Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Mish]

Lots of talk about safe canning, not sure if this link was already posted:
"CDC: Home-canned vegetables can cause botulism. Use proper canning techniques & equipment. Learn more at http://m.cdc.gov/homecanning/"
Ummm, I get CDC texts, can't remember why/ how I signed up. I don't opt out because they're sometimes amusing (last year one summed up to don't lick frogs) or useful (the canning link) and sometimes just strange (the zombie spoof they did for attention on contagious diseases).

 

[caz426]

Good afternoon all.

Heavy heart today as I found that 3 friends of mine that are sisters lost their mother to a drug OD yesterday. So very sad for them and their children.

I love our house and yard, but we are on a paved road with a 50 mph speed limit. I can't see ever letting my son ride his bike on the street! Luckily we are far back off the road and have a pretty thick patch of trees between us and the road. Chickens not likely to venture that far up.

Mentioned making my own laundry soap and my husband freaked out! He doesn't trust that it would clean the cloths well enough... ugh. I had been thinking of giving it a try. Guess I'm not going to waste my time.

.

Drove to the Ohio Zoo this morning and my son wanted to eat immediately when we got there. Spent a fair amount of time in the aquarium and then he said he was ready to go. I didn't even get to see the baby elephant!

 

[Wynette]

Hey, Chris - so sorry to hear about the passing of your friends' mom. Hope they are managing okay. Losing a parent is a huge loss to be sure.

I think making your own laundry soap is a wonderful idea! I'd go ahead & do it, just don't tell him until after you've been using it awhile - he'll probably never know the difference!

I wouldn't assume that your chickens wouldn't go near a road with a higher speed limit...there's a 55 MPH road not far from me, and I pass a house on my way home from work almost every day where the chickens are RIGHT beside the road, scratching around in the gravel on the side of the road. Makes me SO nervous!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

One question, is hardware cloth o.k. to keep out raccoons at night? The coop has hardware cloth covered openings and they are very well secured on the edges but this is new to me.

From what i've read, yes.
16 ga half inch, secured with bolts or U nails,( NOT staples. staples can be pulled out easier, or rust. )This is what i read on animal control's site, on how to keep them out of crawlspaces and whatnot., and the advice from fellow BYC'ers

From what i've read on coons, the gauge is the biggest deal, that is why chicken wire don't work; it is sold in a thinner gauge. Same with hardware cloth. I have seen it in several guages, you want it with a decent thickness for the coons, if you are looking for tiny holes you can always use the tinier holed one sold in a thinner guage for pontential weasels/ mice, but have something with the thicker gauge over that for the coons. It seems to be one of those backwards things where higher numbers equal lower strength.

 

[Wynette]

On hardware cloth - remember, too, that it's best to bury it sevral inches into the ground, as many predators (fox, 'possum, coons) will dig. Or, make an "apron" of it at the bottom edge to discourage digging.

 

[caz426]

Thank you... I lost my dad to colon cancer 2 years ago so I know how hard it is.

I'm sure he wouldn't be able to tell the difference with the soap... Maybe I'll give it a try. If we were closer to the road there is no way I'd let the girls free range. Right now they are in a fenced in part of the back yard and hardly ever go over the fence and then its just usually to teh garden or to their coop.

 

[XxPandaxX]

Y'all I finally got some good hatching eggs !! WHOOT ! Oh wait.

ahh, much better !

BackyardFarmMom; those are some beautiful Uggos !

 

[RBahmer]

Are chickens with the mille fleur coloring pretty much ALL bantams? I've seen jubilee orps, which look similar, but holy $$$$! I love the look of the mille fleur, and so does DH, but I'm looking for large fowl.

No, there are Millie Fluer Leghorns.

 

[gladahmae]

No, there are Millie Fluer Leghorns.

how easy are those to come by?

 

[snowflake]

I love those guinea, I need to get some of my own nest summer.... they were just making a HUGE racket, I looked out the window and soome of the older hens were pecking at a young one and she didn't seem to be able to get away. I ran down and rescued her. no apparent injury except she is limping a bit. I think she may have been trying to get away and got her leg caught in something. then she couldn't get up. I have her in the sick bay and will watch her for a couple days. If it weren't for the guinea she may have been pecked to death My little Bisque was the under dog till the little ones started to free range and she loves to chase them around.