INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Crafty chick]

thanks danand and M2H. the chicks are doing great! i just love i have different colors this time. my eggs in the incubator didnt make it. they were fully formed, i've put the incubator away til spring. oh, and i have another broody BO! she has 1 BO egg and 2 mille/black cochin eggs under her. i tried to give her a couple of the chicks, but she was a meany and pecked them on their little heads....

 

[andyaux]

New to the forum and chickens wanting to gather some knowledge on suggested breeds and where i could find then in southern indiana near madison. I am wanting to start a small backyard coop with around 4 hens.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I looked out the window and saw at least 5 hawks circling my yard. I was able to get all but one production hen and one rooster back into their tractor coops. I'm hoping the two left can evade the hawk as well as they did me. There is water available to them even though their main watering station is locked in the tractor with the other chickens. I also left one of the isolation / breeding tractors open for cover. Even the cat was also spooked. By the time I got my Chicken Shoes on and went outside all of the chickens were taking cover except one production red, it had chosen to dart into the live trap. And the cat was trying to break into the house. I could barely get the door open without hitting him in the head. I'm not sure but A trapped chicken might have been drawing more hawks. At least she was really easy to relocate to the tractor. I had to bribe the others with food. Of course since I plan on keeping them cooped up today and tomorrow they will need more food anyway.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

New to the forum and chickens wanting to gather some knowledge on suggested breeds and where i could find then in southern indiana near madison. I am wanting to start a small backyard coop with around 4 hens.

Welcome.
Location matters a touch when you are looking for hens. This time of the year is perfect for buying 4 hens from a chicken person looking to reduce for winter. I have some hens listed on CL and there is another poster that mentioned rehoming hers or they become soup this weekend.
Now if you are looking for baby chicks, it is a touch harder this time of the year. I will have some from the hatchery on the 27th. I ordered extra since the assortment only came in groups of 25. It is possible that there are people near you wanting to place an order that you could add on to. There are chicks on CL too but with the heat we have had the past few weeks it is harder to get fertile eggs that have not gotten overly hot.
We also have a members list linked in the first post of this thread, you can narrow down the list to those closer to you and contact them. Several of the people here either hatch their own chicks or have broody hens that hatch out chicks.
If you are going to go the hatchery route ~ here are some you can look at: Akers (a smaller family set up), Meyers (located in OH), Murry (offers great rare breeds), and Cackle (lots of great assortment deals and small order packages)

As for breeds, check out the Meyer website. They have a world of info listed for many of the popular breeds. Once you settle in on what you want white eggs, brown eggs, meat, or looks, the process gets a touch easier.

Something else to consider is that if you are ordering from a hatchery there is a shipping charge. For 4 chicks you might be able to get high quality almost show quality even heritage chickens for the price of the hatchery including shipping. There are some chicken shows coming up. One in Bloomington on the 21st and one in Lebanon in Oct. If you can make it to either of these, you should be able to see lots of the different breeds up close, even talk to their owners to find out what makes them so great or not so great.

My main breed last year was the production rhode island reds. They lay lots of brown eggs but the chickens are smaller and not as richly colored as their heritage counterparts. I'm in the process of changing over to the Heritage RIR and wow they are amazing but they won't lay as soon and they are super hard to get this time of the year. There is a waiting list. Then I also fell in love with the blue sumatra ~ their looks, the long tails, and they are often broody, something I want to have / try at least once. But their eggs are smaller than the RIR and white (gasp). And they can fly really really well for a chicken. Then lately there has been a lot of talk about blue eggs and chicks that are easily sorted by gender at hatch, so I'm going to give the cream legbars a try. There are some breeds that are easier to sort out the males on hatch day than others, but add in the blue eggs and it makes the cream legbars interesting even if some of their hens are not the prettiest hens imo. I am liking having different breeds. At first I thought I just wanted one breed, that there had to be a best breed out there. But I have noticed that by having different breeds it is easier to name the chickens and make them more pet like. If you have youngsters you may end up with names like King Friday or Thomas and Percy, my children don't even care if they give a boy name to the hens just so long as the name matches up with a show they like.

 

[andyaux]

I am really wanting pullets because at the moment i don't have to time to raise chicks. I have looked at breeds and i think i know what i want. I want a white orpington, two barred plymouth rocks, and a australorp. What is tour opinion on these breeds and what about availability?

 

[Quinstar]

I am really wanting pullets because at the moment i don't have to time to raise chicks. I have looked at breeds and i think i know what i want. I want a white orpington, two barred plymouth rocks, and a australorp. What is tour opinion on these breeds and what about availability?

I have all 3 of those breeds in my flock currently. My BR is one of my friendliest girls so far. I've read that Orpingtons are extremely friendly, but mine is quick skittish. My black autralorp falls somewhere between the two as far as temperament goes, but they all get along great. Can't tell you much about how well they lay since only one of my girls is laying right now and I have no clue which one it is. From my experience they are all quite common (except maybe the white orpington). I've only seen buff around me.

 

[gunchief25]

I am really wanting pullets because at the moment i don't have to time to raise chicks. I have looked at breeds and i think i know what i want. I want a white orpington, two barred plymouth rocks, and a australorp. What is tour opinion on these breeds and what about availability?

All those breeds are good. The Australorps are very good egg producers. I have never really seen a white orphington but I would think they wouldnt be much different that a buff.

 

[Kiniska]

I am really wanting pullets because at the moment i don't have to time to raise chicks. I have looked at breeds and i think i know what i want. I want a white orpington, two barred plymouth rocks, and a australorp. What is tour opinion on these breeds and what about availability?

Sounds like a good line up. I have black and blue Corps. There are two types of whites. Actual white Orps and splashes that look white. The difference is the splashes have slate blue legs. My blues will throw splashes along with blue and black chicks.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

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!

Getting a little over the edge, don't you think? I don't recall ever saying anything negative to or about you.

Some on this thread consider poultry as livestock/hobby. Some consider each bird with the same love and affection usually reserved for house pets. Some find one of their $3 chickens with an injury/illness and immediately "cull" it. Some take it to the vet and $200 later have it euthanized. Then send it out for a $200 necropsy.

I think there is room on this thread for both viewpoints without animosity. I realize you are a long-time sponsor of the thread, so if you wish, I will leave.

Please let me know. I will abide with your wishes ----- other than the arsenic thing.

John

 

[Kiniska]

Getting a little over the edge, don't you think?  I don't recall ever saying anything negative to or about you.

Some on this thread consider poultry as livestock/hobby.  Some consider each bird with the same love and affection usually reserved for house pets.  Some find one of their $3 chickens with an injury/illness and immediately "cull" it.  Some take it to the vet and $200 later have it euthanized.  Then send it out for a $200 necropsy.

I think there is room on this thread for both viewpoints without animosity.  I realize you are a long-time sponsor of the thread, so if you wish, I will leave.

Please let me know.  I will abide with your wishes ----- other than the arsenic thing.

John

Wow, I missed that comment from M2Hs because I skim so much. Surely she was just ribbing you a bit.

I think both of you have a lot of valuable insight to share. Would hate either to leave the thread.

Have to admit, mice and chipmunks drown all the time at my house. They fall into the goat water buckets. It doesn't bother me personally. They are pests and bring in parasites. I also would not spend a lot of money on vet care for my chickens. There are just too many of them.

I can understand how others would. Especially if they are more pet than livestock.