Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Farmerboy16]

So anyone local have chicks anywhere between 1 day and 6 months they want to sell, we are in Cedar Springs, and I am just looking for a nice variety of colors of chickens and eggs

There is a guy named Randy, Randy's roosters who has a variety of birds. He is white rooster on here, but is never on. http://muskegon.craigslist.org/grd/3176080018.html
If you can look up farmerboy on this thread, he is located in Sparta, and he has taken great pains to eliminate MG from his flock, and his stock has been vet tested. His may be a bit young for getting chicks yet, have to find out,  but by next spring he should be selling some for sure!

I actually was thinking to set some eggs from my Isa brown pullets, the roo is a blue lemon pyle brahma cochin mix rooster that I hatched out from someone's project. I have seen him breeding my pullets, so I will incubate some eggs for fun and see how the chicks hatch out. They should look interesting. So, if you want some chicks, I will be happy to hatch them out for you.

Fuzzy- So sorry about your chickens.

Taprock- Glad that the fair went well for your son!

 

[chicken grandma]

Farmerboy - greenmimom has Isa's and she wants a variety of birds and eggs. So I think she is looking for a different breed.

 

[chicken grandma]

Is this a live trap you use? I am wondering about this, maybe trying to trap them before they get to my girls??

I don't think you could trap all the coons in your area. I think you have to make 100% sure that your coop is coon proof! That means the coop has to have a floor or it has to have hardware cloth buried deep into the soil so the coons cannot dig under.
Also, the hardware cloth has a small enough weave I believe to keep out weasels or mink and is sturdy enough to withstand a raccoon trying to rip through it. So that would be the material to use on any parts of your coop that are open for ventilation. Hope that helps!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I know this is a far shot, but is there anyone near Coopersville/ Ravenna area that has a currently brooding hen that they would part with, or has a way to incubate eggs without risking their flock? I only have a handful of eggs from my hen that died, and only one of them are recent I also have a handful of eggs from Princess too.

 

[RaZ]

I cracked that monster egg and sure enough it was a double yolker. I took a picture but you all know what a double yolk egg looks like. It is now an omelet.

 

[gladahmae]

To me, this looks further along than day 11. Was it shipped? The air cell is wonky, but that doens't mean it won't develop. I've hatched hundreds with wonky cells. Most definitely, somthing is going on in there!

It was shipped.....during the break in the heat, so it was 'only' in the upper 70s/low 80s when they were in transit. Shipped on a Monday, set on a Wednesday. Glad to hear that you think it looks good still! I wasn't going to pitch it, but I have a little more hope for my hatch now!

 

[greenmimama]

You guys are all too sweet, but after thinking about it, I think, and that is the operative word, that I will order a few from my pet chicken, since they will allow small orders.


So this next question, I want these chickens and eggs to be as natural as possible, do they really need the Marek's vax? they will be free ranging in the good weather.

 

[NovaAman]

They do not need the vaccine. None of my birds have the vaccine. There are a lot of people who do not. This is a choice only you can make.

 

[NovaAman]

It was shipped.....during the break in the heat, so it was 'only' in the upper 70s/low 80s when they were in transit. Shipped on a Monday, set on a Wednesday. Glad to hear that you think it looks good still! I wasn't going to pitch it, but I have a little more hope for my hatch now!

I wouldn't have pitched it either...

 

[chicken grandma]

Michigan State University Veterinarians recommend the Mareks vaccine for all chicks. It is the only vaccine that they currently recommend. They do that because as recently as the 1960's farmers lost as much as 60% of their chickens to Mareks disease. The only way that high rate of loss ended was when the hatcheries started to vaccinate for Mareks. Townline still does vaccinate the chicks you get at the feed store.

M.S.U. also recommend using medicated chick starter and then gradually adding in non medicated feed and weaning them off the medicated feed slowly between 6-10 weeks so the chicks can adjust to the parasites in the soil that they may encounter gradually.

You don't have to follow their guidelines but it is nice to know what the M.S.U. Veterinarians are recommending.