INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[lilmizscareall]

Here's my cuddly, fully integrated flock enjoying the last bit of daylight.

"Big" Roo and his blurry girls, currently unnamed. Partridge Cochin Bantams
Blurry Dita, René in the back.

Roo, his girls, and René hiding.

"Little" Roo aka René hiding again and Dita!
Birchen Marans from Brad S.

 

[Kiniska]

Okay....fill us in:

-Breeds?  (Sometimes that can be the reason for better or worse laying.)
-What do you feed?
-How much outdoor time do they get vs. indoor time?
-Have you done anything different for the winter than you do for summer?

Hmmm....
Well they are allowed out in the run when we aren't home. When we are home they have acres and acres to roam. They mainly stay on the top two near the house.
They get all the kitchen scraps along with the local feed supplier's chicken blend. I have a compost heap in their run. There is not a light in the shed. We just put corrugated plastic around all the open areas to keep the wind out. They have a large heated dog bowl I fill twice a day.
They are English Orpingtons.
Hope that helps.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Okay, we close on our new house on Monday.

Then comes all the fun of moving 18 years worth of stuff.

We will be moving our chicken's coop during the move. Does anyone have any advice about moving, stress, getting them use to their new land, etc. for the me about the chickens? I just thought I would ask before we move, so I know what to look forward to.
I am excited to move, but I am worried about stressing my girls out in the process.

Thank you in advance for any help, tips, or advice you can share.

strssdmom ~ I don't envy you moving-- especially this time of year. We've been in our house about that long, and I dread the thought of going through years of stuff . . . on a good note, I googled: "tips for moving with chickens" and found lots of resources, so give google a try since we might not have many members who've moved chickens before.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Please don't put heat tape into the feed. They're made to be wrapped around the outside of a pipe not inside a wet area. But you could wrap it on the outside of the container!

Quote: Yes. Thank you.

Opportunity to eat from the compost and kitchen scraps, freedom to range for food in addition to chicken feed backup. Those all seem to make for good laying.


Somewhat unrelated but - how is your hawk activity there?

 

[PeacefulWalls]

In Indy, it's sleeting and freezing rain right now (3:50pm). I much preferred the temperature this morning when I let the dogs out compared to the cold winds that are out there now!
Yes--showers before orchestra concerts are a must. Them thar's a RE-fined buncha folks at them concerts!

Oh yuck! Stay safe! That weather is only good if you have no where to go and can stay inside. I got chilled to the bone working outside today. Unfortunately, I didn't quite finish my job so I'll have to go out again tomorrow. At least part of it will be in the barn and a tiny bit warmer...well, maybe not since we've been leaving the doors open for the animals to go in and out. At least it's dry out! I took the lawnmower out to the edge of the pasture and mowed a few strips then emptied the bag out a couple of times for the ducks, chickens & alpacas. They were all excited for the fresh grass since their runs have eaten down.

The three in the front, Blue Black and splash, and the partridge in the back are staying. Plus two of the white ones and another little blue one that were inside that day. The blue and Black in the back and the other 2 white ones that were inside are going to their new home saturday. They are all going together, and I believe they are 2 pairs. They are going to a friends alpaca farm in middlebury. So I know they will have a good home.
I just realized you are in WV so you probably don't know where Middlebury is lol.

Is that Indian Prairie Alpacas? We visited with them earlier this year as we were trying to learn more about raising alpacas. If that's where your babies are going maybe we'll have to visit Renae again & see them!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Okay....fill us in:
-Breeds? (Sometimes that can be the reason for better or worse laying.)
-What do you feed?
-How much outdoor time do they get vs. indoor time?
-Have you done anything different for the winter than you do for summer?
Originally Posted by Kiniska
Hmmm....
Well they are allowed out in the run when we aren't home. When we are home they have acres and acres to roam. They mainly stay on the top two near the house.
They get all the kitchen scraps along with the local feed supplier's chicken blend. I have a compost heap in their run. There is not a light in the shed. We just put corrugated plastic around all the open areas to keep the wind out. They have a large heated dog bowl I fill twice a day.
They are English Orpingtons.
Hope that helps.

Kiniska ~ Gee, there's hope for my English Orps! Since they haven't started laying, I suppose they are waiting until spring.

Leahs Mom ~ My RIR, BR, and SLW laid all winter last year (their first winter) and they are currently the three who are laying--they're just getting back into the routine after molting. They lay every other day in the winter as opposed to every day during summer (except many of us had layers that had an intermittent summer for some unknown reason). My EE took a few months off last winter and is currently loafing. The only thing I do differently in the winter is give them a little heat in the coop, which I have "taken heat" for doing. LOL They sure are happy and cozy right now during the freezing rain we're getting! My flock free ranges all day, which currently is from 6:30am - 4:30pm Central Time. I'm guessing that the main reason those three are good layers is because of their breeds.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I hot home at 9 and it was barley snowing. Look outside at 10:15 and tjere is a ton of snow!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Here's my cuddly, fully integrated flock enjoying the last bit of daylight.

"Big" Roo and his blurry girls, currently unnamed. Partridge Cochin Bantams
Blurry Dita, René in the back.


Roo, his girls, and René hiding.

"Little" Roo aka René hiding again and Dita!
Birchen Marans from Brad S.
Wow, your roo is beautiful!! Is he a Cochin Bantam?
PeacefulWalls posted: I think one of the girls I got from Brad this summer as a baby laid her first egg yesterday -- there was one the size of a quail egg in the coop!

Why does everyone seem to have a chicken from bradselig? Kinda reminds me of that movie they've been advertising called, "Delivery Man."

 

[Leahs Mom]

Why does everyone seem to have a chicken from bradselig? Kinda reminds me of that movie they've been advertising called, "Delivery Man."

Because if they didn't, Brad would have 1,000,000 chickens!

 

[kabhyper1]

Oh yuck! Stay safe! That weather is only good if you have no where to go and can stay inside. I got chilled to the bone working outside today. Unfortunately, I didn't quite finish my job so I'll have to go out again tomorrow. At least part of it will be in the barn and a tiny bit warmer...well, maybe not since we've been leaving the doors open for the animals to go in and out. At least it's dry out! I took the lawnmower out to the edge of the pasture and mowed a few strips then emptied the bag out a couple of times for the ducks, chickens & alpacas. They were all excited for the fresh grass since their runs have eaten down.

Is that Indian Prairie Alpacas? We visited with them earlier this year as we were trying to learn more about raising alpacas. If that's where your babies are going maybe we'll have to visit Renae again & see them!

Yep Indian Prairie. Renae is coming Saturday to get her fluff balls. We also have a female alpaca that has a bit of a spitting issue, so she is bringing a spit mask for us to try. She has 6 RIR hens that she will integrate the silkies with in the spring.