Michigan

[Wickischickies]

Well, here is a thought I have had.
If you know that you have MG on your farm, and several of us do have it.
Then I would really think twice about hatching a lot of chicks or buying chicks and bringing them onto my property until the MG was gone from my property.
But that is just me. I feel sorry for chicks that come onto a farm by hatching or from the feed store when there is MG on the farm.

Chicken Grandma, I couldn't agree more! I really hope Farmerboy's project works. I am no longer a chicken owner as of this week.

From now on any new chicks I get will be tested for MG before being put in the coop and no one is allowed to pick up their chicks on my farm. I have had no signs of it with any hatched chicks (three years of my hens hatching my eggs) until this year when I starting allowing other chicken owners near my coops. One person who was here had one of their young chickens die of "natural causes" while they were here. A week later my chicks get sick, they were just a couple of days old when that person was here. I'm not saying that's where it came from by any means, I could have had it this whole time when I bought my adults at the beginning. Both them and I are newer chicken owners, and are not "chicken smart" yet. One very expensive vet bill and the loss of my babies has made me a bit smarter.

 

[Olive Hill]

I'm so glad my kids are older now. They can buckle themselves in, get their own drinks and snacks, occupy themselves for HOURS... and if I want a baby fix I can just take my nephew for a few hours and send him home before he craps his pants. LOL! Now THAT makes life very, very good!

Well, by some freakish miracle we're now more than 24 hours in and Frederick (Fredericka?) The Garden Bunny is still alive. To spite me, I tell you, to spite me.

 

[Elliemae 77]

Eeyore.... Thank-you. Yes, would be nice to get them from people who understand our climate up here. I built a top bar hive. Do you have the regular supers? Is it too late in the season to get started? How are their prices? Sorry, I'm excited....can ya tell?

 

[RaZ]

EllieMae, I'm not Stacykins but my order is through these guys: http://www.mibees.com/. I'm not sure where you are or if the have any left but the idea of Michigan bees bred for hygenics really appealed to me.

I just sent them an e-mail to check availability. I have to replace my colonies this year. I hope they have 1 or 2 nucs available.

The chicks I put out earlier this week are getting bolder and starting to explore the outside run. One of the ISA browns managed to escape and was roaming around in the driveway. Caught her right away and returned her to the run and 2 of the SLW's showed me the small gap in the fencing as they escaped also. It amazes me how they can wiggle through such a small gap. I wonder how long until the crabby neighbor sees them.

 

[Elliemae 77]

Nova, yeah no kidding. Glad mine are three years apart. My daughter loves to help right now, and she does a pretty good job keeping herself busy.

 

[Stacykins]

I just sent them an e-mail to check availability. I have to replace my colonies this year. I hope they have 1 or 2 nucs available.

Does your crazy neighbor know about your beekeeping? Haha, I bet she'd have a fit if she figured it out. Thankfully, there are a lot of laws out there that protect the rights of keeping honeybees, even in urban settings, because of their valuable pollination service.

 

[NovaAman]

Chicken Grandma, I couldn't agree more! I really hope Farmerboy's project works. I am no longer a chicken owner as of this week.

From now on any new chicks I get will be tested for MG before being put in the coop and no one is allowed to pick up their chicks on my farm. I have had no signs of it with any hatched chicks (three years of my hens hatching my eggs) until this year when I starting allowing other chicken owners near my coops. One person who was here had one of their young chickens die of "natural causes" while they were here. A week later my chicks get sick, they were just a couple of days old when that person was here. I'm not saying that's where it came from by any means, I could have had it this whole time when I bought my adults at the beginning. Both them and I are newer chicken owners, and are not "chicken smart" yet. One very expensive vet bill and the loss of my babies has made me a bit smarter.

OH NO! That totally sucks! Is there no way you could keep a closed flock?

The only person who owns chickens and has been near my chickens is Juise, oh and Jaimee too. But she came at night and didn't really see them. The neighbor doesn't count. I figure what ever mine get, his will get and vice versa. We are that close and our birds mingle all the time. LOL. The roos fight and the hens just look for food and run from the other roos. With all the dangers that I am learning here, I am not sure I'd want another chicken owner to come over and handle any of my birds... Kinda scary. I would be devastated if I lost any to something some one brought over. I have to admit, I probably been more careless than I should be..

 

[NovaAman]

Nova, yeah no kidding. Glad mine are three years apart. My daughter loves to help right now, and she does a pretty good job keeping herself busy.

My boys are 3 years apart also. When my youngest was born, it was very hard, darn near impossible for me to do any gardening. I find gardening of any kind therapeutic. I could spend all day doing absolutely nothing in the yard. LOL. So, when he was 1, I did my first round of veggies, but no landscaping. When he was 2, I expanded that and grew more, and got chickens. This year, he's 3, going to expand even more veggies... and I got a box for potatoes, I want to try my hand at that... and I plan to get some trees down this year so I can grow more. My oldest loves to help... well his kinda help and my youngest loves to just be where ever I am at, and if dirt will be involved, they both are there. And if water is involved, well then, its all the better. Little freaky boys. The reason the first year with my youngest was so hard to do anything was, if my breast wasn't available when he wanted, all hell broke loose. He was such a fussy baby.

 

[NovaAman]

Does your crazy neighbor know about your beekeeping? Haha, I bet she'd have a fit if she figured it out. Thankfully, there are a lot of laws out there that protect the rights of keeping honeybees, even in urban settings, because of their valuable pollination service.

The front page of the Holland Sentinel just had an article about how the fruit trees are blooming, but the bees are not here... I have a feeling fruit is going to not be a prolific this year and we are going to see some high prices.

Speakng of growing... Better cover up plants tonight. Supposed to get to the low-mid 20s over night even in the lower half of Michigan. Makes me glad I haven't put anything in the ground yet. I will have to cover my strawberries though. They are already showing signs of fruit. How crazy is that.

My oldest saw a pic of a Flemish giant... He didn't believe me that rabbits could get as big as some dogs... SO, I googled pics, and now he wants. To bad I am allergic. Not really.

 

[M.sue]

Well, by some freakish miracle we're now more than 24 hours in and Frederick (Fredericka?) The Garden Bunny is still alive. To spite me, I tell you, to spite me.

You are a saint and will be rewarded....lol.....that is what I kept telling myself last year when I had 3 orphans to mother. My dog always seems to find a nest or two every spring. Last year she found a nest of 7 and 3 survived. She doesn't eat them, just plays with them (causing them to die) and brings them up to the house to show us. Well, when the kids seen they weren't dead that was all it took. So I hand fed them twice a day with some formula I got from the pet supply store, kept them in the warm cozy house in a little cage with nice fluffy micro fiber pillow filling stuff to hide under & snuggle. Kept them in the house for about 2 weeks, gave them water & fresh clover or alfalfa daily. Then we moved them out to the old rabbit hutch in the back. Kept them for about 3 more weeks then DH & kids let them go out back at the end of our property. I know they were big enough & old enough to survive on their own. Makes wonder with all the rabbits I see around my place if anyone of them are the ones we cared for.