INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

For wasps and bees, mix a half-cup of sugar with a quart of hot water.  Pour it into the bottom of a gallon glass jug.  Set it where the bees are most likely to find it.  They go in, but can't get out.

For chipmunks, put 4 inches of water in a 5-gallon bucket.  The bucket should be slick on the inside.  Place a board ramp up to the lip of the bucket.  Put a few sunflower seeds on the board.  Sprinkle enough seeds on the surface of the water to make it seem solid.  They jump in, but can't get out.

For foxes and weasels, use a live trap.  Put bait on the ground.  Set live trap over the bait so that it is under the trip pan.  Cover trap with hay, straw, grass clippings, whatever.  If you catch your neighbor's cat, let him out.  He won't come back.  If you catch a chicken-killer, get rid of it.  I use a .22 rifle.

John

Is it something that can be connected to the flight patterns of wild birds or possibly some food you might all be using? It would be interesting to see if there is a commonality other than this website.
My neighbor told me about something called the waspinators and it looks like a wasp nest. It was about $8 on amazon and I got two to see if it helped here. I have noticed the wasps and carpenter bees are gone. It could be coincidental but it seems to help.

You can try using oscillating fans as bees and flies don't like the wind....Don't know how well it would work in your barn though!

SallyinIndiana: are you going to have your Meyers chicks vaccinated for mareks? If you are then I would like to add a couple Dominique pullets and a Lavendar Orpington pullet to your order as I do want the vaccination and according to Megan at Meyers the whole order needs vaccinated or none get vaccinated. Let me know!

thanks everyone for the ideas! Mu dad was nice enough to offer to male then for me! He is going to try the ssugar ones first. Thats what he did as a kid

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

All of you that keep mentioning the cream legbars and their blue eggs finally got to me.  I won / bought some of these blue eggs for hatching on Ebay. 

Congrats! Hope you have good hatch rates!

 

[Thunder Chicken]

It is hot out there today, I even brought the barn cat into the kitchen to cool off, he was panting. But then I kind of well forgot he was in the house. No big deal he went to sleep on a vent. Then of all things I decided to open up the Murry hatchery page. Well one of the links I clicked had a video that auto played tiny chicks chirping. The cat dashed from the vent to my computer speakers looking for those chicks. I have known for a while not not to trust him around any chicks smaller than a softball but still I was surprised.

I know that ad.

Every time I clicked a link to go to another page it would start up again and I had to turn it off. My son came into the room looking for chicks.

Picked up some of these for the chickens that I have in common with my neighbors so that I can tell my girls from theirs and they look so stinking cute on their little legs. I was worried that it would bother them, but they don't seem to care. Super easy to put on and way better looking than those commercial bands. I'll post some pictures later so the ladies can show off their newest fashion accessories.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Chicken-...194?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35cb30bb3a

I have been looking at these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neon-Elasti...ee-Shipping-/141059146574?hash=item20d7c7c34e

The spiral ones look like they stretch out in the same manner as the number bands. Kind of like those slap bracelets. The ones I'm looking at look like a rubberband or ponytail holder. I'm thinking they might be a touch bit harder to get on as I would need to point all the toes into the hole and raise the band up over to get past the foot. But they are a lot cheaper. I'm trying to find an easy way to mark the birds by year for the layer flock.

I bought a bunch of different colored zip ties. They are cheap and you can use them for a whole lot more than leg bands. I know you have to watch that they don't get too tight on growing chicks but I didn't use them til they were full grown. As cheap as they are, you can cut them off and put a new one on that is looser if you need to.

These are excerpts from a New York Times story 8-30-13

Excerpts from: Chinese Chicken Processors Are Cleared to Ship to U.S.

Also watch out for Pet Food!

Recently, an​

F.D.A. investigation ​

tied the deaths of more than 500 dogs and a handful of cats to chicken jerky treats that came from China. The treats, which were eventually recalled, additionally were blamed for sickening more than 2,500 animals.​

Another Bush Fiasco​

The poultry trade between the United States and China has been contentious for years. Under the Bush administration, the U.S.D.A. moved to allow imports of chicken from China, which has banned imports of American beef since 2003 over worries about mad cow disease.
In response, Congress blocked Chinese chicken exports. China retaliated by slapping huge tariffs on American chicken. The fight ended up at the World Trade Organization, which ruled that the tariffs were too high.
After that, the U.S.D.A. then audited Chinese processing plants, giving its approval for them to process raw birds from the United States and Canada. Under the new rules, the Chinese facilities will verify that cooked products exported to the United States came from American or Canadian birds. So no U.S.D.A. inspector will be present in the plants.

No country-of-origin labels required!!​

And because the poultry will be processed, it will not require country-of-origin labeling. Nor will consumers eating chicken noodle soup from a can or chicken nuggets in a fast-food restaurant know if the chicken came from Chinese processing plants.​

I hope we aren't going to get into any political discussions here. It could get ugly real fast.

I am looking too, but I may wait for Brads! My awesome lil quail I hatched from his test are thriving and so friendly I just love them!
That tells me Its in how they are raised and the parent stock were chosen.
I go to change the water or food and they are just tumbling all over my hands

Not pecking, just wanting to be friendly.
Its super easy cleaning the brooder, i just put my hand in and lift

i have 5 or 6 collected already!
My eBay jumbos are flighty and several of the lil roos are mean. When I refill water & feeders in they attack my hands pecking!
Glad when they are old enough to be gone, not keeping them. What a difference.
Thats awesome! I really love the crossbreed/hybrids. Huge roosters and productive hens.
My first question to you, how long have they been in the coop? If 2 weeks or more they will be fine. Very nice and I just LOVE the color of your fence! Love the fence styling , and the raised garden idea! The height may contain them, if not, clipping a wing will. Its no different than a haircut. I hate doing it. It doesn't harm them, but it does limit their ability of flight/escape. I clipped one of my turkeys, he (snoodles) is a true escape artist, and I fear he will not get away from a critter some day. Only clip one wing if you choose to do it. My BA hens easily fly up on the 6 ft chain link, as well as the wyandottes. I have the top covered in chain link also to protect them, and confine them when I am not outside. My land is not fenced except the pastures for the pigs and goats. We are repairing the cattle fence for cows, but wow its been a slow process with the overgrowth of mulberry trees and blackberry bushes. I am leaving some since the birds enjoy them, but so tired of getting scratched up on the briars.
Your fencing is awesome, they should do well. Add a patio set or other shelter for extra hiding spots. Very nice work!

Thanks for the wing clipping advice. They have been in the coop since May or June. The EEs for about a month. I will try it this weekend.

I was watching one of John's favorite survival shows, where the guy and his family are building a castle. One of the things they were talking about was eating the placenta. Said some people do that, you should've seen the horrified look on the girls there. I was thinking there are a lot easier things to eat also. I don't care how protien rich it is.

Too funny.

I think I saw that years ago. Maybe it was a different one.

I noticed that this thread was number 2 on posts and Old Salt and I were number 2 and 3 for ovations yesterday, lol. How did that happen?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I bought a bunch of different colored zip ties. They are cheap and you can use them for a whole lot more than leg bands. I know you have to watch that they don't get too tight on growing chicks but I didn't use them til they were full grown. As cheap as they are, you can cut them off and put a new one on that is looser if you need to.

Quote: I have tried the zip ties, I did not like the cutting them off part but they are cheap.

We as a family are trying to raise our own chicken and buy other meat locally so I'm not as concerned about the China chicken. But then I got to thinking about pizza toppings and KFC any any restaurant chain. Even now I don't ask them where they get their meat. The beef could have that pink slime in it and I would not know. Eating at home just is not possible for every meal. Politics aside, I wish it was easy to see where the food came from. I also wish that there was a law or enough consumer demand to force companies to use local food or declare where their food came from. I understand getting berries from the west coast or oranges from FL due to climate differences. And many potatoes seem to come all the way from Idaho. But why transport an animal to China and back that we raised here. Not against China's people I just think if I can process a bird, than there has to be enough people in this country that could do it too before paying transportation to and from China. Its not like sending something from Boston to Philly. I would not really want chickens shipped to Japan or Ireland and back to the US either. I guess I need to spend more time researching where the food in the stores comes from.

where do you check the thread rating and the ovation rankings?

 

[racinchickins]

All of you that keep mentioning the cream legbars and their blue eggs finally got to me. I won / bought some of these blue eggs for hatching on Ebay.

That's awesome! Both Brad and I haven't had a lot of luck hatching them out. He's still trying, but I'm done till next spring. I did find some advice that said CCLs are very humidity sensitive for some reason. Their advice was to dry incubate them, and then to try to keep humidity to as close to 60% as possible after lockdown. Here's hoping you have better luck than we did and that you can add to the CCL pool around here.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I guess I have a few days to start researching the proper way to incubate the eggs. I was planning on maintaining the humidity at 40-45% until day 10 then adjusting based on the air bubble size. For me i need a little water to get to the 45% humidity. Typically for lockdown I start off at 70% and make sure it does not fall below 65%. For ducks the humidity during lockdown had to be much higher so I can see where maybe a breed of chickens needs special incubating.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

That's awesome! Both Brad and I haven't had a lot of luck hatching them out. He's still trying, but I'm done till next spring. I did find some advice that said CCLs are very humidity sensitive for some reason. Their advice was to dry incubate them, and then to try to keep humidity to as close to 60% as possible after lockdown. Here's hoping you have better luck than we did and that you can add to the CCL pool around here.

CCls sound about as difficult to hatch as araucanas!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I did two or three google searches for hints and helps but did not find much. So I posted asking for advice on the breed thread here on BYC.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

CR have you watched any processing videos on you tube? There is this one on you tube.

After watching it a few to several times, processing is not so bad. Still I tend to avoid thinking to much or too hard on the subject right before processing day.

Thanks. Bookmarked it.

I finally get to join the club! Found this last night while tucking in the chicks. It was right outside the nesting boxes, so I'm hoping the next few actually make it inside. It's so tiny and I absolutely love it! I think it was either Wanda (BR) or Lavon (BA), but I can't be certain. They seem to be the most mature looking of the group. Hopefully I find another little surprise today!

Woohoo!!! Congrats!!

Homemade chicken plucker. Plucked in 14 seconds. Costs about 20-30 bucks.

John

Nice! Bookmarked that too.

All of you that keep mentioning the cream legbars and their blue eggs finally got to me. I won / bought some of these blue eggs for hatching on Ebay.

Wow. Congrats! I want one.

I have tried the zip ties, I did not like the cutting them off part but they are cheap.

where do you check the thread rating and the ovation rankings?

Hmm... seems I keep replying to your posts, lol. Auto mechanics use the zip ties a lot and I used to be one. Are you using side-cutters to cut them off?

The ratings are on the home page of the site if you scroll down to the bottom and look to the right under Backyard Chicken Stats Click on "More >" under any of them and you go to the top 10 screen. Here's a link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/pages/stats/top/range/1day/

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I did two or three google searches for hints and helps but did not find much. So I posted asking for advice on the breed thread here on BYC.

I hope someone has some good helpful advice for you