INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[racinchickins]

I'm struggling with a broody right now too. I have a Phoenix pullet that is getting pretty determined. I just had one hatch out a couple eggs, and she is turning out to be a great mom. But I'm really not up to hatching out some more mixes that will be 4+ weeks younger than the newest two. I just don't want to have so many different age groups that I need to keep separate. So I decided to try to break this one, as I don't want her to get too far out of condition with colder weather coming. I've been taking her off the nest every time I'm out there, and I removed all the wooden eggs that were in the nest boxes. We are on day 3 so far, and no change in broodiness yet.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

Ugh no kidding, but I did raise them for about a year, i just could not do the processing, it was a terribly bad experience. Chickens, am ok with since the roos get so mean.
Bunnies I just cant do, yet...

We've been processing our rabbits for about 5 years now. My husband does the butchering & I take over once they're ready to come into the kitchen. I'm very thankful that he is willing to do the actual butchering -- I have no problem helping skin & gut -- it's the part before that is hard for me, as for a lot of other people. Our daughter helps occasionally with the butchering and can do most all of it herself. She actually did a poster and an Illustrated Talk at both county & state fairs when she was in 4th grade on How to Process a Rabbit for Healthy Meat, with pictures of her doing every step of processing. She talked about why rabbit meat was such a healthy choice & then how to be able to process your own meat. A couple of her judges got squeamish, but she had comments from people that were appreciative of her informative talk. 2 of my favorite things to make from rabbit meat are jerky & summer sausage. Yum!!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: Chicks are worth more, maybe borrowing a rooster would be a good idea too when one notices a broody. Another option is to get 2 or 3 chicks and let the broody hen sit on the eggs for a day or so more then at night replace with the chicks. For those of us that don't have a limit on chickens that would work.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Chicks are worth more, maybe borrowing a rooster would be a good idea too when one notices a broody. Another option is to get 2 or 3 chicks and let the broody hen sit on the eggs for a day or so more then at night replace with the chicks. For those of us that don't have a limit on chickens that would work.

I just let mine hatch eggs. I know that dosent always work for everyone though

 

[pginsber]

I'm struggling with a broody right now too. I have a Phoenix pullet that is getting pretty determined. I just had one hatch out a couple eggs, and she is turning out to be a great mom. But I'm really not up to hatching out some more mixes that will be 4+ weeks younger than the newest two. I just don't want to have so many different age groups that I need to keep separate. So I decided to try to break this one, as I don't want her to get too far out of condition with colder weather coming. I've been taking her off the nest every time I'm out there, and I removed all the wooden eggs that were in the nest boxes. We are on day 3 so far, and no change in broodiness yet.

I don't mind our pullet being broody, but like you, I dont' want her to get to far out of condition as fall approaches. We get her out of the box at least 4 times a day to eat and drink.
It seems like a good idea to sneak a chick under her. TSC makes you buy a handful, but I really only need one.
Guess we'll keep waiting.

 

[FarkerFarms]

Had my first chicken fatality this weekend It was a suicide. One of the Welsummer's flew over the five foot fence into the dog yard (and into the happy jaws of one or more of my four dogs). I didn't see it happen, just found the body that had been plucked of quite a few feathers. Hopefully it was fast (it wasn't bloody or gory). Sad - she was one of the five year old retirement freebies we got. Guess that opens up a new space in the flock! I want to choose something a bit more fun next time around. Is it possible to buy an older, already friendly hen or do you really need to raise them from chicks to get one that is friendly. The current seven aren't mean, just dubious and won't let us get close enough to touch/catch them. It would be nice to have one that actually liked people! I am also intrigued by the idea of getting something that lays a blue/green egg or an olive egger. We have an Ameracano (spelling?) but she is one of the oldies and we've only gotten two eggs out of her in two and a half months Anyone have a super friendly colored egg layer or two? Do you have to add them in two's?

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Had my first chicken fatality this weekend It was a suicide. One of the Welsummer's flew over the five foot fence into the dog yard (and into the happy jaws of one or more of my four dogs). I didn't see it happen, just found the body that had been plucked of quite a few feathers. Hopefully it was fast (it wasn't bloody or gory). Sad - she was one of the five year old retirement freebies we got. Guess that opens up a new space in the flock! I want to choose something a bit more fun next time around. Is it possible to buy an older, already friendly hen or do you really need to raise them from chicks to get one that is friendly. The current seven aren't mean, just dubious and won't let us get close enough to touch/catch them. It would be nice to have one that actually liked people! I am also intrigued by the idea of getting something that lays a blue/green egg or an olive egger. We have an Ameracano (spelling?) but she is one of the oldies and we've only gotten two eggs out of her in two and a half months Anyone have a super friendly colored egg layer or two? Do you have to add them in two's?

it is possible to buy an older friendly hen and it is ameraucana. Sorry about your hen.

 

[Quinstar]

Concrete blocks sink in the mud over time.

Dig fence post holes for the 4 corners, the deeper, the better. Put a brick at the bottom of each hole. Set the posts. Put in half a bag of Sackrete. Fill to near the top with gravel, sand, dirt. Put in the other half bag of Sackrete. Fill with dirt to grade.

Attach stringers between the posts at the desired height (leveled). Cut off the excess post to the level height. Set or build the coop on top of that. Cheap and effective.

John

Quinstar ~ I think the method old salt recommended I use to raise the coop off of the ground matches up with your pictures very nicely. I was hoping you could take some closer shots of how the posts connect to the floor. DH and I are not builders but if I have pictures of the nails. screws, bolts, whatever is used to connect the pieces, then the people at lowes are very helpful. Without pictures DH and I get nowwhere.
Also how deep should I bury the posts? All opinions welcome here.

That's pretty much what we did, though we didn't concrete the post in since the coop will most likely move within the next 5 years. We dug down probably 4 ft for each post and attached 2 stringers that ran parallel to each other. We secured these with carriage bolts. We then framed out the platform for the floor of the coop and placed it on top of the stringers. On top of that we secured 3/4 in treated plywood. The platform was extremely heavy after all of this so instead of spending money on brackets to attach it to the stringer (which you can do) we simply sunk a handful of deck screws from through the floor joists into the stringers. (I recommend attaching it before you attach the plywood. We didn't a and it will make attaching your platform to your stingers much easier.) Below are pictures. Hope you find them helpful!


Under the coop. We attached the bolts with nuts and spacers.



You can see how the floor joists rest on the stringer.


Couldn't get a good picture, but we angled some screws through the joists into the stringers for a little added stability.



The boards on the right side were installed after the coop was built to fill in some odd shaped holes to make sure the run was secured.


Outside view of carriage bold and spacer.

Let me know if you want any additional photos of anything or have any other questions.

 

[kabhyper1]

The egg turner has 6 trays. You only need 2. Take out the others. They pop out easily.

Your incubator looks just like the Little Giant, only with all the bells and whistles at a better price. Definitely keep it.

Go to a drug store and buy a digital thermometer for about $10. They are VERY accurate. You can use it to ensure you that the thermometer that came with the incubator is accurate.

John

Thanks John! I'll do that. Hopefully we get some baby silkies in a few weeks.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I don't mind our pullet being broody, but like you, I dont' want her to get to far out of condition as fall approaches. We get her out of the box at least 4 times a day to eat and drink.
It seems like a good idea to sneak a chick under her. TSC makes you buy a handful, but I really only need one.
Guess we'll keep waiting.

I'm getting some chicks from the hatchery next week. I'll be listing the extras on CL.

Had my first chicken fatality this weekend It was a suicide. One of the Welsummer's flew over the five foot fence into the dog yard (and into the happy jaws of one or more of my four dogs). I didn't see it happen, just found the body that had been plucked of quite a few feathers. Hopefully it was fast (it wasn't bloody or gory). Sad - she was one of the five year old retirement freebies we got. Guess that opens up a new space in the flock! I want to choose something a bit more fun next time around. Is it possible to buy an older, already friendly hen or do you really need to raise them from chicks to get one that is friendly. The current seven aren't mean, just dubious and won't let us get close enough to touch/catch them. It would be nice to have one that actually liked people! I am also intrigued by the idea of getting something that lays a blue/green egg or an olive egger. We have an Ameracano (spelling?) but she is one of the oldies and we've only gotten two eggs out of her in two and a half months Anyone have a super friendly colored egg layer or two? Do you have to add them in two's?

I think there will be adult chickens for sale at the show this Saturday.