INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kabhyper1]

danand, I'm sorry you are dealing with all of this!

Welcome newbies!!! Fastest thread on BYC!!!

bradselig, use a hen.

...........................I just have to say, Broodie poop is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!

.............From the depths of hell that stuff is!!!! She did come out and eat and stretch her legs with less effort tonight though. Right before she dumped that awful load. She did it in the barn too. Poor alpacas had no warning.

 

[browncow15]

Thank you M2H for asking about CE. I was wondering the same thing. In my house, if I were gone, my kids would probably eat fast food more than I'd like , stay up too late, their clothes wouldn't match, but they'd have a really good time. This is what happened the last time I went somewhere and left the kids at home: They lived and I only had to soak that dress for about a week.

They look like they had fun! My hubby keeps the reigns a little tighter than I do but I'm sure they're finding something interesting to do

 

[bradselig]

I'm so sorry to hear of the poor hatch.

I was hoping you would get better results.  The picture on ebay was awesome and I was looking forward to when you would have excess birds to sell.  Rats!

On the other hand, it saves me some money.

John

i loved those pics as well! A message has already been sent to the seller asking for more eggs. I will still be looking for more from another source as well, but think I'll have to settle for plain lavenders for diversity. Should still get the same results with chicks.

danand, I'm sorry you are dealing with all of this!

Welcome newbies!!! Fastest thread on BYC!!! 

bradselig, use a hen. 

...........................I just have to say, Broodie poop is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!:cd  .............From the depths of hell that stuff is!!!! She did come out and eat and stretch her legs with less effort tonight though. Right before she dumped that awful load. She did it in the barn too. Poor alpacas had no warning.

haha, I'm too "chicken" to let a broody hatch them. I even have 2 hens sitting on imaginary gets as I type!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

 
With winter approaching does anyone cover the top of their enclosed runs? I was thinking of just buying some clear plastic corrugated roofing to throw on the top of the run for the winter to give them a bit more covered space.

Thoughts?

Wouldn't hurt.  Generally speaking, they don't need it.  If they don't like it outside, they can go back inside.  They seem to enjoy walking around on snow.  Freezing rain, not so much.  Most of mine like to run around outside in light to medium rain.  When it starts to pour down, the chickens go inside.  The ducks stay outside.  The guineas switch hit; sometimes in, sometimes out.

Unfrozen water is the big deal for winter.  They will eat snow, but it burns up a lot of energy, so they need even more food.  You could live on eating snow, but it ain't recommended.

[COLOR=800080]Pipped[/COLOR], what are your recommendations on roof and water for the winter?

John

I agree with you on the roofing. They don't need it unless you don't have enough coop space for the number of birds you have. When there's a lot of snow, I shovel out an area in the run so that I can open the feed shed and the gate without the snow getting in the way. Other than that, I let them be. They do just fine.

As far as water, I used to just refill their buckets as needed, but that becomes tiresome with a big flock. I now have a heated bucket I use that keeps the water just above freezing. A word of caution--you do need to be meticulous to make sure this setup is safe. I unplug and empty the bucket every night and refill it in the morning. I also check the length of the cord for any signs of tearing or fraying and I dust the outlet regularly. I use this outlet year-round for my baby monitor, so it is dusted at least once a month all year, usually more often.


As we are getting close to that time of the year again, I also feel the need to mention that for a number of reasons, chickens do not need a heat lamp in the colder weather. While you may feel compelled to give them a heat lamp, all this is is an unnecessary fire hazard. Heat lamps can ignite dust--something that is not in short supply in a chicken coop--and bulbs can shatter. Also, if you lose power for any reason, you will have a flock of birds that are not accustomed to the colder weather. Heating your coop is more of a risk than it is a benefit. Here is a great thread with lots of fire safety tips. I recommend anyone new to chickens read this--as well as those that are thinking about heating their coop or even using a heated bucket like I do: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745178/fire-safety-in-your-chicken-coop-barn-important

 

[kabhyper1]

i loved those pics as well! A message has already been sent to the seller asking for more eggs. I will still be looking for more from another source as well, but think I'll have to settle for plain lavenders for diversity. Should still get the same results with chicks.
haha, I'm too "chicken" to let a broody hatch them. I even have 2 hens sitting on imaginary gets as I type!

Oh, I'm brand new at this and I'm doing it. Just think about it this way, if something gets screwed up, you can blame the hen.

Lavender is doing really well actually. For a six month old. She is really attentive. You need a broody cochin. She lets me pick her right up and move her if I have to. They are very sweet. She may not be a good layer, but she can sure sit on some eggs.

 

[hogster160]

i loved those pics as well! A message has already been sent to the seller asking for more eggs. I will still be looking for more from another source as well, but think I'll have to settle for plain lavenders for diversity. Should still get the same results with chicks.
haha, I'm too "chicken" to let a broody hatch them. I even have 2 hens sitting on imaginary gets as I type!

Oh, I'm brand new at this and I'm doing it. Just think about it this way, if something gets screwed up, you can blame the hen.

Lavender is doing really well actually. For a six month old. She is really attentive. You need a broody cochin. She lets me pick her right up and move her if I have to. They are very sweet. She may not be a good layer, but she can sure sit on some eggs.

And I'm new too, this year only, and I used a hen. Try it, you might like it! It was pretty much the same way here, she was very attentive to those eggs, and is an awesome mama. She lets me pick up the chicks to take them to their run, she knows I'll handle them with care, she runs right out behind me and into the run, where the chicks proceed to jump out of my shirt once I kneel down.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Question for those who incubate. Do you used a forced air incubator for hatching? I think I'm going to try and turn off my fan (and readjust the temps) for my next hatch. It seems like if they don't zip shortly after pipping, they get stuck and I have to help them.

i just use a still air incubator. I am gettin worried none of my eggs have even pipped yet. today is day 21. so they could hatch late

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Oh, I'm brand new at this and I'm doing it. Just think about it this way, if something gets screwed up, you can blame the hen. 


Lavender is doing really well actually. For a six month old. She is really attentive. You need a broody cochin. She lets me pick her right up and move her if I have to. They are very sweet. She may not be a good layer, but she can sure sit on some eggs.   

cochins, silkies, and games are usualky really good mothers

 

[kabhyper1]

cochins, silkies, and games are usualky really good mothers

I have 8 silkie eggs sitting in the coop right now. My silkies are sucking at motherhood. I guess I'll have to incubate. It's a good thing they are cute because they are dumber than a bag of hammers.
Oh yeah and my silkie roo attacked me today. It was seriously the funniest thing I have ever seen. I stood perfectly still while being pummeled in the ankles by a tiny lint ball. He got picked up and put in his place. I was laughing the entire time. Man I love those little ding bats.

 

[Kiniska]

I have a sort of double run attached to my coop. There is a gate I can close to keep the chickens off it. Then I will every other month let them on. Well it was open this morning and some how it closed today during the big rain storm and half the flock got soaked. Man were they ticked when we got home. I should have taken a picture.