Michigan

[Mom 2em All]

Quote:
me too! I cant help but think If I am freezing then they must be also. I know they arent, but if I put heat out there, and windblocks- it helps ME go out there and feed and water and collect eggs.

(thats funny- I havent gotten eggs in a long time.)

I use a radiator-type heater in the coop and I have an electric water bowl for the chickens and ducks, my tortoise has a pig blanket in his dog house. Its a hard orange platform meant for piglets to keep them warm after they are born. I used straw also in my tortoise doghouse every year, but this year my husband said no. He said that Bubba just pushes it out, and it makes a mess in the garage. (I will put straw in there this winter, or I will bring Bubba into the house, and then my husband will say: Put straw in the doghouse, I dont care, just get that tortoise out of here. See? Then it will be his idea).....

I have strawbales in a Fort Knox type set up to give the chickens and ducks somewhere to go where the wind won't and if they want to roost above the drifts, they can hop on top the straw.

 

[justcelia]

Hello everyone.
We are hoping to finish our coop today. (fingers, toes and eyes crossed!)
I have lots of "oopsie" paint but only 2 with enough to paint this thing, BRIGHT green and pink! LOL!
The pink is made for bathrooms, kitchens, etc. I am hoping it holds up well.
This coop is supposed to be a chicken tractor, but it seems to be getting bigger than I thought!
The lumber and plywood was free off of Craig's List. (Love that site!)
I sure hope our girls (Edith and Maggie, Brahmas) enjoy it. It will have hangers in the "open" area for those big (-ish?) metal feed and waterers.
The girls will be free to run the yard if they wish in the daytime.

Question: I was told not to use the metal feeder (12 lb. from Family Farm & Home) in the winter, that the feed freezes and doesn't "fall" from the hopper area to the saucer. What do you do for feeding?
I will be using a large rubber bowl for water, up on a box to keep it as clean as possible.

Thanks for all your help!!!
(new pics on my BYC page if ya wanna see)

Celia
New mom to 2 new Brahmas~!

 

[cwclub]

Thanks for the "cozy legs" tip! I think that would certainly make me feel a little better. lol I am off to tsc today for a heated water dish. This morning their water had a nice little film of ice. I keep the food and water in the coop from a hanger but the Ladies do bump into it and spills some so for this winter I think I am going to just prop up the heated water dish on some blocks to help. Oooo and clear tarps sound like such a better idea then the blue one I was going to use.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Welp, I'm back from the dead and saying hello to everyone. A lot of stuff was going on for us over the summer, and things have started to quiet down somewhat. Chickens are doing well, so that's good

We lost a couple over the past month, but other than that everyone is good.

I had a root canal done Monday, and it took over 3 hours. I am very sore, and still have to go back for a crown, but at least the worst part is over. I hadn't been to the dentist in a very long time due to a very bad experience some years ago. I was amazed to see how computerized everything is now. My dentist was great. She made sure I was as comfortable as possible, and very patient. The front desk was not so pleasant. I felt like I was at a car dealership, or a bank. I just wanted to pay my darn bill in full. no stupid dentist credit card. Just pay in full. Since when is that a problem???

So, I hope all is well with everyone, and hopefully I will be back to normal soon, and pain free.

Bluemoon

 

[Bluemoon420]

Quote:
Thanks

It's the whole left side of my jaw. Apparently the root was very long which is why it took so long. I would not wish a root canal like mine on my worst enemy. When all the novacaine wore off I thought my jaw was broken. Never again.....

Bluemoon

 

[gallinamama]

Quote:
Thanks

It's the whole left side of my jaw. Apparently the root was very long which is why it took so long. I would not wish a root canal like mine on my worst enemy. When all the novacaine wore off I thought my jaw was broken. Never again.....

Bluemoon

Sorry to hear that. I was with my daughter yesterday at the oral surgeon she had to have some infection drained and one tooth extracted. She is 31 but hasn't taken care of her teeth very well since she has been out of the home. she was bulemic for 10 years that now has left 7 teeth doomed for extraction... The infection was so bad that they wanted to admit her into the hospital for fear she might stop breathing. but her hard head she didn't want to go. Finally it is going down... but not until the infection went down her throat and chest area!! People do not realize how important it is to take very good care of their teeth... me included.
I hope you will feel a lot better.
As far as your broken jaw feeling... the oral surgeon did tell my daughter that it could happen!! It has never happened to him but he has heard of it...so be careful that he didn't really do it... if the pain doesn't go away.. seek a xray.

 

[Bluemoon420]

Thanks for the info. They did do xrays before I left. The dentist said my root was so long it took 3 xrays to make sure they got it all. They took one before I left as well to make sure there was nothing they were missing. I have had my jaw broken during a surgical procedure with my wisdom teeth. ( that was part of the bad experience I had years ago.) After the second surgery, I ended up in the hospital 4 days because I was allergic to the medicine they had sent me home with. VERY bad experience.

She did mention ( the dentist) that my teeth were in pretty good shape for not being at the dentist for a long time. After this tooth is finally done, they are doing a much needed cleaning, and see if anything else needs to be done. She said at the most a cavity filled, but nothing she could see like another root canal.

Bluemoon

 

[Bluemoon420]

Hehe I was steeling myself to GO to the dentist. I had broken a molar on caramel covered peach pie. I'll never look at peach pie the same again.

I found a local place near the house who was hiring part time, and it has turned out to work very well for me. I usually close the store for the owner now. She hasn't had a real day off in a long time, and I think she is enjoying the stress free time off. She's a little flaky at times, but given the circumstances I would be too.

I lost my 24 year old cat over the summer.

I was pretty sad since I wanted to bury him, but apparently he felt walking away was better. I looked for him in the woods for over a month, but never found him.

The last day we saw him was strange, but I guess it was his way of saying good bye. Thankfully, my daughter was there to witness what I did, so I know I'm not crazy.

A woman on a near by farm had some kittens that lived in her chicken coop. She had one male left, and after I saw him I knew he was the one. ( I had been looking at shelters, etc.) She said no one really wanted him because he was all black. I ended up taking him home with a sister, and it's been fun having kittens around. I forgot what that was like.

Wynette gave me some test BBS JG eggs to test, and they are slowly becoming giants.

I hope to get some more eggs in spring. I really like them. We also have some nice silkies I hatched from Shelley's two silkies we got a year ago. Mostly girls too.

Our new welsummers are all laying, and doing very well. I also hope to get more of those in the spring.

Other than that, it was just normal day to day chaos during the summer. It's finally starting to slow down, and hopefully no more surprises around the corner.

Bluemoon

 

[A2SciTeach]

Welcome back Bluemoon, we missed you! Thanks to everyone for the Wellie info. I have 2 hens (one year old) and they are laying about every other day, very large and very dark eggs. I wasn't sure if that was the expected amount for Wellies. I definitely want more in the spring, with the beautiful rooster I got from Vicki2x2, I'm hoping to be able to hatch my own.

Still wanting Delawares, if anyone knows anybody AND measurments of wooly bear caterpillars (thanks Nancy)

The coop winterizing pics and ideas are fantastic. We don't heat the coop, but we do have a light in there to ensure 14 hours of daylight. The water is sitting on a heating device that goes on at 32 degrees. We feed in metal buckets, if you don't have a lot of humidity in the coop, which you shouldn't with proper ventilation, the metal ones work fine.

 

[Olive Hill]

Who here was looking for egg cartons?

http://centralmich.craigslist.org/grd/2039932282.html