Michigan

[SillyChicken]

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I bet that was funny!

 

[SillyChicken]

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Thanks for the reply Olive, actually I was thinking about getting what you have, they're a heritage bird right? I know I'd have to do some research yet, just thinking about come next Thanksgiving/christmas holiday... I really enjoyed the bird we had for dinner. I would like to raise a few, mabye even keep a breeding pair as well. I'm really into reproducing my own stock once I invest in something. Plus, this will give me the excuse to build a nice big brooder that I've been wanting!!! If I work on it in winter, I should be ready in spring for chicks and some turkeys as well.

Do you allow yours to free range or are they penned up?

 

[Olive Hill]

Yep, narragansetts are heritage type. The bird in my avatar is my breeding tom. On earlier pages of this thread I've posted pictures of him and some of the breeding hens as well. I would repost but my home internet is down, I'm on my phone. Ours freerange with the rest of the mixed flock and roost in the trees at night.

 

[Mom 2em All]

Opa.

My husband got three this gun season. I had to order a new deep freeze because mine chose deer season to die. It will be delivered tomorrow morning, and in the mean time, I had to borrow space in my moms freezer to stick it all.

Last year, he never even saw a deer. So, my assumption is that all of your deer have moved to Hillsdale.



Kim

 

[Water Pixie]

Olive Hill - Yes, grumpy people get at least 2 cookies in my house in hopes it will make them sweeter.

 

[Opa]

Just finished butchering the 2nd deer. I will be looking forward to the last deer but I have no idea when that will be. The deer haven't left my area, they have just become more nocturnal. I think that the DNR's decision to hold a September doe season is a mistake. I understand the need to reduce our herd size but I think the early season spooks a lot of deer rendering them more difficult to take during the more traditional seasons. If they truly cared about lowering the deer population they wouldn't have raised the price of doe tags to the same price as a regular license. In this down economy we didn't need the cost of hunting going up.

I am fortunate to have a hunting area that abuts a large thick swamp area that is the lowest point in the township. It is ideal wintering habitat and the deer migrate into the area because it is slightly warmer due to the swamp, is surrounded by corn and bean fields, and has thick cover. In December it is not uncommon to see 300+ deer standing in the field. I am certain that I will be able to harvest 3 additional does and if David brings up his end we should have an adequate amount of venison for the year.

 

[SillyChicken]

Olive, no worries, I've seen the nice picts of your Tom before... they're beautiful! I may be talking to you in the spring if you have any chicks (I don't have a baiter)

Opa, I couldn't agree more. The Early doe season is not hunted as religiously as the 15th. I think the success and satisfaction rate of hunters would be better if the youth and early doe were canceled and the gun opener was as it was (I grew up learning to hunt that way......... why does the youth of today need to learn to hunt at a different time?) I've been a successful hunter for over 30 years! I could see if it were a safety issue for kids in the woods, but they're still with their parent/adult any other time.

I'd sure prefer to cut up my own deer, but time and work and butchering on my own doesn't always work out. Good luck filling the rest of your tags.

 

[CricketYang]

My duckens came back!!

They came back! They came back!! and yes, I was actually doing this dance when I saw them outside my window this morning.

Well, seven out of ten anyway. I am SO relieved, you don't even know!! Well some of you might. I was so depressed bc my little guys were gone and that I had to incubate more eggs and have to start from scratch. Seven came back, six female pekins and one male mallard. I'm keeping those eggs in the bator in hopes of getting at least a male or two, sounds kind of backward doesn't it? I wonder where they were hiding??

After a few calls to some vets and lots of researching online about my turkeys puffy eyes I found out that its not an infection that they have and that its just a common disease that turkeys get. It usually isn't life-threatening and it just looks ugly. Seems to only be happening with my hens. My three toms are happy as ever, it's going to be a hard decision on who to take to the chopping block in a few weeks. I'm not sure if I should butcher just one tom or two, I don't really need to keep two around do I? I have a pretty big family so we usually do two turkeys during Thanksgiving (I was thinking of doing one of ours and then a store bought one to have a taste test). They haven't been fighting so I guess they're all getting along. They're white BBs btw.

How do you choose who lives and who gets eaten? Eenie, meenie, minie, moe??? who has the prettiest strut? The toms all look the same to me.

I've finally made the move on going back to school!! I figured that I have a lot of time on my hands so I might as well do something productive!! I'm going to LCC for now to get all of the transferable classes for cheap and out of the way before I go to MSU for AgriBusiness Management. Oh yes, I'm going to be a professional farmer!! I'm even having a meeting on Tuesday with a retired Ag Bizz professor to talk to him about our farm and my education. See, I totally meant it when I told everyone six years ago that I didn't want to go to college until I was totally sure on what I wanted to be when I grew up. It's a new adventure and I'm hoping my financial aid goes through so I can start taking my classes!

 

[chickflick]

That's great news, Cricket!! What a relief. Congrats on going back to school!

More power to you!
Hate that winter crept in. Want to fast forward to April!

 

[SillyChicken]

good news and good luck Cricket!