INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

Have a ? for everyone. Where are you getting meat bird food? TSC only carries layer and I'd like to mix 75%layer with 25% meat bird for extra fat this winter as my coop is unheated. Does Rural king sell it?

TSC carries dumar meatbird food but they may not stock it this time of year. They should be able to get a small quantity in if you want to order it.
RK carries meat bird food too, it was still instock last week but not nearly as much was there as in the spring. I'm pretty sure now is not the high demand time for meatbird food. There is a mill in martinsville almost right next door to RK that carries turkey starter that is high in protein. I would call afew of the feed stores you are willing to go to and see if they can get the feed in that you want. My chickens prefer the RK meatbird food over the TSC kind and the mill chick starters that I have tried.

 

[PimentoPlymouth]

Has anyone used the nutrena layer pellets I'm currently using dumor layer pellets but thought about switching to nutrena.

 

[danand]

Pimento- I have used both. I get a lot of waste from pellets so I've gone to strictly crumbles. Also I like the Dumor better. No real reason, I think it smells better!! I have LF and Bantams and got tired of using different for each.

 

[PimentoPlymouth]

Demand- thank you where I buy my feed there's only a small difference I've always used dumor but have noticed a lot of people buying the nutrena.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I was wondering where everyone was, too. Wow, almost 14 hours without a post! Well, I just hopped on to make an announcement!

Margie laid her first egg today!!

I'm so proud!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

These guys will be three weeks on Wednesday. Not sure about sex, but I'm hoping for girls of course. I feather sexed them at a day old and saw girl, and they are all feathering out at the same pace, so

(my phone made their legs look way more orange than they are) They all have pea combs
Silver laced wyandotte x EE ?? ( I forgot to label the eggs)

Minorca x Silver laced wyandotte

Silver laced wyandotte

They are adorable!

I also thought it was certain breeds that can be feather sexed and not all. Either way, if it works for your birds that would be awesome! I have the hardest time sexing wyandottes. Straight combs are much easier to tell sex at a younger age for me.

I can pick them out pretty early, the flat area where the comb comes in is larger and turns red sooner on the boys.

Have a ? for everyone. Where are you getting meat bird food? TSC only carries layer and I'd like to mix 75%layer with 25% meat bird for extra fat this winter as my coop is unheated. Does Rural king sell it?

Yes, Rural King has meatbird crumbles, 22%

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Just added two blue splash cochins and two australops today just wondering if anyone has any secrets with these breeds they are very docile and love to be held

I have australorp, and just love them! They mature and begin to lay earlier than the other breeds, mine were laying at 18-19 weeks.
And if I didn't say it yet,

and glad you joined our thread

Brad, I' glad you found the owner of the doggies!
Pipd, your chickens look like mine, chicken pattern baldness.

Okay this is going to be pic heavy, but I finally got some decent pics of the silkies. They range between 5 days old and 2 weeks
1.Partridge

2.This one isn't feathering white like I though it would. More gray.

3.One of the youngest. White.

4.Feathering white, even though it had stripes.

5.White

6.White

7.Black

8.Blue bell. Blue

9.Black

10.Chance, walking like a champ, and beat his respiratory stuff. Black

11.The little guy. Blue

OH my they are so precious!

So earlier I saw a coon hound casually trot by in front of my house on the road. By the time I get out to call it, it was too far gone. Several hours later, I see 2 coon hounds trotting down the road going back the was it was coming from before. Both times they thankfully were not interested in the chickens that were free ranging. I called the dogs and they come running up to me. I was able to put my dogs inside and put them in my fenced in yard. I call county animal control, well the sheriffs dept were they dispatch animal control. Guess she only works a mon-fri 8-5 shift as after taking down all the information, dispatch informs me that it maybe tomorrow before I get no call from animal control to pick up the dogs since it was after hours and not an emergency! What!!!! I have to be inconvenienced by being the "Good Samaritan" and preventing them from being hit by a car or starved! Thankfully with the help of Facebook I was able to track down the owners myself. It just bothers me that I'm trying to do the right thing and contain the dogs, but by doing so animal control isn't going to to their job of getting the dogs. I told dispatch that I could not keep them over night as I have my own dogs that need let out and I'm not risking letting my dogs in with the strays. I told her if I don't get a call from AC in the next couple hours and don't find the owners myself, my only option was to release the dogs again. Apparently that didn't matter to dispatch or AC as they still haven't called back.

And don't get me wrong, the animal control officer is a great person who does a great job. I understand that she is only one person and can't work everyday, but why not send out a deputy or have volunteer/on call officer just for after hours. Just frustrating!

It really is very frustrating! We worked on call rotating weekends, and drove the truck home when we were.
Usually they at least have a public works employee go out and get them.
I have been called out at 3 am for a raccoon on fire in a guys house!
(yep, it was sleeping in the chimney) He lit the fireplace and out shoots a raccoon

The raccoon was dubbed "crispy" and lived in my garage until his wounds healed.
Rules must have changed, used to be state law that domestics had to be picked up and contained.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Been a busy weekend. The turkey run is finally done! It was almost dark by the time I finished and got the turkeys situated. (They were NOT happy to be prevented from going to their usual night perch on the top of the coop.) I'll take some pics when it is light out tomorrow. It is such a relief getting them separated so that I hopefully wont have any more turkey on chicken attacks.

Speaking of which, my Brahma girl that was attacked now has both eyes back open and some feathers starting to come back in. I don't believe she will re-grow all her feathers and will have a bit of scarring, but I'm thinking she'll have a full recovery.

As a survivor, she has earned a name. We are calling her Ishtar after the Assyrian goddess of rebirth and second chances. Planning on re-introducing her to the flock tomorrow.

Now that the turkeys are out of the pen with the laying flock, I decided to let my mother and babies loose to join the flock. I had been wondering how long momma would keep on with the babies, and I got my answer. As soon as she was free, she started sparring with the other hens to determine her place in the pecking order, and never looked back at the chicks. They are now almost 8 weeks old, and were a bit distressed, but I think they will do fine. I had to gather them up and put them in the big girl coop once it got dark. I'm sure there will be some rough days ahead for them as they get slotted into the pecking order.

Still lots to do to get the flocks consolidated and the rest of the winter runs built, but I feel like a lot of progress was made. I'm very grateful for the nice weather today!

Wow thats great for your hen! I hope to finish my goose pen soon, all this rain is really slowing me down. Got a lot more done with it today tho.

 

[Mother2Hens]

danad~ It never fails that when someone asks why the thread is slow that day, it is because the weather is beautiful. DH and I worked outside most of the day with help from the chickens, of course!
bradfield~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread! Please post photos of your coop as you build it. We love photos and questions/comments.
J3n~ I loved the photos of your chickens and roo playing in the fall leaves!
Leahs Mom posted: It is good to bring up the fire hazard again. Aoxa here on byc had a barn fire last year (probably who you’re [pipd] referring to). It was an “in your face” wake-up call for me and many others. I’ve never used heat in the hen house but I do have heated bases for the water. If I end up brooding w/out a broody I think I’d use an ecoglow which I think is much safer.
Wondering if you heat your water...I can’t leave mine without as I work and the hours I’m gone don’t work well with just changing out the waterers.
Oh..anyone want to read about Aoxa’s barn?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745178/fire-safety-in-your-chicken-coop-barn-important
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/les-farms-the-barn-of-all-barns

Leahs Mom and pipd~ Aoxa’s story was heartbreaking. The barn safety tips are excellent. I’ve never had a barn, but I bet that many barns are a safety hazard from old wiring to a variety of flammable materials.

pipd~ Great photos and great news about Margie’s egg!

Leahs Mom~ That chicken/egg gif is cute! I looked for some different chicken gifs recently because I was getting tired of using the BYC ones, but I didn’t see any good ones like your source.

 

[Mother2Hens]

amwchickin~ Let us know how things are going. About the “Chicken Health for Dummies” book, I bought it from this site since the author is the BYC owner. Many chicken books touch on a variety of subjects, but it is nice to have a resource that is just about chicken health, whether it’s this book or a different one.

jchny~ How are Mr. & Ms. Bourbon Red Turkey doing? Is the shy girl opening up?

racinchickin~ That is incredible that your hen recovered! And she has a magnificent name. Btw, I've referred to my coop as "The Big Girl Coop" to my Orps, but unfortunately for them, The Big Girl Coop contains Five Mean Hens!