INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Crafty chick]

hey guys, i switched off layer this last month too. i have 19 babies about 5 weeks old, 4 of those being meat birds. i have just been giving everyone grower feed. i plan to send all my year old-1 1/2 yr old with the meat birds when they are ready anyway to downgrade for the winter. that'll leave me with 15 total keeping through the winter. all babies, and my black cochin hen Susie, and Mille girl Itty Bitty. i will be getting rid of 12 mostly LF to the freezer.
does anyone know whats up with the traffic on 11 tonight? looks like south 65 is not open, so they are sending everyone down 11. i cant sleep with semis and so many cars racing by. oh, and thanks to those that think they need to honk.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

rural king also has all flock feed and it is a dollar cheaper than TSC
http://www.ruralking.com/agricultur...utrena-country-feeds-all-flock-feed-50lb.html

 

[kabhyper1]

Quote:
I love Rural King, thei only problem is we don't have one anywhere close. There is a Big R in Warsaw, I'm not sure if they carry All Flock though.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Quote: Rural king is the best, I like it way better than TSC. The closest Big R to me is like an hour, and the closest Rural king and TSC is 15-30 minutes depending on how fast you drive lol. plus rural king has sales all the time, days with no taxes, 10% off cuopons, and 50% off one item coupons.

 

[kabhyper1]

Quote:
Lol Geez rub it in. Maybe someday we will have one close to us. We really like going there when we are out of town.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Quote: how far away is your closest rural king?

 

[kabhyper1]

Quote:
45 minutes. boo

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Quote: aww that stinks. there is a farm store 15 minutes from me, but it is terrible. NO variety and extremly expensive

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Back to the hawks...

I don't think ALL hawk breeds are as agile as the breed in that video.

My first thought when I saw it was that all our chickens are doomed. But I've kept chickens here for a year and a half with no hawk incidents until this fall. During that whole time I saw hawks hunting in the area almost daily throughout the spring, summer and fall and still had no incident.

That is why I asked the question about whether hawks hunt in the woods as I had always been told to give them brush/woods or other places they could go to hide under when hawks are present.

The bird I lost this Fall was just at the edge of the woods. I imagine heading for cover. But that particular bird had 2 things going against her just naturally.

1. She was the bottom of the pecking order and she often stayed to herself on the outskirts of the flock. Rather than "pecking back" and holding her own, she was a "runner" who would run away at the slightest provocation. Kind of like that one kid on the playground that just can't take the harassment rather than the ones that dish it right back out.

2. She was the ONLY light colored bird in a flock of "reds", BRs, and EEs that are brown with the lacing on the feathers. She was light gray (blue) with a bit of mottling. From a distance pretty much a white blob on the horizon. Add that to her tendency to isolation.


Because I have 9 week olds right now with a broody mamma that are part of the flock, I have kept them mostly penned since I had the attack unless I'm physically outside with them.

But if I didn't have the little ones I would have only penned them a few days to a week or so just to discourage the hawk by changing dynamics and teach that bird that this isn't a place to go for a free dinner or to build a nest nearby. But then I think I would have let them out again. However, if I had seen this hawk perching (like Sally did) daily, I would not have put them back out until something changed with the hawk pattern.

I think that, for the most part, they are able to hide themselves if there is adequate cover.

For the open areas I'm all for devising whatever kinds of creative ideas to deter them...like the fish line, providing things like dog houses, little huts or covers like an over-turned chair, an old foot stool....get creative.... whatever kinds of things for them to run to for cover.

We have a smaller hawk breed thats getting brave. Dont get to see it close up enough to tell colors, but it will actually perch on the chain link fence my coop run is covered with.
My bantams and polish don't free range,

Hello Hoosiers!! I'm between Fort Wayne and Warsaw. Just got into ducks and chickens this summer. Our animals are as follows
3 APHA horses
3 dogs (1-bloodhound, 1-pitbull, 1-yorkie)
1 fuzzy cat
8 ADGA nubian goats ( soon to be 22 this
spring, YIKES!!!)
3 Moskovy ducks
5 khaki ducks
6 Golden comet chickens!
I think that's it!?!?
Anyone from my neck of the woods?

and glad you've joined our thread!

Wow you do have your hand full come spring, how exciting!
Our doe Sugar (Oberhasli) surprised us with a doeling this summer, she was bred and the prior owner wasn't aware.
Our first planned breedings are next march/april.
We also have Bocephus, our buck, and lil Sophie our doeling.
Great to see another muscovy owner too

 

[Crafty chick]

i am lucky to live right between columbus and seymour. one has tsc and orsheln and the other a rural king.