INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kabhyper1]

Hey all you egg hatchers!!! How can you tell if an egg is a quitter? Almost all of the eggs the girls are sitting on are developing, but I can't tell which ones I should toss so I don't get a blown up nasty mess. I have looked at pictures of candled eggs, but I can'r make heads or tails of it. lavender is on her 14th day today and Suki is on her 4th. The silkie is sitting on 15 eggs, so I would like to thin that out if there are quitters. (she snuck some in while we were at turkey run) Lavender is still on 12, but I am pretty sure 3 of them haven't developed.

 

[julie0477]

check out that swollen foot!! I noticed my EE girl was limping this afternoon, and of course in usual Julie fashion I immediately began to flip out and panic. But when I caught her I found one of her feet is all swollen. Mostly the web in between her toes. We have a pear tree full of bees and they love to hang out under it and eat the fallen pears. You think that's a sting?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Does it look like there is infection or just swelling?

 

[julie0477]

Well it's not red or hot and there is no black scab on the bottom of her foot. Its full of fluid though - just water not pus or anything. I can't figure it out unless it's a sting.

 

[Leahs Mom]

It could be a sting! But usually a sting is hot too.

If it's a sting, there are several things that could be used to help take the "sting" out. Not all of these at the same time, but any of these could help:

-Lavendar Essential oil (I'm finding lavender oil works for a lot of things for me that I had no idea. Bee sting, flea bites (takes the itch out), infection (anti-bacterial) etc....I never knew until I tried it and I'm amazed).

-An ice pack...pretty hard to do for a chicken! (But you could soak in COLD WATER W/A BIT OF ICE and some epsom salts)
-Baking Soda - then drop on some ACV and let it fizz. Can put on more ACF after.
-NuStock
-Honey (pretty strange, but true)

 

[pbirdhaven]

If you end up with roosters, they are typically easy to rehome. I know I don't mind offering a short term home to a young rooster.

As for the turkey order. I really would like to order but i just am not set up right now for a tom turkey. But wow the Tiger Bronze toms are very eye catching. Are tom turkeys mean like the RIR roosters?

My pair that I hatched this spring are tame so far--they follow me around like puppies. They are half wild turkey. The woman that I got the eggs from hatches game birds to release, and one tom decided that he would rather stick around than have to forage for food and dodge hunters. So he mated with her bronze hen. Drumstick and Wishbone look more like wild turkeys than the bronze. They're free ranging, so I can't be accused of keeping wild animals illegally!

They could leave if they want to.

That's awesome! What all did they test for?

The blood testing is for pullorum and typhoid. Birds shown in 4-H, at the state fair, and out of state must be tested unless the flock is NPIP. Most shows are pretty lax about it; I haven't heard of a case of either for a long time. There are other diseases that are more prevalent. I used to have my papers checked in one state, but the rep from the ag dept. got used to seeing me and waves me on through.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Well it's not red or hot and there is no black scab on the bottom of her foot. Its full of fluid though - just water not pus or anything. I can't figure it out unless it's a sting.

I really dont know if it is a sting or not, but if it is I have an idea. I am highly allergic to be bees but wont use an epiepen. My Allergy told me a home remedy and by golley it works, I have been using it since I was 5. You get just generic meat tenderizer and mix it with water, until it is like a paste. They put it on the swollen area and the swelling goes away! It wouldnt hurt to try and is very simple you can just leave it on for 10 mins and then rinse it off. Just dont let your chicken eat it

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

My pair that I hatched this spring are tame so far--they follow me around like puppies. They are half wild turkey. The woman that I got the eggs from hatches game birds to release, and one tom decided that he would rather stick around than have to forage for food and dodge hunters. So he mated with her bronze hen. Drumstick and Wishbone look more like wild turkeys than the bronze. They're free ranging, so I can't be accused of keeping wild animals illegally!

They could leave if they want to.




The blood testing is for pullorum and typhoid. Birds shown in 4-H, at the state fair, and out of state must be tested unless the flock is NPIP. Most shows are pretty lax about it; I haven't heard of a case of either for a long time. There are other diseases that are more prevalent. I used to have my papers checked in one state, but the rep from the ag dept. got used to seeing me and waves me on through.

O, thats what it test for! It is pretty sad that I have been having my chickens blood tested and didnt even know what it tested for lol.

 

[julie0477]

Thanks Leah's mom @ chhhhickens. Before i read your replies i probably did the exact opposite that I should have. I soaked her foot in warm Epsom water. Heat probably isn't the best thing for anything swollen I don't know what I was thinking. I'll see how it looks tomorrow. She managed to get up to the top roost in the coop tonight.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I got the following from the website:
They start shipping in May
Only straight run.
Not sure on how they are identified. I'm going to email them on that question.
I think you could do fine with two turkeys. You are correct, when I said one I was thinking of people who already had turkeys or chickens.
These are breeding quality birds, but definitely edible. I plan to do both with what I get especially extra toms. As for raising just for food, I'm not sure you can get any heritage breeds at the stores during chick days. All I saw were BBB and BBW's. These will definitely cost you more than feed store birds. jchny2000 has raised both heritage and broad breasted types, so you may want to get her opinion on them.

I got to looking at the final weights of the turkeys that are mainly for meat. They are not what I want, too big if I end up with a tom. May would be good. March not so much. You mentioned you are placing the order next week. I'll let you know before Sunday. But a giant blue bird in my yard just sounds so great.