INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[racinchickins]

Urbanmom...

They'll let you know if they need heat.

My 3 wk olds are completely out from under mom - have been even when it got cold. Except at night when they go at least under a bit with their hinney's in and about half sticking out. I think mostly because they want to be sure to feel mom in the dark.

If I were brooding without a broody, I'd get an ecoglow and keep it available at night. If they need it they'll go under.

http://www.brinsea.com/prod-EcoGlow_Chick_Brooder-239.aspx

I have an ecoglow, and I really like it. I've successfully brooded both chicks and poults with it. And it uses very little electric as opposed to a heat lamp. No danger of fire either. I do have to say though that it is nothing compared to a broody hen. Having someone else do all the work is definitely the way to go.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: I personally don't use DE around the chickens for various reasons.

Like Brad said, I usually do a peat moss/ash mixture.

The only time I use DE is in my bags of grain to keep the bugs out of the feed during long-term storage. Works great for that.

 

[Mother2Hens]

What does everyone do when they hatch a chick who's intestines are still sticking out of its belly when it hatches? I had a blrw chick pip on the wrong end. I watched it for the last 36 hours and it never pipped. I took it out and started to help it. All the blood was receded and I sprayed it with warm water (keep a spray bottle in cabinet bator so water is same temp as the air) due to it being stuck to the membrane where I broke shell away. I'm assuming that since it pipped on the wrong end it wasn't able to turn to zip. After I broke off the cap and it finally popped out about 10 mins later. It had a prolapse out of its belly button and it wasn't yolk.

I tried to apply a "bandaid" with gauze and vet wrap but it wouldn't stay since I didn't want to cover up the vent. The last one I had do this the other chicks started to peck it so I culled the chick. I'm thinking I will be culling this chick too, but curious if others have had luck with it fixing itself.

bradselig~ just "fyi," my "Chicken Health for Dummies" book said that possible causes of the malformation of a chick hatched with intestines outside of abdomen are high temperature during mid-incubation and hatching eggs exposed to near freezing temps. The book said the chick would have a poor chance of surviving. Sorry that you and the chick have to go through this.
Originally Posted by amwchickin
Update on the Marans with the lice/mites. I’m pretty sure it’s lice from everything I have read and the pictures I have seen. I found one of the pullets dead on Sunday and the other one seems a bit sluggish and sounds like it has a cold. I gave it a bath and dried it. I am giving it VetRx and saying a prayer until I find Sevin5 Dust.Anyone know what stores carry it? I have seen it online, haven’t looked in stores. Needless to say, that bird is on quarantine and lock down...flashing red lights and bio hazard!!
amwchicken~ I typed up posts last night and one of them asked how your chickens were doing. (I switched to another page and my posts erased, but I was too tired to retype). I'm guessing the one with maggots died. I am so sorry. It seemed like such a strange occurrence. I wonder if Sevin would be too strong for a sick chicken, especially a chicken with respiratory issues. I don't know because I have never used it, but since it's not meant for chickens, it seems like it would be too strong. Just wondering--- not stating.

The one mille fleur that made it home with me is fine, she likes the trees, but knows where her food is!
And the other Mille Fleur is still running rampant around my sister’s.
So Mother2Hens, if you see a cute little black, gold, and white chicken running around in Evansville...that would me mine!!
Your sister lives in Eville? And has chickens? She needs to join the thread!

I have decided the only way to remember where I left off last time is to post something! I get to the page every other day and boy oh boy do we Hoosiers like to talk!! Seriously though, I haven’t been on facebook in a month (nothing good ever comes from there anymore) and I cannot stay away from here!!
That's a good method to find the right spot since the email notice/link doesn't always work correctly. I can relate to being addicted solely to this thread!
Originally Posted by Sally in Indiana~my barn cat got a rabbit. Is it common for cats to try and get rabbits?
Sally~ Two of my three spoiled well-fed indoor/outdoor neutered cats have caught large rabbits and baby ones (boohoo). The two have also caught squirrels, which is more unusual. Mostly they catch shrews and mice. Luckily, they aren’t frequent hunters. One of them is declawed in the front, but can still climb trees. If he dies while outside it will be because he likes to sleep in the warm concrete road!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Glitches on this site!

 

[Mother2Hens]

acrull~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread!

rehric00~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread!
HappyHappyHappy~ Welcome again-- I think you’ve posted before. Good luck with your broody!
Leahs Mom~ You made me nervous when I saw your post about processing. I make sure not to see any processing photos/videos because I would have to be institutionalized.
Originally Posted by Delawaremommy
I was at the show and loved it ...
And we both liked the African Geese!!

Originally Posted by Jchny~
I have africans, and plan to start breeding next spring. They are very sweet geese, much calmer/quieter than my Chinese, and smaller than my Embden.

Jchny/Janet, Since I knew you were catching up on posts, I PMd Delawaremommy to tell her about how wonderfully sweet your geese are! (I was thinking of your Chinese) Haha I guess I should have consulted you first since you prefer African. It turned out that she was just dreaming about a FUTURE with geese!

African Geese:


Chinese Geese:


Peaceful Walls~ You were lucky to get some beautiful chickens from Brad! Benji’s ducks are adorable. Can he tell them apart since their markings all look a little different? Also love your flock photos. A year ago spring when we started with chickens, we traded a cockerel for a pullet. When the guy brought the pullet over, it was an EE and I thought it was a hawk! Here is a pic I took of "Roadrunner" last week.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

I zoomed one of the pictures in. See the shiny / pointy saddle feathers here? I think this is a boy.

I guess we'll find out for sure in about another 6 weeks...I'm sure hoping you're just imagining the little pointy feathers and it's really a cute little pullet in disguise!

 

[Too Fast]

absolutely. If it is small enough for them to deal with, they will kill it. My parents cat has a 'ring of death' around their house. Mice, rats, snakes, rabbits, birds (up to the size of a small wild duck), large insects, you name it... she brings the bodies to my mother to show off.

And from what I've seen/read about cats, the 'trophys' they bring for show and tell are only about 25% of what they kill!

 

[Too Fast]

hello everyone! my coop came today, it's all assembled ready to go, I decided to put the girls in it as a brooder, they were quickly outgrowing my cabinet brooder I made, they are flapping around trying to fly it's cute, their wings are feathered, and tails are starting also, they are loving being outside during the day, they don't seem to miss a heat lamp, but I still have it on at night as is getting down in the 40s, do they have to be fully feathered to be outside in the run and no lamp I believe I read that but some places have a different take on it.

We let ours enjoy the coop last spring when they were about 6 weeks old. Worried a bit, used a heat lamp since the nights were still in the 40s, but had no problems. Probably did not need the lamp, and we for sure will not use one this winter.

If yours are feathered out, then no problems. How old are they? If over 6ish weeks now, they should be fine. Congrats on your chicks moving out, now you are an empty nester.

 

[hogster160]

Well, we have had an explosion of feathers all over. I'm guessing its a molt for my early January born girls. About half so far have lost so many feathers. I have been seeing more than normal in the coop first thing in the morning. Then yesterday I go out and I really thought i had an attack. Black, black and white and red and white feathers everywhere, piles of them. But all girls accounted for. I guess I now know why I'm not getting any eggs. My bearded EE's look funny with no beards. And Poor Big red, blrw, has lost the feathers on her face, head and neck. I checked them all last night and saw pin feathers on all who match the color of feathers found. Also checked for mites and lice, didn't see any sign, all skin and feather shafts look clear. I guess I'll be getting the new food everyone has been mentioning. See if it helps. I added some boss to their ff last night, so that should help them too.

I did go ahead and treat everyone for scaly mites to be on the safe side with vetRX. Some had dry looking legs too. I will be cleaning out the coop today as added measure. Or do I need to? I use DLM with poop board. I didn't see any mites on the walls, floor area, poop board or perches.

Any other suggestion for dealing with molt?

Thanks

Deb

 

[julie0477]

Hogster - vetrx treats scaly leg mites? How does that work?