Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[NovaAman]

Well I think my blue orpington has a broken leg, she holds it out to the side or has it under her. Its swellen at the knee or whatever it is and warm, what can I do for her?

Kimmie

Keep her still. Baby aspirin for the pain for now... I am not sure if you'd need to give antibiotic for it or no... May want to ask in the emergencies forum.

 

[greenmimama]

You can always call the hatchery and adjust your order also!

One other person on here had about 25 chickens for their first effort and I think they thought it was too many for their first flock. Since we are going into Winter you will have to buy a lot of feed and your chicks won't lay til Spring so it is a lot of money going out this Winter.

If you start smaller and get more chicks in the Spring then your flock can forage for food and eat grass and bugs all Summer and your feed costs will be a lot less. Just some thoughts and I am sure others will give you more ideas about how they started out!

p.s. make sure your whole set up is raccoon and mink/weasel proof too!

I thought about adjusting, but I am within the time limits, I think it will be fine, I tend to go all in on things.

I don't want to wait for spring, I don't want to wait at all, but buying juvenile birds is too expensive

 

[NovaAman]

Hi Green. You know what... I think you'll be just fine. You really will not have to worry to much on heat in the winter. Also, you could buy the highest protien rich feed they have available, then half cut it with cracked corn, OR 2 bags feed to one bag cracked corn. This will save you 10 bucks 100# in the end, but it will keep the protien high enough to meet the protien needs of the growing chicks. All my birds right now are free range but feed flock raiser. The flock raiser is only 16%_18% crude protien. I figure during the winter, If I get the 24% feed, cut it with the cracked corn, which I think is near half that amount in protien at 8%, mix the two together for half cut for over the winter, I'll be able to stretch my feed bill. The 24% feed is only 2 dollars more, and the cracked corn is 10 dollars less... SO.. 100# of feed for 28 dollars versus the 36.

 

[ChicwannaB]

And how many, exactly, are too many chickens?

thats an imaginary number

 

[ChicwannaB]

These are my Dominique pullets....



They'll be at 24 weeks by time of Chicken Stock, if anyone is interested and IF I haven't sold em by then.
The top one I call Dolly, the bottom one is Dawn.

all gone, 2 pullets left for me and one for Anish, she can come get her or I can take her up to Chicken Stock. I should be able to get thru the winter now.

 

[snowflake]

will have to catch up to morrow, or later tonight but I wanted to thank Laura(HH) and her husband for a most delightful day. 2 wonderful people!! very nice set up it is so sad they are getting out of chickens. sickness is a hard task maser, They have a beautiful home in the woods, with so many humming birds, Awsome .I have only seen that many in magazines Maybe you should change your name to humming bird haven.

....I hope we didn't tire you to much.......Got to meet BobBry also,,,, another great guy. He brought some high bush cranberrys (think that is what they were?) to plant AND got them all planted.... Thank you a most enjoyable afternoon.....

 

[ladyrsanti]

I have a question for all you guys. You've never been wrong - no pressure. My sister lost a bird overnight. Yesterday it was lethargic, tail down, not eating. She brought her in and bathed her, fearing a bound egg and kept her isolated and warm. She ate and perked up a bit but later started acting stressed, breathing through her mouth (panting?) and then passed away overnight. Any thoughts about what this might be. The fear is something contagious of course.


ETA: I also posted this in the Emergency/disease, etc. section.

 

[taprock]

Long day here, thought you might appreciate a smile.

 

[NovaAman]

I have a question for all you guys. You've never been wrong - no pressure. My sister lost a bird overnight. Yesterday it was lethargic, tail down, not eating. She brought her in and bathed her, fearing a bound egg and kept her isolated and warm. She ate and perked up a bit but later started acting stressed, breathing through her mouth (panting?) and then passed away overnight. Any thoughts about what this might be. The fear is something contagious of course.


ETA: I also posted this in the Emergency/disease, etc. section.

Sounds like she had a heart attack... There was nothing else, just those first symptoms?

 

[NovaAman]

Long day here, thought you might appreciate a smile.

Wrong... just wrong! LOL

Speaking of wrong... I just fed the carcass of one of my meat birds to the birds. LOL. I am making them canibals.