Michigan

[chicken grandma]

I wonder if TODAY is the day that Silkie Mama will take her chicks off the nest. Yesterday, I put a pile of feed right in front of her on the nest- worried about the babies.
Mom2 - maybe put them in a crate with food and water to force Silkie Mama off the nest?

OLIVE- I have four baby rabbits here that a landscaping company brought to me. Want me to make a rabbit-chain and get them transported to you? Olive said she worked 60 hours this week and had 25 more hours to work before Sunday.

She is an amazing farmer and has taught me so much. But she may not be on here a lot this weekend.

Last night really stunk at work. Some days, I am the Euthanasia Queen...Im pretty sure there is a special place in Hell for someone who euthanizes as many as I do. I am pretty sure there is a special place in heaven for someone who ends suffering as you do. Thank you for helping the animals transition to a better place with less pain and suffering. A lovely lady vet told me once 'these animals are going to die of their injury/illness and we try to make it easier on them'. THANK YOU for your kind kind efforts!

 

[chicken grandma]

I used to do Euth at the Humane Society in Westland and Ann Arbor. It is a hard, sad thing to do, but I put aside those feelings so I could give the animals an exit that was as peaceful and full of love as their lives should have been.

Thank you also Nigellas. Glad to know the animals have an advocate.

 

[chicken grandma]

Mom2 !!!!!! Carmen2 = Carmen!

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

That was well said Nova!
X2!!!

I wish you much success in your backyard farming!
Thank ya much!

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Eh better a smart triple asterisk than a dumb triple asterisk.

(yes, I realize this was even more triple asterisky)
You crack me up!!

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So, if we raise our own, we are learning, and we raise quality food, and eat less of it. We pay attention to it.

I used to scoff at organic (himself still does), but now it's what I buy. I eat less, because the flavour of the food satiates the appetite better than the tasteless stuff from supermarkets. I finally bought meat yesterday (we eat our own rabbit, chicken, ducks, goats porc), an organic turkey. It was nice, but stll not the quality we could grow ourselves.

I firmlyam of the belief that one of the reasons we are a "fat" nation, is that the food is now "cardboard" and we eat and eat, trying to satisfy a hunger that our food does not come close to satisfying.

I feel lucky and privileged [and I'm losing weight!]
I never thought about us being the fat nation because of the cardboard flavor... Food for thought... But food is defiantly better home grown!!!!

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Well, ya'll hear what the mayor of Detroit did? He sold adjoining vagrant lots to residents for $200 to do as they wished. A lot of people are using those vacant lots for gardens, as RaZ said. I think its wonderful.
After they fined a woman for having a beautiful box garden in her front yard... I can't believe gardening could be illegal...

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RaZ - when I lived in Los Angeles I would release crickets from the pet store into the yard so that I could pretend I was in Michigan. It would work for a day or two.

Frog on!

That is great! Growing up there was a pond behind my house and some nights I had to cover my ears to try to fall asleep. I miss it now. We do get a few chirpers!!!!

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It seems to be really easy to say the consumer should grow their own, and farm their own, etc..stop shopping at hypocritical grocery and big box stores..etc..but do you realize where I live....

its illegal to own breeding rabbits
its illegal to own chickens
its illegal to own beef, pig, etc
a small lot isnt big enough to garden a large family size amount of food...in fact, gardening is probably illegal here- i would have to check.
I know you cant use your front yard to grow anything..
you cant garden in detroit- they were handing people tickets for this last year- the ones that were trying to make use of their lots ,,I didnt pay much attention to it- just saw something on the news. Im sure not ALL gardening is illegal, but my memory fails me on why they were so against the person I saw on the news who was growing vegetables.
Heck RaZ was told he couldnt even have a small pond in his yard.

The ridiculousness of it all...

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I welcome debate and value the opinions of others that may differ from mine, but sometimes we need to know when to let go of a subject before the debate turns into a battle. I think the debate over commercial farming has run it course and we should move on to other topics. Both sides of the argument have merit but this is a topic for which there is no clear cut answer. Commercial farming is a for profit endeavor and is done a efficiently as possible. Given the vast numbers of people who can't or won't raise their own food they fill a vital need.

So to keep everyone happy today we need to discuss important a topic that really matters. Something like would anyone really notice if I ate a small slice or two from the cakes that Hope and Granny baked for the baby shower for Hope's daughter in law.

Agreed the horse has been beaten... Just thought I would share an educational video... I didn't mean to step on toes or cause a war. I am new to the forum and obviously the topic has been worn out long before I stuck my boot in it.

You should cut a circle out of the center... make it a bunt cake!!!

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YES- cotton tails. AND did I mention that I hate rehabbing them because they always die?

The problem is they have to eat the mothers waste in the morning to get the good bacteria from her digestive tract... Gross but if you have rabbits you may be able to nurse them until they open their eyes and put them in with a sweet mama that might let them nibble some poo...

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I for one am thankful for the service you provide. To be able to end pain and bring peace for our beloved companions. I'm all teary now, because my dog Noah's passing is so fresh. But I definitely thanked the vet tech and veterinarian who helped ease Noah's pain.

X's ONE MILLION!!!!

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That green hell that you have sneaking into your yard... Boiling water and vinegar- pour on all of it!!!

 

[Juise]

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So to keep everyone happy today we need to discuss important a topic that really matters. Something like would anyone really notice if I ate a small slice or two from the cakes that Hope and Granny baked for the baby shower for Hope's daughter in law.

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Hmm, for some reason your quote box is coming up blank, but, no, that is not what I was talking about. That is also done, but I was referring to plowing under crops. There was a lot of hoopla here in Michigan in '09 about cherries, something around a million pounds were destroyed.

Here is the page I followed on the "Three Sisters" garden last year, I am sure there are many more, but I found this one very clear and informative, it even has diagrams for how to space them.


As a parting note on the farming topic, I did want to make sure that no one thought I was at any point saying that we didn't need commercial farms, or that people should all be able to grow their own food. I don't think that at all.

 

[Juise]

Vinegar works really well, but it does also kill practically everything, so keep that in mind when using it. The boiling water is a good idea, as it should help kill the root as well as the having the vinegar kill the foliage. I have also heard that a bit of dishsoap in the mixture helps the vinegar bond to the leaves, or something like that? Anyway, it's effects on the soil are not supposed to be long lived, if you are planning on putting something else in.

 

[RaZ]

Doing a little research on the ordinance...

" (A) No person shall keep or house any animals or fowl within the city except dogs, cats, canaries, or animals commonly classified as pets, customarily kept or housed inside dwellings as household pets."
Chickens are common pets. Right?

 

[BackyardFarmMom]

Doing a little research on the ordinance...

" (A) No person shall keep or house any animals or fowl within the city except dogs, cats, canaries, or animals commonly classified as pets, customarily kept or housed inside dwellings as household pets."
Chickens are common pets. Right?

To all of us... YES!

 

[Juise]

Haha. well, I have heard of people taking that stance, but I am not sure whether or not they won. So.. that ticket still never got filed, right?

Do you know why the Destiny Farm people say that the MRTFA protects everyone in Michigan's right to have chickens, irregardless of where they are or what the local laws and ordinances are? I have heard of a number of people of winning this argument if they're willing to take it that far. Avoiding it entirely would be preferable, though.

 

[Juise]

You know what I think? I think it is an excellent opportunity to march on the man with pitchforks and torches, have a barrel fire and... and... hot cider, or something. Maybe donuts. It's been some 10 years since I have had a donut....