INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I so did not know that the facial hair got plucked off a chicken. My chickens would not be able to keep clean for 3 days, they would purposely roll in the mud, they love it so much.
I'm looking forward to seeing your birds.

Ii feel so bad. The little guys don't like the heat lamps bright light. They are tired and crying. I think they want momma. I put a stuffed animal in there that they can get under, but they won't.

would it be possible to bring their hen in to them or do you think she would reject them?

Another thing, I think you said it was about 80 in their brooder area. Newer chicks tend to like 88 upwards to 95 the first few days. They will peep non stop if they are cold. Meaties like it closer to 80 by the end of their first week though.

 

[kabhyper1]

Quote:
It's 91 in the brooder now. The momma is out in the barn with the other three. I don't have a big enough box for all of them in the house. I think the chicks finally cuddled up the the stuffed animal and went to sleep. I am thinking about adding them to the silkies brood once they hatch, depending on if Chance is better by then. He is pretty good tonight, so I will see how he is and try to sneak them under the silkie with the other chicks. They are so small. Silkies don't seem to grow at the same rate as other chickens.

 

[Mother2Hens]

heagan09 ~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread! You have a nice sized flock. Are you a new chicken owner or an experienced one? We have all types on this thread, which makes it fun and interesting. We love photos, too, so feel free to show off your flock!
twizzlebee~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread! I can understand why you're asking if chickens are allowed in Ft. Wayne-- it's difficult to find current info. Do any of our members who live in the Ft. Wayne area know if chickens are now allowed?
jhfamily5~ Hi Tami, I remember your screen name because my initials and my husband's are both jh.
My gosh, you and your family have been busy with chickens! Very interesting information-- thanks for sharing. I only have 6.5 hens (one is a bantam), so I don't have any inventory to sell, but I'm sure you'll find some interested people on this thread. You might click on the members' list at the end of the post to find other people who live in your area. You could PM them since not everyone is on at the same time and some might miss your invitation.
kabhyper~ So sorry about your baby white chickie. We all feel like we've been on this journey with you. As far as the beak wiping, my do that when they want to wipe off their beaks, but I have also noticed them doing that when they are on the perch ready for bed. I have wondered if it was a way of marking their territory because I've noticed them do it very deliberately. It's been one of those things I've been meaning to look up.
ellymayRans~ Loved your photos, especially the frizzled one. Cochins look so similar to English Orps except for the feathered feet. This picture you posted looks a lot like my English Chocolate bantam Orp

here's mine:

Still waiting for my guys to make an appearance, should be this week.

Momma is looking rough, she has lost all colour in her face, can not tell about weight loss yet, but I guarantee it. Probably going to pick her up some electrolytes today, see if that helps her out any. Been spoiling the girls with 'hand fed' canned veggies, neither seem interested in chicken food.

vickichicki~ So you own a fresh produce stand and you're feeding your girls canned veggies-- Whaaat?
Don't leave us hanging about your hatch . . . do you have "wee ones"?
HappyHappyHappy~ Have you been able to see more of your hen's hatch?
racin~ So sorry to hear about your dark brahma hen! Very sad.
julie0477~ I'm sorry to hear that you lost your ducks Squeaker and Swimmer! If you don't mind me being nosey, what happened? I'm just curious because of different illnesses that people have dealt with in their flocks lately.

 

[Mother2Hens]

ellymayRans~ Sorry! I had copied/pasted your photo, but it dropped it off of my message.

Here's your Cochin:

and my Orp

 

[julie0477]

My ducks weren't sick they were just stubborn . All my birds free range during the day and I coop them at night. The ducks had a crate next to the coop. The past two weeks they have NOT wanted to go in. I chased them around every night and could get them in most of the time. Sunday night I went out and they were no where near the coop. They were off where I feed them and were not going back. So I gave up and the next morning woke up to a pile of feathers and no ducks . When I got the ducks I assumed their instincts would be like a chickens to go in at night but that's not necessarily the case. I miss them and want more but I need a new set up to keep them safe. And me sane.

 

[amwchickin]

Sad day for me today. I have to cull one of my dark brahma hens tonight.

She was attacked by one or more of the turkeys a couple of days ago. Don't know what prompted it. I can only speculate that one of their 'Get out of my way' pecks drew blood. I've been nursing her, but it is now apparent that she has lost her sight, and a blind chicken won't fend for itself. She only drinks if I dunk her beak in the water, and she won't eat. I was hoping she would recover, but it doesn't look like the case. The brahma's are one of my favorite hens, they mature slowly, but they are so gentle and calm.

I re-prioritized my construction. Will be hurrying to finish an enclosure for the Turkeys asap so I can separate them from the chickens.

Sorry to hear about your loss. I had a similar incident and was fortunate enough to save my chicken. I have had to cull one before after a raccoon attack and it's never easy.

 

[amwchickin]

kabhyper1 - sorry to hear about the chicks. The video was sad! I hope you figure out what's causing it.



Seeing everyone's chicks are driving me bonkers!! I am staying as strong as possible to not get any until the spring since this will be my first winter with chickens and I want to make sure everyone survives! But wouldn't ya know, every time I have to go get feed, I have to walk by the fall chick bins!! Maybe I'll start working on getting some of the free "fines" from my local farmers!!

Would you have to ferment fines or is it okay to feed dry?

 

[ellymayRans]

Few more chick pics from my july & aug hatches!

My Olive Egger whom of course is a boy..

Part of them ranging in the backyard today

Rainy today so they were huddling near the back garage door

Coop is almost complete

 

[Mother2Hens]

kabhyper-- I know that you aren’t sure why your baby chick died and one possible cause discussed was using wood ashes in their dust bath.

I looked in one of my resource books, “The Chicken Encyclopedia.” It says that adding wood ashes, diatomaceous earth, or lime-and-sulfur garden powder to their dust bath is hazardous to their respiratory health and should be avoided unless they are “seriously infested” with parasites.

However, there are many sources that encourage the use of wood ashes as long as the wood burned was not pressure-treated.

This is what makes me crazy about chicken raising-- there are so many opinions that make it difficult to know what is the right thing to do.

kabhyper posted~ The little guys are doing pretty good tonight. Wiping their beaks a lot in the bedding. It that normal?

I posted this earlier: As far as the beak wiping, my do that when they want to wipe off their beaks, but I have also noticed them doing that when they are on the perch ready for bed. I have wondered if it was a way of marking their territory because I've noticed them do it very deliberately. It's been one of those things I've been meaning to look up.

I also finally looked this up: beak wiping (for birds in general) can be done to mark their territory. That's what I've seen my birds deliberately doing in the coop next to their places on the perch. I don't know if chicks have that instinct right away or not, though.
Beak Wiping: It is common to see a bird wiping her beak after eating. Often, the bird will wipe her beak on a perch, the cage floor, or the cage sides to get it clean. Some birds use beak wiping as a way to mark their territory. This behavior may be seen in birds when introduced to others or kept in areas in which other birds are near.

julie0477~ Your ducks remind me of my two orps. Every evening they perch in a bush instead of going into the coop where the five mean hens are battling it out over perch positions (even though they end up in their same spots every night!) I can't blame the orps for not wanting to enter the battle zone. So, every evening I have to reach in the bush and pull each one out and put them in the coop. I wait until the others have settled down. Then the orps perch on the opposite end of the coop in the run area. Hard headed hens!

 

[HappyHappyHappy]

I have not been back to the coop. This video is from 4:00 pm yesterday... I had to leave for work and just got home. I will be peeking first thing in the morning and ill try and get a better video.. In this video I only was able to get the one chick, the black one was under momma.
She is very protective of them and bites me if i stick my hand in there. So far so good the rest of the chickens dont seem to care. I am glad So far that i didnt seperate them so that they will be part of the flock from day one. I hope this does not come back to haunt me as I was worried that the barred rocks would give her and the chicks some problems but i sat in the coop for a couple hours and observed them come in, lay eggs, peek in at momma,and then back out to the run they went one by one all morning long..
I do wander now if the mother hen is the Black Astralorp or one of the Jersey Giants, I cant tell them apart anymore. They are all just big and black. I assume that the father of that chick is my EE rooster and the mother is one of the ISA reds......The chick looks just like my EE rooster did when he was a chick...