Michigan

[Chickmate]

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RaZ, I found the exact same thing on one of my tomato plants! The poor worm. It's still clinging to the plant but not moving at all. Is it dead? If I pull all those eggs off will the worm live? What will happen if I leave it alone?

 

[dianaross77]

Hillbilly Hen, your birds are just gorgeous. I love to look at pictures of them.

I just wanted to say in public that I just love Theron! He is a fine young man with a great big heart who takes excellent care of his birds. I know his parents must be really proud.

 

[chickflick]

Consider giving the chickens a natural break in egg laying for the winter. You'll still get a few a day. If you must have a light on, be sure to set it to come on earlier in the morning. If you set a timer for night time, the chickens will be caught off guard and not be on the roost.
Welcome to all the newbies.

Sorry about the losses.

 

[RaZ]

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Let Nature take its course.

 

[NovaAman]

I was thinking I'd only use the light to supplement the daytime light coming in thru the windows and to heat the coop up a little bit everyday, so from like 7am till 7 pm, like normal winter hours. I am hoping that my birds will enjoy the outside covered run. I am planning to use a 6ml clear covering over the frame. Well it'll be transparent, not necessarily to see thru, but will give daylight to them, and keep snow out. Putting a thick layer of fall leaves in the bottom so they have something to dig thru. I am planning to do it in a triangle shape, so i won't have to clean the snow off at all. I read on some old articles (like from the 30s) about open air runs/coops in the winter. And these old dude were saying that they didn't lose egg production to much because the chickens were happier being able to have access to the sun instead of being closed up. So I am planning to do as big a run as possible that I will be able to walk upright in down the center. SO, we'll see. I just hope its not to ambitious. But nothing is to ambitious if it keeps them happy.

Well, insomnia has taken over. Think I will drink warm milk... Works for my kids...

 

[bethanyrae]

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Holland? You're probably going to get a lot of snow if you're in that lake effect snow belt.......we listen to GR news and weather, and it's, like, crazy. We just get the tail end of lake effect here...not much left by the time it gets to us.

Get a really steep roof.

 

[M.sue]

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No, you do not have to. It would be a very good lesson for her to learn though.

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I would say it was just a problem with the individual bale. We use a lot of straw here and have never had a problem.

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It would work, but if it's a long light type it may be a bit overkill. You don't need a bright light. Unless your coop is really quite large a single low wattage CFL lightbulb in a fixture would be more than enough.

M.sue :

i, just logged on and reading....What is PDZ ? What is it's purpose, I've never heard of it. I use pine shavings in my coop and I using them. This is my first time with chickens and can't stand the thought of winter. I live in the country surrounded by open fields so winterizing has also been on my mind.

It's a stall deodorizer. It's made for horses but you can use it with other stock. You sprinkle it in the bedding to help keep the bedding dry and deodorized.

My advice is to relax about winter. Your chickens will be fine. What breeds do you have? With the exception of a few breeds that cannot tolerate cold they all do just fine. We do nothing special for them in the winter. They are out all day in the winter free ranging and roaming just as they are in the summer.

Thanks, I'll have to check it out. I have 3 Buff Orps, 4 Ia Browns, 3 Black Somethings and 2 OE Bantams....1 being the Roo. Others have told me that they will be fine also and that they tolerate cold weather well.​

 

[fifelakelooper]

Good morning fellow chicken lovers! Loved your pictures Hillbilly and welcome to Jen!
Today I will drive to Vermontville to my old farm friends to spend the night and then tomorrow morning she will be driving me to the Grand Rapids airport where I will fly out to Florida

to spend with my dad on his 98th birthday !! DH is holding down the fort here....caring for my clucks and the pooch. Prayers for safe travel are welcome...I'm a nervous flyer anyway and there is a hurricane heading towards Florida. (I"m going to West Florida but doesn't matter...it scares me)
I don't think I'll take my laptop....unsure. If I do I'll be back on tomorrow to say "howdy"...if I'm quiet for a week then you know I'll be logged on Sept.

I'll be transferring my chickens to the mobile coop we created from the 11 ft. travel trailer...around December most likely. I can place it where I don't have to ask DH to shovel snow to get to the coop.
Enjoy the day...it looks like a beauty!

 

[uchytil]

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I use shavings for rabbits and chicks in the brooder. Straw exclusively for the coop. I've been getting mine at Farm & Home or TSC. I'm looking into Kessler Farms in Montague to see if I can get it at a lower price. I'd like to stock enough for winter rather than haul in thru the snow! Anyway, I love straw and the birds get a kick scratching thru it when I put new stuff down. I keep the coop pretty clean and two weeks works for me. The concrete underneath always seems pretty dry. That's my DPs, the meaties are another story - they make a big mess and I have to clean weekly. I like the way straw smells, a natural sweetning agent!

 

[babigyrl22]

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Nova I am not sure if anyone answered this for you but this helps keep your coop dry and helps get the amonia smell out (which also helps with flies). http://www.sweetpdz.com/ You can usually find it at your local feed store or Family Farm & Home.