Michigan

[A2SciTeach]

Hi nodough! I'm in SE michigan, but westside! Ann Arbor-ish area. There are some eastsiders here, they'll get around to welcoming you too, I'm sure. It is definitely a Fall day out today, it was spitting rain a few minutes ago and winds are making it blustery. Chickens are all puffy, huddled up in the bushes and the ducks are splashing merrily in their pool and quacking like usual. It's a good day to hit the mall, once the UM game starts, there's NOBODY in the mall or downtown A2, it's a great time to get a lot of shopping done.

Is there anybody here who lives around Levering? We're looking to move up north a-ways and I found a house and acreage up there on Bill Road, looks perfect, but am wondering about the general area, snowfall amounts, road maintenance etc.

 

[maggiemmm]

Levering is a nice little town. Near enough to Petoskey but rural enough to feel like you are homesteading They get more snow than we do - I live 35 miles North of Traverse City.... between two lakes Michigan & Torch. In Winter the heat from the lakes keeps the snow up and after the lakes freeze - we also get it. Last Winter people downstate got hit worse than we did. As far as cold.. February is the coldest but the sun shines more than in December or January so it makes it better. Can be -10º some nights. You will like it. Summer is great and Winter is bearable with a wood stove and good books ! I moved up here when my Husband was sent overseas during Vietnam - nearest neighbors were a mile away .. He was gone for almost 3 years.... We never moved back down to the Detroit area..... SO, welcome ... Plus in Levering there isa farm that sells cow shares so you can get milk for making cheese and yougurt etc. Nice option to store bought. ... If you have more questions just ask specific ones .... I will try to accommodate. Whoops!!!, My rolls are dinging.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

What a nice day today! My kids, sister and DH surprised me with a birthday party! I also got to meet eleanorkay and her DH and darling grandson. Very nice folks, and they were nice enough to take home my little blue orpington trio.

& welcome nodough!

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

 

[eleanorkay]

Up and at'em and coffee in hand. Had a wonderful time meeting Hillbilly Hen and her DH. They have a beautiful home and beautiful chickens. She was so generous to give us her little "blues" that she had gotten from Opa in June. Hopefully the move will go well and they'll be happy here. They are so healthy looking and shiny.

Do you think that feeding them Purina is better than Dumor?

I'll love any advice from the experienced BYCer's

I'll post a picture later today.

Welcome to all the newbies

 

[Opa]

eleanorkay, I know you are going to love your baby blues. The hen they came from is one of my most dependable layers and I think you will be surprized at how large the eggs are for a bird that size. I used to feed my birds Dumor but switched to Purina and have found that their droppings don't smell quite as bad as they once did.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Good Morning everyone!
My its chilly this morning@! My house is cold!!!! I ran around shutting windows- don't understand how it could this cold this fast. last night it wasnt cold in here.

It was Homecoming yesterday. My fourteen year old daughters first. She looked like a Princess. I was their DRIVER. Being in highschool, they have friends that drive but I was not ready for the stress that comes with that- I would have worried too much about the kids driving, any partying, drinking, etc with her as a passenger in the car. So, I was out until two a.m.!
I drove them to the dance, picked them up, drove them to the restaurant- and I waited in the parking lot- then drove them to the bowling alley where most of the kids from the school were- and then I waited two hours in the parking lot. I read a book. Then I drove a few of her friends home, and finally, got into bed myself at 2:15 this morning.

They had a wonderful time.

I need to find some straw! I want to put it around my coop and in the shelter I made the ducks. I am just going to stack the bales up as a wind-block. I need six bales. Usually it is for sale really close by but I havent seen any for sale. Am I too early? It is usually selling for halloween decorations around here.

I hope you all have a great morning. I overslept and my husband drank all the coffee.

I am waiting for the new pot to brew.

 

[briana1975]

M2emA, we have a lady over by us that sells straw. She always has a lot. $3.00 a bale. 20 min. drive for you.

I actually got to sleep in till 8am!!!!

After coffee and breakfast I get to go out and practice shooting my new gun!!! I finally got one. It's a Mossberg 20 gage bantam. Like a chicken. I guess they are phasing out calling them "youth" models so people don't think they are just for kids? Short women with stubby arms can use them too.

We were in Holly yesterday for the Renaissance Festival. We had a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed the sword fighting!!

 

[eleanorkay]

What a nice day this has been...so nice to have the warm sunshine. Here are the pictures of all my babies.

/57214_sept_25_2010_004.jpg[/img] These are the little blues I got from Hillbilly Hen yesterday. They seem to be adjusting well.

The next group are the ones I got at the animal swap in Newaygo 2 weeks ago.

These are my first 4.

And this is the place that they will all hopefully live together someday.

Hope your Sunday has been great!

 

[Ferrret]

How deeply do chickens sleep?

I just caught Shmoo, our white silkie, laying down in the run while the others have already put themselves away in the coop. I nudged her to get her moving and she just sort of mumbled at me. So I picked her up and held her for a bit, even brought her inside to get a better look at her and see if the lights would rouse her, but not much. She did flap her wings like she was falling at one point, but wouldn't stand. I set her in the coop away from the others and she wandered over to them, slowly with heavy steps. She did occasionally make a low clucking noise, and she would push with her legs and curl her toes when she seemed a little more alert.
I'm wondering if they huddled up and fell asleep in the run, then as it got darker the others left for the coop and she just stayed asleep. She really just looked like she was sleeping and trying to go back to sleep every time I moved her. When she got side by side with another chicken she hunkered down like the rest of them.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

eleanorkay, I love the pics. You have a very nice setup and beautiful birds!

Have a safe trip Sam!

Ferrett, seems like I read on here somewhere that chickens will kind of go in a trance like state when they are sleeping? I won't swear by it though since my memory isn't that great. I hope that the little silkie if fine now.