Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[tntchix]

Why oh why did no one tell me about kitten claws?!? They are like little samurai swords that slice clean through skin. Hoo mama, I am ripped up now.

They are lucky they're cute.

 

[RaZ]

I still scratch my head at the whole feeding eggs to chickens thing. It just seems odd to me.

It may seem odd but in nature many animals will eat their own kind, even hens will sometimes eat the egg that they just laid.
If it makes you feel better, any egg that goes back to my chickens has been cooked and is no longer an egg that they would recognize.
I do not feed any chicken meat back to the hens but they do sometimes get a left-over ham or steak bone. That is rare though.

Remember that chickens are omnivores, they eat meat and vegetation. They will happily eat frogs, mice, toads, insects and darn near anything else that they can swallow.

And as someone said, if you fall down in your run those chickens will eat you too.

 

[Amiga]

If anyone is in touch with HollyDuckFarmer, please let her know Amiga is thinking of her. I haven't seen her here in weeks. And if I missed something obvious please bear with me.

 

[tntchix]

It may seem odd but in nature many animals will eat their own kind, even hens will sometimes eat the egg that they just laid.
If it makes you feel better, any egg that goes back to my chickens has been cooked and is no longer an egg that they would recognize.
I do not feed any chicken meat back to the hens but they do sometimes get a left-over ham or steak bone. That is rare though.

Remember that chickens are omnivores, they eat meat and vegetation. They will happily eat frogs, mice, toads, insects and darn near anything else that they can swallow.

And as someone said, if you fall down in your run those chickens will eat you too.

Ha! I learned that quick the day I bent down in the coop and the mini roo tried to attack me.

That makes sense, I just keep forgetting they eat everything. Mine had grasshoppers for a treat yesterday. Neighbor kids fed em. Yum.

 

[RaZ]

That makes sense, I just keep forgetting they eat everything. Mine had grasshoppers for a treat yesterday. Neighbor kids fed em. Yum.

Today's bugs are tomorrows eggs.

 

[tntchix]

Today's bugs are tomorrows eggs.

Wait, will they be green?

 

[bigmrg74]

Ha! I learned that quick the day I bent down in the coop and the mini roo tried to attack me.

That makes sense, I just keep forgetting they eat everything. Mine had grasshoppers for a treat yesterday. Neighbor kids fed em. Yum.

I fed a bunch of horseflies to my girls today. Over the course of the afternoon I must have snagged about ten of them and hiked on up to the coop from where the horses were at. Ripped a wing off and dropped em, they never had a chance, and I'm sure the horses don't mind seeing go to that reward.

 

[farmlove]

Hi Everyone!
In early June, my boyfriend came home with a little duckling (not more than a two days old) that he rescued from underneath a machine at the factory that he works at. I instantly fell in love with it and it truely believes that I am it's mother. My origional plan was to try to release it back into the wild, but it has become a part of the family! I read everything I could about ducks, and worked hard to build it the perfect outdoor coop and little pond. However, I think it would be happier if he had a friend. I believe it is a mallard duck so I am looking for others similiar in size, but am having a very hard time finding any places that sell ducks in Michigan! Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

 

[uchytil]

I hate when I get an egg like this. The shell is broken but the membrane is intact.


I don't mind all that much really, that egg just goes right to the frying pan.

PS Don't mind the dirty and broken fingernails, I was working the gardens today.

Those are the ones I put in the fridge to eat, the others mostly get sold, or go to family. Never had a problem. Dirty fingernails? I don't think mine have been clean since the snow melted.

 

[Opa]

Broken eggs like the one Raz pictured usually are broken due to an impact. It can often occur when a hen releases the egg while standing. Usually these will be at the large end of the egg (air cell) where the egg is the weakest. It is rare for the membrane to be broken and I've always kept these eggs for my own consumption.