Michigan

[Olive Hill]

It doesn't matter if your son was swinging the alpha hen around by her toenails singing out of pitch at the top of his lungs while doing a naked dance to the chicken sacrifice gods, good roosters do not challenge people. Period.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

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taprock, I hope your birds will arrive safe and sound

 

[RaZ]

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I'll side with the rooster.

 

[M.sue]

What a wet morning it is! Can't decide if I perfer rain or snow. Snow with mild temps!!

Hillybilly Hen......good luck with your surgery, hope all goes well.

Taprock.....that must of been such cute site to see your son playing for the chickens. Our little Roo had my daughter cornered behind the pen gate on Sunday. Couldn't figure out what was taking her so long. I went out and there she was yelling at him for he was standing in front of it. Then yesterday he got a testy/challenging with me, literally charged at me. Must of been a sight for the neighbor driving down the road to see a sparing match going on. I won with a stiff poke to his chest and he reverted back to his flock.

Olive Hill.......love your profile pic, I had to look twice thought it was a newbie!!

 

[taprock]

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I have had a few bad roosters so I know they can be dangerous - they ended up at a friends freezer camp. We also have two great roosters right now. More in the roosters defense, my son loves the chickens and he wouldn't hurt one on purpose, however, he loves listening to the roosters talk. So he tends to throw things in the air so they do their danger call, he carries around hens and ruffles their feathers so that the rooster will come and check up on them and make their noises. He knows he is in trouble when he does so I think that was left out of the conversation yesterday. We were out at the coop for an hour or so afterward and their was no challenging behavior from the roo toward my or I. Whatever the case for now the rooster stays, even if he ends up with an attitude penned by himself, I want more Welsummer babies this spring!



Went outside to find my son carrying around the aforementioned roo playing the harmonica to him again. He was not the least affected by yesterday. I also caught him holding the tail up on a hen in the nest box so he could watch the egg come out. :/my kid!

Also we are getting a half a beef. I was going to feed the fat to the chickens, do I need to render it or can I just chunk it up and mix it in treats?

 

[NovaAman]

What is it with boys! It is like they know they shouldn't do it. Really KNOW they should stop, but they just keep pressing forward... Its always fun till they get hurt, and half the time, they still think its fun even after they got hurt.

Its always funny till someone gets hurt, and then its even funnier.... Proof of this is AFV...

 

[1muttsfan]

well spend 1 day in an airport and it takes hours to catch up with you guys. Yes back from florida (sigh)

good news is the chickens are starting to lay again!

Hi franklinstreet and welcome to the michigan thread. And welcome too to jlynn, to BYC and this chatty group.

 

[Olive Hill]

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Do you want the legally and politically correct answer or the what-I-would-do answer?

Technically speaking, you should heat it. You don't have to render it, but you would need to heat it to a certain temperature (usually boiling) for a certain amount of time (usually 30 minutes) in order for it to be considered "safe" to be fed. This is true of any meat by-products and post-consumer wastes -- so applies to your table scraps as well. Now, that said, if I was familiar with the cow's history (which I assume you'll be able to accomplish since you're buying a half) I would go ahead and just chunk it up, freeze it and feed it out straight from there.

 

[Chickmate]

Definitely under water here. Just saw a squirrel float by on a life raft piled with acorns. My pond is overflowing into the woods and I can imagine how many of my goldfish and baby koi will be stranded out there.

As far as the roosters go, I wouldn't trade Joe even though he has "attacked" me twice. It's usually if I am carrying something he isn't familiar with, like the first time he saw the shovel or the wheelbarrow. He waits until I go by and then hits me from behind. I have corrected him both times. The third time I had the feeling after I went by and turned just in time to catch him with the plastic rake as he was launching himself. I chased him around the yard with it until I cornered him in the run and carried him around under my arm to his great humiliation. He is great with my dogs and cats and even strangers who come for eggs. He did attack my friend's dog the first time he saw him, but that's a good thing. I don't have a problem with his "attitude" because he is a great protector of the girls, is a true gentleman with them and is always on the alert for hawks, etc. He doesn't scare me and I've told him so. I said "Joe, you want a piece of me, bring it!" He loves it when I talk tough to him. After doing doberman rescue for 13 years and having a few altercations with some of them, a rooster is small potatoes. He knows I'm the boss, he just needs to be reminded once in awhile. Worf on the other hand is totally docile and stays clear of me. The last picture is of Worf in the window box outside my kitchen window. I saw him looking in at me and when I went to take his picture two hens flew down off the roof of the house! Wish I had seen them up there, it would have been a great picture. Welcome to all the new people, you'll love it here and we're so glad to have you!

 

[M.sue]

Good to know about feeding the fat to the chickens, never knew that. I had a roaster that had some turkey drippings that didn't get used and was going to give it to the chickens but never did.....got preoccupied with other stuff.