Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Hillbilly Hen]

Anyone know of a decent place to have a chicken slaughtered and processed near Kalamazoo?

Welcome!
Sorry but I don't know of anyone around there.

 

[SillyChicken]

Well, got the run covered. I think I did a pretty good job for a nut case who just flies by the seat of her pants and hopes it all works out in the end.




I still have to finish the tops obviously, but! They now have a nice snow free place for the winter.Trying to decide if I should run a bit of fencing around the top to discourage any critter from trying to get thru the tarp. I haven't had anything get on top of the coops yet. Yet being the key word there...

I'm offering a suggestion... I am concerned that the roof wouldn't hold much weight in snow. It will stick with the wide arch on your top. (and it's not ideal to plan to knock snow off all the time) You may find it helpful to put (at minimum) a 2x4 to go the length of your run and attach to the wood at the ends. You may also want to consider a center post under the 2x4 for support... Other wise, I'd say you did a great job!!

 

[SillyChicken]

The consensus on several of the other feed related threads is to treat your chickens like spoiled kids at dinner, and not give them anything else til they eat what's on their plate. Others say that chickens know what their bodies need and will eat what they require so free choice is best.

What do you find to be fact?

I find it a fact that it costs a lot of money for feed as it is, for the chickens to sort through the layer pellets cause all they want are the sunflower or cracked corn as their preference. I don't feed them more food until they eat it all up. It's like asking a kid if he wants to eat peas or a cookie.

 

[SillyChicken]

Stella, my molting hen from Stacykins, has started laying again. I thought it might have been her, but actually caught her in the act yesterday morning. This was the second beautiful egg from her.

Theron, glad to hear the duck is alright. Scary. I'm glad I haven't had that experience yet.

The hoop top looks great. And very impressive that you did it on your own. PVC can have a mind of it's own when you ask it to bend. Have you had any winds yet? Just wondering how it reacted...

DH has surgery today to put the plates and screws into his crushed leg and will be in the hospital for a few days at least. He's very much looking forward to having the external fixator off/out as it is very restrictive to any movement. His leg is still swollen, but the surgeon said they can't wait any longer. There is concern that the skin will not hold up and essentially fall apart because it has been so swollen for so long (since Oct 15). If so, they will have a plastic surgeon put in a flap of skin over the area. This will cause an additional risk of infection, along with the fracture blisters, which are healing, but very big and nasty on both sides of the leg. The surgeon said, " We will do the best we can with it, but it will never be good." DH has two very good orthopedic surgeons who will be performing the surgery today, and I know they will do the best that they can, but with a crushing leg injury, you can only expect so much healing. It will still be another 2 months (if all goes well today) before he can put ANY weight on this leg.

I know many of you good folks will continue to pray and wish him/us well. The support I have had from so many of you here through PMs and postings has truly touched my heart and has meant so much to me. Without even knowing what your faces look like or your true names, you have become a source of support and strength for me.

Best of luck to your DH.

 

[greenmimama]

Hey all, this is a great video about GMOs It isn't directly about chickens, but our own food chain, and I believe it is very important to spread the word.

Please share with as many as you can.

 

[1muttsfan]

Two of the babies popped out to say hi this afternoon!

 

[tdhenson86]

Two of the babies popped out to say hi this afternoon!

 

[greenmimama]

Two of the babies popped out to say hi this afternoon!

Sooo cute, what is the hen's breed, I love those dark feathers.

 

[1muttsfan]

She is a brown red frizzle bantam Cochin - here is my smooth brown red roo

 

[NovaAman]

I'm offering a suggestion... I am concerned that the roof wouldn't hold much weight in snow. It will stick with the wide arch on your top. (and it's not ideal to plan to knock snow off all the time) You may find it helpful to put (at minimum) a 2x4 to go the length of your run and attach to the wood at the ends. You may also want to consider a center post under the 2x4 for support... Other wise, I'd say you did a great job!!

I am very open to suggestions when those suggestions are for the benefit of my birds. That is a good idea, and wouldn't cost but 20 bucks to do. I was already going to put in a center post that I could also attach a few 2x4's to for the birds to roost. Instead, I'll get a a 4x4 the length I need and go to the roof instead of the 5 feet up like the rest of the run. I'd make it a lot easier to attach 2 2x4x10s to the top of that and run the length of the run.