Michigan

[michickenwrangler]

We're in the area that's supposed to get the worst of it, possibly up to 17 inches!

 

[fifelakelooper]

Quote:
I actually wrote the local weatherman to find out if we were in the "snow" area or the ice area. He said" SNOW' and that it was better than ice. I say "bah" to both! GOOD LUCK to all....and Olive you are right.!~!!

 

[CricketYang]

Does anyone on here have/use weeder geese? I am looking for some.

 

[Mish]

Huston's Happy Hens :

Hey Sam, Rose & Kristen....remember when I was complaining of our production being so low last spring?? This may be the issue.....we've had off and on for a year had eggs that are wrinkled...seem to be seeing them more often the last month or so and I've been doing some research.
Take a look at this link; wondering if anyone has any experience in this area?

http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2010/05/11/painful-chicken-lesson/

we presently have about 68 hens; 50% younger than 18 months; 25% 3+ years; we typically get between 28-35 eggs per day....thanks!

Opa, did you get rid of that cold completely?? -

Maybe you can have one of your birds tested to find out how serious it is? Is your entire flock from one source? I saw an earlier post where you said you had birds from Townsline Hatchery. Hope everything turns out well. Please keep us updated.​

 

[lindah2226]

Hey Opa, Let me know if ya need help setting up the coop.....or grabbing chickens.

 

[lindah2226]

Quote:
Maybe you can have one of your birds tested to find out how serious it is? Is your entire flock from one source? I saw an earlier post where you said you had birds from Townsline Hatchery. Hope everything turns out well. Please keep us updated.

It hasn't happened to me, Mish, but that was so very interesting.

 

[Mish]

Quote:
I've been lucky so far too. Because of my daughter's 4-H poultry project I have been reading a lot about bio security. It helps me resist adding every chicken I see for sale to my coop. I've decided to limit additions to my flock to hatching eggs only. It prevents some diseases like Mareks but not others so still risky compared to a completely closed flock. I'd be so sad if I had to go through what to do about a disease.

 

[Huston's Happy Hens]

Quote:
Maybe you can have one of your birds tested to find out how serious it is? Is your entire flock from one source? I saw an earlier post where you said you had birds from Townsline Hatchery. Hope everything turns out well. Please keep us updated.

It hasn't happened to me, Mish, but that was so very interesting.

We've been at this for 3 years this spring. Started out w/12 from Soldan's and added to as time has gone on from a variety of sources. Always kept quarantined. The reality is that our birds are not utterly sick; but we are getting the wrinkled shells and before adding 30 or more hens last spring/summer our production was very low. I suspect that if we are dealing with the after effects of infectious bronchitis, the reproductive systems have been damaged. Agreed, I think the best solution is to vaccinate chicks or hatch your own.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Quote:
we have all had our moments as well, Sunday I took off for church and forgot to open the coop door. No harm done except for the one little hen that gets picked on was missing a few more feathers. How is the SLW hen doing?

 

[Olive Hill]

tank - Congrats on the hatch! BAs? BBW turks?

MHW & Fife -- I was looking at this map earlier and noticed how high the forecasted totals are for you northerners. Batten down the hatches! Hopefully it blows on by and the temps rise again... wishful thinking, eh?

Cricket -- I do. I use American Buffs. Do you have questions about them/their uses? They're excellent weeders and equally as valuable as lawn mowers, but it's not a set it and forget it kind of thing like I've seen some hatcheries advertise. Geese shouldn't be trusted in crops by themselves during the production period. Once certain crops have grown to a substantial size they are trustworthy around them for the most part -- peppers, bush beans, etc. But they will go after any seedling or small tender plant. Will eat lettuce, spinach, and the like pretty much of any age and they love tomatoes, berries, etc. so it's not just limited to greens either. I got distracted last summer, sat a five gallon bucket of tomatoes down, walked away, was literally gone for less than ten seconds and they had demolished the whole bucket by the time I returned -- just two geese! So you do have to supervise them if you want them to weed around things you care about. Other than that I think they're probably one of the single best additions to any small farm or homestead. They're truly multi-purpose animals and very economical to keep -- they graze for 99% of their feed early spring through late fall here.