Michigan

[Hillbilly Rooster]

I am only 38.

oh I will talk to my wife everyday that I am gone she keeps me going. I just have to hire my buddies son to come and take care of the chickens as my rooster does not like my wife.

Oh I am looking for another Camper to turn into a chicken coop if anyone has one that they would like to get rid of that is of reasonable price and not brand new.
I could see some of your minds working. HAHA

 

[Hillbilly Rooster]

I would prefer one on wheels I have one as a coop right now but seen that with the snow it was leaking a bit. I have two coops but now the chickens have decided to abandon one coop for the winter. It is kinda like watching people go south for the winter they migrated to the coop across the pen.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

kind of like my in laws, they call every week and let us know how nice it is in Florida

Are you still wanting to get rid of some of your chickens? If it is easier I can wait till Chickenstock if you are going in June. I know things are hectic right now.

 

[krazykritterlady]

Just wanted to say hi to everyone!!
Sounds like everyone has been busy with Christmas, hunting, and this crazy weather. I have definetely been keeping busy making sure everyone stays warm and safe. We took the kids the other day to a tree farm to pick out and cut down a tree. We finally settled on one my 16 yr old son wanted, I was so cold at that point I didn't care what it looked like. We still haven't put up the lights and decorations, maybe tonight. Everytime I look at that tree I just have to laugh, it is a little short and stout now that it is in the house. But my son loves it, the girls not so much, so it will be great.
Now I have to go back to cleaning and getting the pen ready for my 12 new babies. They are already 10 days old and need more space.
Hope everybody has a great day!!!

 

[zephyrcreek]

Well Gyrtle is doing great now. She's just as sassy and curious as ever. This all started when I put by breeding trio of dels in the large coop with 30 other birds. The did great for a few days, but the third night is when someone decided to pick on her. We kept her in the house for 24 hours and she scabbed over. They basically took off most of the top layer of skin from her comb. She looks much better than I expected this am. She's in with the baby Javas and Wyndottes. They are curious about her, but not picking on her at all. In a few more days I put her back in with the 2 other Dels in their little coop. The winds were so bad here that I thought they would do better in one of the big groups. I was very wrong!

 

[Opa]

Quote:
I appologize for not answering this sooner. My wireless router for the internet was down since Saturday am and I didn't get a chance to try to figure out the problem until now. To bad the stupid things aren't made out of wood, then I might have a chance at fixing it. I've got to get it repaired or get a new one since it allows me to use the llaptop in the house.

I would recommend slightly thawing the deer to allow skinning. I constantly hear people that talk about the need to age their deer and it's no wonder manyu people find the smell or the taste of venison objectionable. The sooner you cool a deer down the better it will be. Getting the hide off is a tremendous benefit. The hide will hold heat for a long time. If leaving the hide on was a good idea to improve the taste of meat you can be sure the beef industry would do so. They take the hide off immediately. I normally have my deer skinned with a hour or two after shooting. I then use damp clothes to complete remove all traces of blood from the carcass and then dry with clean towels. Unless you can maintain the carcass between 37 and 43 degrees you are not aging the meat. Above 43 the meat starts to spoil, below 37 the micro-organism the breaks meat down becomes inactive and nothing happens. Below 32 degrees the meat freezes and starts to dehydrate. Additionally you will have to thaw it to butcher and it is never prudent to thaw and then refreeze meat. Properly cared for venison does not have a "gamey" smell or taste; the meat will smell slightly sweet. I usually butcher my deer after only hanging for one or two nights depending upon the temperature.

I shot a cull buck this morning which brings me to 5 for the season. I need to take 2 more to fill my tags. I sure hope David is able to get in some more hunting and take a few himself. I normally like to have at least 10 to take us through the year. For those of you still hunting Good Luck.

 

[YakLady]

Congrats on your new grandbaby, Jason!

HBH, I only have my two female Cayugas and one drake Cayuga right now. I've got a few female Pekins, but I'm using them for their eggs. Love those duck eggs! Hopefully, I will start trying to hatch out eggs soon. If your friend has not found one by Spring, I'd be glad to help out. The drake would have to wait awhile for the baby g irl to grow up, though. LOL!

 

[Ooopsy_daisy]

YakLady: I think you're right and time to put things behind me and enjoy life as I once really use to.

Hillbilly Rooster: I was 34 yrs old and a Grammy. I wouldnt trade my grand babies in for nothing. They are the biggest part of my life and the greatest part of my day. And my last mission I have in life is to make sure they become productive adults. Then I can rest in peace. You'll find your heart sick for them when away...laugh so hard when with them as they are so opinionated and sincere. Its a blessing that is so awesome. Ive told daughter I wished I could have passed up having kids of my own and went right to grand kids. LOL Dont think she liked that very much. *wink.

Zephyr: Im so glad to hear your girl is going great now. I get so worried when one of my hens are sick/hurt.

For those of you that are looking for a chicken processor in Lapeer County....I took my meaties today to Wilcox just east of M53 on Willis Rd. GREAT people. Very kind, polite and helpful. Charged me $1.38 per bird and even cleaned and packaged up the feet for me, for my dogs. As its known that the feet raw to dogs helps with hip/joint problems. I was in and out of there in 45 mins. I will be using them for many years. As its hard to find such "salt of the earth" type persons and a couple that I wouldnt mind befriending in my life. me. Might be something Hillybilly Hen for you to look into as the UK'ers use it to aid with arthritis. Boiling the legs and taking the stock from that and making soup to eat daily. Then give the feet afterwards to your dogs/cats. Just a thought.

I also found a friend that LOVES the tail of the chickens, so once I got them home that was the FIRST thing that came off. I refuse to eat that. And its the only part of a chicken that I wont touch. I clean up after them enough raising them, let alone eat that part LOL

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weather. My hens are dig'n it. And came out of their coop this morning and dug right into the slush and were slurp'n it up like they were at 7-11 having a slurpee. LOL

 

[briana1975]

Sounds like a lot of you still have snow. We never did get anything. Just that super cold wind. Ground is frozen quite solid. But now the last couple days we have had 34-37 degrees and rain or drizzle. Water sits on top and makes about an inch or two of slimmy wet muddy dirt. I have almost fell on my butt at least 3 times now in the chicken yard. One of these days I am not gonna catch myself and go down into wet mud, and with my luck a fresh spot of turkey poop. Well enough about the weather.

 

[Kovalciks Chickens]

Thanks Opa. Anyone else have problems with frostbite. Well a week or two I posted on here with pics and the nxt night was extremely cold and their frostbite got even worse. So me and my dad build these boxes that hold in the heat extremely well. We just have to be careful of the temperature because it can get up to 65 degrees. Their frostbite is even going away! If anyone would like to look at pics for frostbite/warmth reasons or just want to be curious just ask.