is the new picture of Maybelle- Note that she looks very beefy like her dad the Angus bull, that will means that she will produce beefy calves for our freezer, when she is bred by Angus bull when she is old enough to be bred.

She may go to her first heat when she turns 1.
She just turned 2 months old a week ago.

Bath time!


Silly Pancake

Even sillier November

I love all your cows! I want a cow!

Howdy, everyone...

I'm in Midland, MI - still working hard to be able to HAVE coop....there is a group of us working to change the proposed draft of the 2013 GAAMPS to provide better protection for urban farms under Michigan's Right to Farm Act -

We would appreciate any and all support that other chicken owners can provide - we have created a facebook page:

www.facebook.com/BYChickenKeepersofMI

If you could/would "like" and share that page, and then stay tuned for our 'plan of action' with regards to the upcoming GAAMPS vote, we would appreciate it!

I will certainly go "like" your page.



Welcome to HouseCat and CaraBear!

 

[vjwilmoth]

I'm so thankful for the rain but I'm hoping it's not raining tomorrow morning! My oldest and I have another 5k in South Haven(4th of 5 races in the "Fruit Belt Series). We were running them all as a family but it's been so hot that the two youngest kinda dropped off. So DH, oldest DS and I were going to complete it but then DH had a complete bicep rupture 4 weeks ago and just had surgery to repair it last Friday. OUCH! So he's in a sling with two 3" incisions to heal from.

 

[chicken grandma]

Carabear - Love your Facebook page!

Farmerboy - Can't believe you saved that piglet. Wow, what a story. Is infection a possibility?

BYFM - I cannot believe you have all roosters? How many did you start with? Did you get them at the feed store? That's unusual.

Welcome HouseCat

 

[Momma K]

I don't understand the idea behind the protesting...what are they protesting against, and why do they think it is appropriate to do so at a funeral?

Do you watch the news at all? These people are all over the news regularly!!!

I'm not going to say how I feel about them, but I suspect many others feel the same. Especially if they were or had a loved one in the military.
Please look up news articles on the westboro baptist church and you can see for yourself

 

[SillyChicken]

Going to be leaving for home soon... but wanted to say welcome to Housecat..Yes ventilation is important but like everyone else has stated, you'll need to be able to regulate it depending on your set up and the weather conditions. If you have excessive condensation in the coop the birds (esp the roos) can get frost bite on the exposed flesh, combs, wattles etc.. We also recommend wide roosts (2x4 on it's side), so they can more lay on the boards, vs perch on them so the birds can cover their feet well.

Also, I will not comment on a certain group of people because they are not worthy of my attention.. However, I may be heading to a funeral in GR tomorrow to honor a fallen hero.

in other news.......... DH GOT THE JOB!!! I'm very happy for him!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I have a ventilation question. ............. His thoughts are that it's too cold up here to keep a coop vented 24hrs a day and that "winter ventilation" must be a southern thing.

Another option is the little crank windows sometimes seen in trailers and campers, you might be able to find some in the habitat for humanity stores, or find a camper that is falling apart, down here older trailers in the trailer parks are being tore down constantly, all the parks are updating to modular type housing. Just be sure to use u nails to nail some hardware cloth over the screen! staples rust and don't hold from what i've read. I have a camper coop, and it has a wall of sliding windows, i have the option to keep them open in the warmer spells, and during the winter they love sunning in them. That way even if the top ventilation is open, they still get some warmth. You need summer shade for windows, though, or they could be cooked!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

My EE's are built pretty winter hardy, pea combs and no wattles, but i still rub vasaline on their combs to ward off potential frostbite. I do it every few weeks or so as i remember it. (I even put a drop of lavendar into it, so they all get soothing aromatherapy at the same time, lol)

 

[ChicwannaB]

Quote: I had checked into getting KuneKune's but WOW a breeding pair of them are SO expensive, but they are a smaller and more rare hog and VERY docile, also not known to root so much and tear up the place. I may check with you in the spring and get a pair of AGH.

 

[vjwilmoth]

My EE's are built pretty winter hardy, pea combs and no wattles, but i still rub vasaline on their combs to ward off potential frostbite. I do it every few weeks or so as i remember it. (I even put a drop of lavendar into it, so they all get soothing aromatherapy at the same time, lol)

I would have not thought to put vaseline on their combs! Thanks for the tip!

 

[KrisRose]

I promised back in the olden days that I would get a pic of my coop set up... SO, here it is, The whole containment it 12 wide, and 28 long. There is that much GROUND space. The coops have 74sq of floor space. I am pretty confident that it will be plenty of room for the winter. The whole run will be roofed with tarping, so that I can take it off in the spring... Maybe. I just need to work on building the supports first. I have an idea, but not sure if it is the best plan. I expect Opa could tell me if it is feasible. The plan is to attach anchor point, use 16 foot pvc to span the 12 wide area. There will be center supports as well as supports for weight bearing that go to the ground, Holes will be dug for those, and anchored in cement. SO, permanent placement. I will place the pvc roughly a 18 inches apart. I could place them closer if it is better to do so.

Nova- i have tarped my run for 3 years now.
What i found is that a flat tarped roof holds lots of snow . So i ran a support beam lenght wise down the center of the run. its about a foot to a foot and a half above the run walls with 4 support beams. Helps alot to keep snow off.