INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Mother2Hens]

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

For old, retired men, have them drink some ACV (arsenic cider vinegar) with the mother.

Chipmunks! You kill chipmunks? In a cruel way, too. I think you have "High T" -- too much testosterone!

Originally Posted by pipdzipdnreadytogo
I am wondering about all of these Marek's scares here lately. I'm wondering mainly if whoever posted about the heat and humidity is right in saying that it is perhaps not Marek's, but mold that is causing this. (Was that even on this thread? Anyway, the point still stands.)

Yes, Dr. CRSelvey mentioned moldy food symptoms were similar. She's kinda like Dr. House.
Btw, pipd, I enjoyed your photos as usual!
Kiniska~ Congrats on your first egg, too! Is that from a English Blue orp? It's long like my Barred Rock's eggs.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: My first batch of CX was years ago, like 1980s. I was a kid and didn't have a clue about normal chickens.
Lost several to predators, and processed at about 12 weeks. It did not go well. but did feed my growing family.
I did 25 last year on FF and was pleased with the results.
I have a roo (Tank) and a hen (LilX) left. from that. They are a year old! Both I kept because they were friendly and social.
They are huge, mate and lay, and can be normal chickens. X lays huge brown eggs. Tank is currently the alpha roo.
My point is, they can and do live a good life by free range and a lot of love. Here is my issue.
The chicks usually do not make it past 6 weeks, they all flip. I keep trying. X lays regularly. the chicks are just huge and healthy.
they flip and are dead around 6 weeks.Am still trying to get these birds to make it past this point.
Is discouraging but i keep hoping I can find the answer.

Quote: That's true! I am going to try to make this next one.

Our local farm sells chicken at 24 for $250. I'm not sure if that's a good deal, but I am pretty sure I am not the person to process them. They are definitely free ranged and humanely treated, but I just wish for the price they were fed organic feed. Can meat chickens be raised for less than $10 each? Any thoughts are appreciated.

If you know them, seriously I would be buying them. That's pretty reasonable. If I can't supply my family myself, I will be looking local.
The few neighbors I have all process their own, but the beef farmers.The largest farm My DH has worked for, and I send his wife eggs when I have them.
Good established farms also provide food for their own family, and care about their animals like we do.

Quote: That's what brought me to BYC. My Mom's and Dads health, GMO fears and concerns of whats in our food.
I guess my KFC hot wings and lee's spicy chicken are history. Oh and my beloved Popeye's if they are open this week

They need to wake up or give it up. Why can't it be left be what it is? I have a good deep fryer. Time to google and get recipies!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:

I did have them on my turkeys and the geese. One is still on the gander Paddy. The BBW turkeys pecked and pulled them off. They seem to work on geese, and chickens so far.
They are easy to punt on. Think key ring... Turkeys forget it use cable ties.

 

[hogster160]

Oh what a good mama! Chicks are just precious

I give the eggs 5 days if there's no obvious smell, or on candling I look for moving liquid and fuzzy darkness in the egg.
If its not fertile or living by then it gets tossed.
By the hatch date you can still see movement or internal pip on the hatch. If there's a lot of space ( a lot ) the eggs not going to hatch same for no movement after 5 days.
I can't count for sure, but with all my birds I bet I hatched close to a 1,000 eggs this year. Next year I will add a sportsman cabinet.
Dunno maybe more. If there's a situation with my parents I blow off the records until I can update it all.

I went int to check on the chicks last evening, and mama had scattered the last of the eggs. They were cold and when I tapped, no sound was made. I put them close to her, and she got up and scattered them away again. I did not candle them, but gave them a small shake by my ear, 2 made a swish sound, the other two made a loud clunk. I put the eggs in a small nest next to mom and check back later, they were scattered again so I pulled them and tossed them late last night. The last time she scattered them, she had her bedding all over the place. In the waterer and feeder, bare spots on the floor and piles of bedding in the corners. She seemed angry lol, so I took them out, cleaned up, and she was calm after that.

I really can't complain, I figure I gave her 9 eggs, 6 hatched, and 2 were ones my other chickens laid while she was off the nest. I didn't mark the eggs, but I did after that, also closed up her nest while she was out. Mine were not fertile, no rooster here. She is just 8 months tomorrow. And I am very pleased with her progress so far. The chicks climb all over her, in and out from under her, peck her beak to eat and she just puts up with it. She was broody for over 2 weeks once I finally got the eggs for her to lie on.

No way could I do 1000 eggs in a year lol. Hats off to you for all that you do!

Deb

 

[Too Fast]

This thread is so busy! We've been getting 33ish eggs/week now, since mid-July. From 7 hens, and I don't think everybody is laying. We did only get 4 yesterday, so for us that's a slow down. I think I've given away enough now, time to get $2 for 6, $3 for a dozen. Maybe a bit more, IDK.

Crazy how some people have such larger flocks and they are getting less than us. Must be frustrating!

Going to the Colts game this weekend, vs. Miami. We try to go once a year. Yeah, we do have other interests besides chickens, lol. The roof and windows should be open, the weather looks perfect. Wondering if I have to buy another seat if I sneak in a chicken?

 

[hogster160]

My first batch of CX was years ago, like 1980s. I was a kid and didn't have a clue about normal chickens.
Lost several to predators, and processed at about 12 weeks. It did not go well. but did feed my growing family.
I did 25 last year on FF and was pleased with the results.
I have a roo (Tank) and a hen (LilX) left. from that. They are a year old! Both I kept because they were friendly and social.
They are huge, mate and lay, and can be normal chickens. X lays huge brown eggs. Tank is currently the alpha roo.
My point is, they can and do live a good life by free range and a lot of love. Here is my issue.
The chicks usually do not make it past 6 weeks, they all flip. I keep trying. X lays regularly. the chicks are just huge and healthy.
they flip and are dead around 6 weeks.Am still trying to get these birds to make it past this point.
Is discouraging but i keep hoping I can find the answer.

That's what brought me to BYC. My Mom's and Dads health, GMO fears and concerns of whats in our food.
I guess my KFC hot wings and lee's spicy chicken are history. Oh and my beloved Popeye's if they are open this week

They need to wake up or give it up. Why can't it be left be what it is? I have a good deep fryer. Time to google and get recipies!

So far they are doing great. I have 16 and am putting a blob of ff down for them in the around 8 am. Its gone by around 430-500. Then I put a second blob down around 8 pm and its usually gone by 630 or so. They are eating nice and steady. I think I read to have them outside by 10-14 days old to learn to forage early. No problem there, coop is done and ready for them. The run will be fenced in by next weekend. My plan is to then change them to what they can eat in say an hour, and feed them 2x per day once they are at least 3 weeks. Then if all is going well with foraging, down to one ff feeding at night. I want a slow and steady growth. Expecting butcher date to be 10-12 weeks instead of 7-9.

Ok, I am new to chickens, but I've had a thought. You are breeding CX over CX. right? CX are a mix of 2 types of birds. And I'm not sure what they are lol. Maybe, each batch is a CX and the other is the other type of chicken. Meaning they are not breeding cx over cx. Maybe its CX over white leghorn. (guessing at chicken type) or white leghorn over CX. Something has to give to get those chicks over the 6 week mark. Anyway, as I said I'm new to all of this, but it was my first thought. Maybe this will help. Food for thought anyway.

My mom is a double amputee diabetic who is also legally blind. She has very little vision left. Also my grand daughter, those are the two people who made me want to know where my food came from and how its made now that we have the means. I have never heard of this, but my grand daughter can't poop with out taking medicine. They put her on soy formula when she couldn't breast feed. That poor baby is 2 years old, and has had hard, I mean rock hard poops from day one. It doesn't matter how much fruit/veggies she eats, how little processed food she eats, it is going to tear her bum if she isn't on her Miralax. That's not right, a normal body function and she can't do it without pain and suffering with out man made meds. I cringe at the thought of this being the way it is for her. So since I watch her while mom is at work, She gets fruits and veggies plenty. A variety, she drinks a fruti/veggie drink 3x per week. I bought the nutri bullet so I can pack in the extra fiber. All the veggies i use are from my garden, and the fruit came from my neighbors fruit trees. Ours are still to young to really produce anything. Very little do I have to buy for this, and when I do, its non gmo organic. No sprays are used in either the garden or the orchard. Only non gmo organic.

Any way, I told the kids last night, no more eating out. We just don't really know how our food is handled and what being used to make it. They gave me the look like I've lost it again. They are adults and have their own jobs/lives, and here I am announcing "no more eating out". lol hey its worth a shot! One day, they will understand. I just hope its sooner rather than later.

I go to budget101.com to get a lot of recipes. They have canning and preserving, copy cat/clone, condiments, dump meals and make your own recipes. The make your own recipes are for items you would normally buy at the store, but can mix up at home. Saves a lot, and if you have your own herbs and such, better for you, less processing/gmo junk.

Deb

 

[PeacefulWalls]

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.

We had a dead fox show up along the side of the road about 1/4 mile from us 2 days ago. That's the first I've ever seen of a fox close to us...makes me a bit nervous now. On occasion during the past 2 summers my husband has heard a coyote when he closed up the barn at night. I don't think he's heard any this summer yet. Kinda different living outside of town, although when we were in town we had raccoons, possums and skunks come up onto our deck, but haven't seen any of those where we live now!

 

[julie0477]

My lil silkie roo is still trying to stand this morning but no balance. He eats but I have to hold the food up to his head. He's definitely stronger than the first night I brought him in but not really improving I don't think.

A poster on the mareks thread thought the sudden onset sounded more like mold or botulism too. Good news and bad news, because he still will probably not get better. I still plan on confirming if he passes just in case. Til then I'll assume he does have something that's contagious just to keep everyone else safe.

All my others seem happy and healthy. That's the good news! LOved seeing all the pics this morning. LOVE the piglets!

Better go feed the rest of my crew. Have a good day everyone!

 

[hogster160]

This thread is so busy! We've been getting 33ish eggs/week now, since mid-July. From 7 hens, and I don't think everybody is laying. We did only get 4 yesterday, so for us that's a slow down. I think I've given away enough now, time to get $2 for 6, $3 for a dozen. Maybe a bit more, IDK.

Crazy how some people have such larger flocks and they are getting less than us. Must be frustrating!

Going to the Colts game this weekend, vs. Miami. We try to go once a year. Yeah, we do have other interests besides chickens, lol. The roof and windows should be open, the weather looks perfect. Wondering if I have to buy another seat if I sneak in a chicken?

We had been getting 10-12 eggs a day from 14 chickens. We are down to 7-8 a day already. We have one who just brooded chicks. And I agree, the free eggs have got to stop. Especially since I don't get any egg cartons back. Do they really think I'm going to buy egg cartons to give eggs away for free? I actually only have 2 on my counter atm. And I'm down to about 5 cartons. That will never happen again. Now I have to have something else for breakfast. And of course, nothing sounds good. Just eggs!

We are going to my brothers place this weekend for the Notre Dame game. He has a huge blow up screen that he sets up outside, with a projector we watch it sitting on lawn chairs and a beer. We will be having heaters and a fire too. Its a late game and should be cooler. This is the screen he uses. It is pretty dang awesome! It almost like going to the movies.

http://www.backyardtheatersystems.com/theater-systems/backyard-theater-series.php

 

[PeacefulWalls]

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.

If you're interested in reading about tracing the origins of where your food comes from, Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, is a very interesting read. I've really enjoyed reading a number of his books and have been strengthened in my resolve to eat locally, raise my own (fruit, veggies, eggs, chicken & rabbit meat) & know where my food comes from .... recognizing, of course, that there are circumstances where it's not always possible to do so .... but it is my goal!