Michigan

[M.sue]

Olive, the Ham-Egg Cupcakes can be made with bacon too. Fry the bacon half -3/4 the way done in a pan, then line a cupcake tin with them, fill with an egg and bake.
There's a YouTube video on how to do it too.

You can also cook up eggs in avocado, bell pepper and onion slices depending on what veggies you like to pair with eggs.
http://www.apronstringsblog.com/entrees/avocado-egg-recipe-breakfast/
http://www.apronstringsblog.com/veg...p-eggs-sauteed-onion-as-a-ring-mold-for-eggs/

All this talk about food is making me hungry, it's almost 11 pm....not good. My dinner must be wearing off. I better go to bed right after the news!! lol

 

[babigyrl22]

I am setting up my incubators for the Greatest hatch-a-long ever tonight. So, you are not the only one.

Hmmm...I guess I should just join in the fun too huh?

 

[Farmerboy16]

Quote:
Hmmm...I guess I should just join in the fun too huh?

Yes!! :yiipchick

 

[Chickmate]

Hello from west Michigan,
I live on 10 acres here about a mile north of the Muskegon River with my loving, patient husband, 2 beautiful children, 2 horses, a dog, 4 black copper marans, 1 wagon riding silver laced cochin, 4 chicks in the brooder and 24 eggs in the bator......counting the days and loving this warm weather!

Hello Elliemae, love that name! Welcome to the MI thread. So many great people here with lots of chicken info to share. Glad to have you with us! What's the deal with the wagon riding cochin?

Well, I think I need to get my hearing tested. I was sitting on the couch after work and I heard a crow outside the window. You wouldn't think much of it, but I know the crows of all my roos and this was a new one. I looked out the window and Gomer was down there with the 2 sebright girls. I know it wasn't Gomer and I know it wasn't any of the others as they were kept inside today and this was right outside the window. I know the golden sebright is a girl because she laid an egg yesterday, but I'm wondering about the silver sebright. She doesn't make me think roo when looking at her as she looks nothing like what Mr.Peanut did, but her comb and wattles have grown quite a bit lately. She's about 11 months old. It's not possible that her gender id could take that long, is it? Please tell me no. Please tell me I really need some hearing aids.

Nah, you don't need hearing aids teeville. I remember reading an article many years ago about chickens who change gender. Seriously! Maybe you have one of them!

This really is a great story. Makes me rethink getting only pullets. If the stinkin' rooster would only keep quiet (to allow me an my family to get our beauty sleep). But that is a great reason to have a roo or two.

b737drvr - I have two beautiful little roosters who would love to come live with you. At least one of them! I'll start teaching them to use their inside voices when they crow. You would be surprised how you stop hearing them after awhile. It's like living by a train track or airport, you get used to it. I love my roosters and will always try to keep two because at least one of them is always watching out for predators. If the flock splits up one of them goes with each group. It is very beneficial to have roosters if you are allowed to keep them. I'll save these two little guys for you! One is a Barred Rock and the other is a Barred Rock x French Black Copper Marans with feathered legs.

 

[teeville5]

Nah, you don't need hearing aids teeville. I remember reading an article many years ago about chickens who change gender. Seriously! Maybe you have one of them!

But I already have one of those. I thought our silver sebright roo Girly aka Boy George was a girl until a few months ago. He has a mix in him which was why I didn't notice it at first. I really don't want another bantam roo.

 

[b737drvr]

Chickmate - Thanks for the offer. I am still not sure about it though. We don't have a problem having them on our property. We can't see our neighbors and of course they can't see us, but I do hear an occasional rooster a long way away...I think to myself, man, that must be really be loud wherever he lives. I'm hoping to get chicks in April or May at the latest...not sure how older roosters would act with younger girls...Still trying to understand all of the biosecurity stuff. Will let you know. Thanks again

 

[yorkchick]

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yorkchick we haven't been able to sell the house we moved from yet

What if you rented it out? Or made it a "land contract"? You would be astounded to see how high rent is these days. Trust me, i rent, and it would be cheaper to buy if we only had credit....My sis is doing a land contract with a "balloon payment" and i don't fully understand it but the gist is that they make payments towards the house for a year at least, then at a set time they are supposed to get a loan for the rest. Supposedly the year of payments is to build your credit. Not a quick sale, but might give you a little income to make your current payments? And you'd be more likely to get the full asking price.

Sorry to hear about your husbands job. I understand what not being able to sell the house you moved from is like too. We moved from Georgia a year ago, and we are still making payments on our house in GA. The home has been on the market for a year and we haven't even gotten a single low-ball offer yet. We have been trying to rent it since October...no luck w/ that yet either. Had somebody come by this morning and they seemed interested, but we will see how it goes. Hang in there. Still hoping to make it out your way for a visit later this week or next if that is still OK.

Thanks for the sympathy and suggestions, fuzzy and b737! Yes, b737, this week or next would be fine for a visit, no foreclosures scheduled as yet! We can commiserate over our real estate woes... Our old house has been on the market since I think September 2009. We have had three very reasonable offers that we accepted so far. (And two extreme low-ball offers). All three of the decent offers fell through for various reasons. The closest we got was an offer last spring for full price, but it was a VA 0% down financing deal. To get the house to pass the VA inspection, we spent close to $20,000. Then when the VA finally approved the house, and we were told we were within a few days of closing, the VA took a look at the supposedly "pre-approved" buyer's credit and denied the loan for that. (The "pre-approval" had come from a bank, but because the VA was guaranteeing the loan, they got final say). We were told it was absolutely standard practice for them to require the home to be brought up to their standards before they even look at the buyer's credit. But so sorry about that $20,000 you spent. (No, we didn't just randomly have that cash lying around, It was most of our inheritances from both sets of parents...) The house has been shown really regularly so we were stupidly hopeful it would sell. So we didn't want to rent it out because then it would be harder to show, and we're not exactly skilled in Landlord-Like Talents. And then the thing with the VA loan stretched from March last year through August, because of all the inspetions and re-inspections and all the contractors we had to hire. (You're thinking all that money we spent should at least have made it more marketable to someone else, right? Well, theoretically, some of it. And to be fair, we would have had to put in the new well for any buyer, as the county said the old one was no longer up to code... But you would not believe the huge list of piddly little stuff they required that would not make anyone more likely to want the house). But finally as of last month we are offering it for rent, sale, or lease with option to buy. So we'll see if anyone bites. The thing is, I am totally not surprised or outraged by the fact that it hasn't sold. When we made the decision to move, we knew the market was bad. We budgeted it out long term and figured with both incomes, we could keep making both mortgage payments basically indefinitely. Of course, we can't do much else that would cost money (oh, you know, little things like vacations... and donkeys and goats... ) But it's been fine. However, it's all conditional on having the two incomes... Now we need to figure out the unemployment insurance coverage and make a new budget, calculate what we'll have to make ends meet, assuming a job for the DH doesn't materialize soon (which it totally might, I have a lot of hope in that regard, he is working all knds of angles). And I've started to look into second jobs for myself. We have been so blessed and fortunate up to this point. We've hardly even ever been late a day on any payment for anything, even in our poor student days. So walking away from one or both mortgages would be... a last resort. But a resort, none the less, if it comes to that. I'm certainly more interested in keeping the dogs and the chickens and the geese than where in particular we live. The Brady Bunch can have their house back as far as I'm concerned. I do know we are so much more fortunate than so many people out there right now. We've got a roof over our heads--two roofs, if you want to be technical. And nobody's going hungry. (Do not listen to Penelope)..

 

[Elliemae 77]

I have a 4 year old daughter who loves to ride in my little red wagon that I use to haul a bale of hay out to feed the horses . She was convinced that Jesse(her chicken) wanted to go for a ride with her one day. I explained to her that the chicken would probably be too scared and jump down if we tried it, but she persisted so I handed her her favorite hen, and would you believe that silly little hen sat right there on her lap for the whole trip. Afterward my daughter with a smile as bright as the sun said" see...I told you she wanted to go for a ride.". Now its almost a daily thing.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I also found a natural alternative to the sevin dust, permethrin spray, and other various insecticides/pesticides... Orange Guard. Its supposed to be available at most hardware stores and some natural health food stores. I think I am going to give it a try next time I change out the bedding and use as a preventative. [/FONT]

And JUST WHERE might ya have lernt dat ?

 

[Elliemae 77]

Thank-you to all who have welcomed me, hope I can keep up. Has anybody out there tried a three day staggered hatch? This is only my 2nd attempt at using an incubator, so I don't really know what to do. I fired up my bator and started my first batch of shipped hatching eggs on Saturday, but the folks that were suppose to send hatching eggs to me in April messed up and sent them to me on Friday. They arrived today. The farm they came from said that they would send a new batch on the correct date, but now I have 6 Barnevelder, and 6 blue ameraucana eggs sitting here. The farm said to either keep and try to hatch them or just throw them.out. So of course I'm gonna try to hatch them, but I'm a little unsure what to do when its time to put the first batch on lockdown. I only have 1LG incubator. Do I keep turning batch #2 while the others are on lockdown? And what about the humidity? Please help. ::/