INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[ellymayRans]

First one is all of the way out now! Here is a pic just before it pushed itself the rest of the way...during this time I saw 3 more external pips. None of the silkies as of yet! Keeping my fingers crossed! Of course my phone died because I keep using my handy dandy flashlight app on it!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Mother2Hens- Your classes are cracking me up! Maybe you could do some obstacle course training to keep them in shape during the winter, or obedience classes so they don't poo in unwanted places. Also, the rock thing is a good idea. Where were you when I was trying to keep my doors open and/or shut? I went with hook and eye latches. They are all over the coop, Rocks could be prettier and more economical.

Originally Posted by Too Fast
Mother, that’s good advice about the rock for the run door. I have one out in that area anyway, may as well make it useful.

CRSelvey and Too Fast
We actually use large, whole geodes that look like petrified brains. They’re much more attractive when opened! My BIL has tons on his property near Bloomington.


Originally Posted by CRSelvey
Also, on the topic of heat lamps, I was reading this article yesterday posted on The Chicken Fountain's FB page. http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130424-NEWS-304240373
Those people had baby chicks with a brooder light in a coop. In Maine! That’s a lot of risk factors.

Originally Posted by CRSelvey
I am determined not to use them in the coop unless we have something extraordinary happen, but I'd still hate to see this happen to anyone else. This is the advice the Chicken Fountain guy gave about the lamps:
Ok one more post about heat lamps... If you are going to use them, and we don't recommend that you do, make sure you use the correct kind. There are several low cost heat lamps fixtures out there that use a plastic socket. The plastic socket can melt or become brittle and break under the high heat of an infrared heat bulb. The bulb can fall out and break or worst yet stare a fire. Yesterday I took some temperature readings at the base of the bulb and the reading was 550.7 degrees, more then sufficient to melt a plastic fixture.
If you are going to use a heat lamp make sure the fixture you use has a ceramic socket designed for the high temperatures. Below is an example of a fixture with a ceramic base socket......

This is what I used last year:





I am not crazy about my flat panel heat emitter that I recently tried out because it doesn’t emit much heat and the area where I had to install it isn’t the optimal place. So, I’m going to go back to using a heat emitter ceramic “bulb” like I used last year. I also used the appropriate lamp with ceramic socket. To ensure that the components of the cover, lamp, and clamp didn’t come apart, I connected all parts with wire, which was then wrapped around a rafter (not too close) in the coop. There was plenty of room, so that the coop or a chicken didn’t come in contact with the lamp. I was familiar with that type of lamp/bulb because that’s what we had when we used to have a bearded dragon.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

First one is all of the way out now! Here is a pic just before it pushed itself the rest of the way...during this time I saw 3 more external pips. None of the silkies as of yet! Keeping my fingers crossed! Of course my phone died because I keep using my handy dandy flashlight app on it!

congrats, i hope you have more hatch!

 

[Mother2Hens]

CRSelvey posted: I went with hook and eye latches.

Cheryl ~ I forgot to mention that raccoons can easily open those. Not sure if that's what you use for your outer door. This is the type of latch on my coop doors and I use carbinger locks since they're easy to use and the raccoons haven't figured them out . . . yet!

 

[Mother2Hens]

I just looked in the Chicken Health for Dummies and on page 184 it has a list of parasitic worms that you can use to identify the gross thing and then it has the list of what to do about each one. I wish my printer/scanner hadn't hit the floor last week or I'd take good pics like M2H for you. but on page 186, they give you the list of medications and have dosages for them in the appendix. Maybe you can find a copy locally or check your library? I think Amazon has the download if you have some sort of reading device too.

Sometimes I can find the info from the book online. Here are links: Parasitic Worms in Chickens - For Dummies
How to Get Rid of Internal Parasites in Your Chickens - For Dummies
I scanned the treatments, but I am having trouble with uploading it, and this site in general is really slow tonight.
I will catch up on posts and try to upload it later.

 

[BackyardBitten]

Happy Tuesday evening everyone! Hope everyone is surviving this grumpy molt time!!!!

Oh it feels like Christmas in November!!! Why you may ask??? Well.... I got my 2014 Meyer Hatchery catalog today!! Oh this catalog is the devil because it has sent my chicken math into overdrive....maybe even borderline obsessed!! Oh well....i guess it's free just to look at the pictures and drool.

I must not pick up the phone....i must not pick up the phone... i must not........

 

[Mother2Hens]

Parasites continued . . . Even though by the time I finish posting the worm info for kabhyper, she has already treated her chickens, I will post this in case others need it and I'll make a folder with this info in it for future reference.

kabhyper ~ You know that we love photos! I especially liked seeing Lavender and her chicks hanging out.

ellymayRans ~ Congrats on the beginning of a large hatch!

CCCHICKENS ~ Congrats on eggs from your "mixed heritage" (not mutts!) hens. Btw, we will have to teach some classes at those poultry meetings. First, I need to get Nene's piano ordered!

brown cow ~ Your cows are so cute-- and so happy to have all that straw piled up.

jchny ~ Hope things went well with your Dad at the doctor appointment today.

House Kat ~ Everyone goes through the stage of being in love with their little rooster . . . until it becomes a big roo with a big crow and big plans.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

I had a Wow! moment this afternoon. I'm still trying to finish getting my garden boxes tucked in for the winter, spreading hay mulch & manure. I walked past one of the boxes that I had finished Saturday afternoon and noticed there was a concrete block laying at a weird angle in it. I wondered how it got there and then realized it was one of the concrete blocks I had placed on the front anchors of our hay storage shed last week to help stabilize it during a really windy day. This is the same shed that got blown over during Sunday's storm and is about 30 feet from the garden bed where I found the concrete block! I still can't figure out how that block managed to get hurled in the air when the shed flew up -- would have been amazing to see! Just glad it didn't do any damage.

And if anyone around us needs eggs, our chickens are still laying -- got 26 today -- been averaging 20 a day lately. I took 20 dozen to the food pantry today and still have 11 dozen in the fridge plus a few dozen duck eggs. I've been trying to do some extra baking to use the duck eggs, but I can't keep up with them -- collected 9 eggs both yesterday and today from those girls!

Anybody have any good recipes that use a lot of eggs besides quiche, egg casserole, deviled eggs, etc??!!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Happy Tuesday evening everyone! Hope everyone is surviving this grumpy molt time!!!!

Oh it feels like Christmas in November!!! Why you may ask??? Well.... I got my 2014 Meyer Hatchery catalog today!! Oh this catalog is the devil because it has sent my chicken math into overdrive....maybe even borderline obsessed!! Oh well....i guess it's free just to look at the pictures and drool.

I must not pick up the phone....i must not pick up the phone... i must not........

BackyardBitten ~Haha That reminds me of people who get their seed catalogs in early spring and start feeling anxious. I noticed on your signature that you ONLY have 3 chickens??? I thought I had a small flock. You obviously NEED more SOON! I bet they won't last through the winter unless you have enough to keep each other warm!

minmin1258 ~ Since you are trying to identify a black chicken, it allows me to post a pic of my Black Jersey Giant, my favorite. Here's a funny pose taken in September right before she started to molt. (Btw, I agree that yours are beautiful Australorps!)

 

[kabhyper1]

I ended up treating them with wazine. I was so grossed out, I couldn't wait. Hopefully it helps. I am going to add the little guys and Lavender to the coop this week, so I want the worms gone. Lavender looks awful, I felt around her feathers and there are pins everywhere, so hopefully she fills back out to her pretty self soon. Those babies have taken a lot out of her.