INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
it must just be my lowes, but wow great deal on the shed. Are there more? that would be worth the 2 hour drive.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

My opinion on the sand is to avoid buying it in small bags.  Contact a gravel / sand yard and get lots of it for much much less than Lowes or walmart sell it for.    Sorry Brad, it is one of the few things I think Lowes makes a more than nice profit on.


That said for now I will use the free pine tree trimmings as a pile of sand in my yard waiting to be used would attract the barn cat as a litter box paradise.  I don't want to have to screen it for cat poo before it collects chicken poo.  And I still have plenty of room for the deep litter when I need to remove it from the coop.  lots of low places in my yard.

I get my san for $6 a ton

 

[bradselig]

it must just be my lowes, but wow great deal on the shed.  Are there more?  that would be worth the 2 hour drive.

The shed was a one only. Still in packaging, but is almost 4 years old. So between potentially getting wet and the heat and humidity, I'm sure some wood will be warped and I'll have to replace it. But still too good to pass up. Corporate had it marked down to $240 and I haggled on price. I asked $50 (gotta bid low! Lol) and he came back at $100, we met in the middle. There are two newer sheds that are discontinued I will watch. They are still $500 right now, I think they are 8x8.

 

[Mother2Hens]

All right final chick tally is four. Two splashes, one blue, and one black. They are lovely, will post pictures tomorrow. There were ten total eggs, I found this about the ones that did not hatch. Two were not fertile and the other four appeared to have stopped developing at the same time. I am guessing during the cold snap. M2H, if both the splashes are girls, one has your name on it.

Kiniska ~ OOh, that is tempting and I appreciate your kindness! I am trying to be rational and wait for bradselig to hatch two Cochins for me on March 9 (daylight savings time! Yay-- more time to play with chicks!)

bradselig, Since losing my Jersey, I've decided that I'd like two LF Cochins please. Two girl chicks, blue, splash, or black, one frizzle. I hope your compulsion to order large quantities of chicks doesn't interfere with my important (and very specific) order! lol

I hope that when you order those numbered leg bands for your chicks that you were discussing, you make sure the #s go up into the thousands considering how many you have! Haha

I am going to give the make your own incubator project a try my self. So far I have priced things out, including the homemade egg turner, and I am looking at right around 100.00 worth of stuff. Included us a calibrated digital hygrometer/ thermometer combo with probe, thermostatically controlled heat source, a small electric motor, a timer, and some PVC. I like tinkering, so my time I am not worried about.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RowdyReptile

I don't have a huddle box, but having openings at the top of the boxes will keep moister out of the boxes, humid air rises.
I've been planning to get a roo for quite some time and see if I get any fertile eggs. I dont order fertile eggs, I only do local. Who says I'm going to try to sell The incubator? I'm doing this mainly for fun. It's a good learning experience also. Maybe it will be a success and I will end up with some chicks.
No rain landing on my parade, just some melting snow and chilly weather, finally.
I remember last March when several members decided to make styrofoam incubators. I did "Search This Thread" for Styrofoam Incubators and looked around March 2013. CluckAcres, animallover2202, and Crafty chick posted info. Here's a URL that was posted, too: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/home-made-incubator

 

[lilmizscareall]

x2 I've used sand for a few years now and it makes my life sooo much easier. It's always nice and dry and the girls always have somewhere to dustbathe year round. Plus, if I don't have the time to scoop it out the occasional morning, the poops dry out nicely with a little bit of PDZ sprinkled over them. When I used straw and shavings, I was perpetually having to clean the entire coop out and replacing all the bedding because it just stank. I can just sift the droppings out of the sand and it's good to go. No poo smell, no ammonia smell. Only disadvantage is that it needs to be scooped every day, but it literally takes me 10 minutes--probably would take less time with fewer birds and a smaller coop.

In the yard might be a different story, though. I've been trying to use sand to help with the sloppy, muddy spots in the yard and it keeps washing away. I don't know if wood chips or shavings would help. I will say this: I will absolutely never ever EVER use straw in the yard again! It turned into a nasty, wet, stinky, squishy layer of yuck that was heavy and miserable to shovel. YICK! Anything has to be better than that! It did compost nicely, though, once it was out and away from my chicken yard.

Sweet PDZ is the best! I use it in the litter box!

 

[RowdyReptile]

No symptoms before hand, we always feed flakes, but ran out and got those awful red pellets. I had fry in there just big enough to eat food and they are gone now too. I think I may just sell the set up. I have so much to do here with the animals, I think I am done with the aquarium. I just need a home for my big guys and 1 Kenyi male.

I wish I could take them off your hands, but my tank is full.

That's alright, you hate on my Lowes, but I can't complain as I just bought an 8x10 wood shed kit for $75!

But I do agree with you! Those prebagged goods are high in price, but much easier to move around, IMO.

The lowes in Bluffton? Do they have any left?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

My little girls (and boy) are 8 months old today, so I got some pictures.

Ihi the Golden Campine:




Marama the Egyptian Fayoumi, clearly enjoying the weather:




Rangi the Ancona and her poor, frostbitten wattles:




Roha the Exchequer Leghorn:




Whiri the Light Brown Leghorn:




Huka the Silver Lakenvelder, blending in with the snow:




Mr. Po the Black Cochin bantam:




And good ol' Marge the Silkie, who is actually closer to 9 months old I think:

Lovely birds, hard to believe looking at them now, they were just babies a few months ago.
They grow up too fast!

Morning all. Lost a chicken to a predator yesterday, thinking a cat or maybe a skunk. I'd stepped outside in the afternoon and smelled one. It was a buff brahma Banty hen that would fly over the coup. Whatever it was only defeathered the neck and are that part. Then this morning I had a dead Millie hen in the nest. She was fine yesterday!! Chicken raising is a hard business!! Otherwise all made it thru the weather ok. I did notice tracks in the snow Friday Am after the new small snow. Interesting what's out whe we are not!!


Love all the pics from everyone!!

sorry to hear about the loss.

Quote: Goats are an easy keeper if you don't plan for a buck. Mine is a stinker, literally, very strong odor

2nd time I have owned a buck.
Very glad to have some girls again! I keep the buck separated from my does unless its breeding time.
I have always had a few for pets, this time is for milk.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.
Um yes, I think so, when I first brought her in, before I realized what might be wrong with her I cleaned her feet and legs with a warm wet rag to clean the grim off the I took some warm slightly soapy water to clean around the cut on her toe but I didn't know what else to do other than clean it. This is the first time I've been in this situation but aside from common sense and what seemed like the right thing to do I didn't do anything other than that before my mom made me put her back out. I did put some vaseline on her comb for frostbite too but that had nothing to do with this problem.

And thanks so very much for the support guys its great to be able to talk about my chickens now without getting weird looks.

Flockmaster ~ Haha That's what we all love about our group-- we understand! I've had to have two pet hens put to sleep at the vet since joining this thread a year ago, and although I was heartbroken, having the support and kind posts from everyone helped SO much. Even though we have so many different types of people and have members who have chickens for healthful food and members who have them for pets, we have a common bond of understanding what it's like to be chicken crazy! It's a good thing!

You should click on the Indiana BYCers link at the bottom of my post. Check out the List of Useful Links that include making a First Aid Kit (be prepared) and Health References and Links.

Petting my chickens always cheers me up when I feel depressed. They always seem to understand

CCCHICKENS posted: When I am having a bad day my chickens always cheer me up.

Yes, Chicken Therapy is wonderful! They are so funny and entertaining.

 

[kabhyper1]

Everyone be careful with the flu this year. I heard today my cousin who is only a year older than me, 37, died today from it in Indy. He was in an induced coma and on heart and lung machines. He was healthy before he got it. It's really bad this season!!!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Ha ha! I have FINALLY caught up with you chatterers! This has to be the fastest flying thread on BYC! I believe it is the most interesting one, too. The long, boring lectures and squabbles on the other threads put me to sleep.

WELCOME to all our new Indiana BYC members! It is good to have you here! Don't be afraid to pipe up and share. We love to read your stories. And, if you have questions, we are full of answers.

I have enjoyed admiring all the photos of the beautiful chooks our IN BYCers are caring for. It makes me all the more impatient for chickens of my own!

I never did get my coop built this fall. With the sort of winter we have been having, it may be just as well since I am a beginner. My brother-the-carpenter has been sick off and on. It may well be a return of his cancer, but he has no medical insurance to get it checked out. (He is trying to get on to Obamacare, but may not make enough income. Indiana's governor has decided not to use the available federal funding to expand Medicare, which leaves a number of low income Hoosiers with too much income for IN medicare and too little for Obamacare.) He has been working inside our house and has turned out some beautiful wainscoting, but hasn't been able to do outdoor work on the coop. Maybe I can line someone up to build my coop this spring. I have plans drawn up with all the little bells and whistles I want that ready-made coops don't include. I did have LF heirloom pullets lined up, too, but will have to start over. Meanwhile. I am soaking up chicken knowledge from fellow BYCers, other websites, and magazines.

I received a very nice gift of a chicken teakettle for Christmas to add to my chicken collectibles. I have been collecting chicken paraphernalia and longing for a flock for many years, so I have quite a few items around the house. My great-grandparents were the last in a line of Steckleys who ran a mill and hatchery in Kendallville. I can remember visiting the hatchery as a little girl and watching chicks hatch. Guess that got me started.

toodlesmom ~ I am so sorry to hear that political retribution has prevented your BIL from health insurance! The Affordable Care Act was created for Americans like your BIL. It's pathetic that our Indiana governor's politics led to your BIL not even being able to find out if his cancer has returned!

One of our beloved members, vickichicki (and her DH) are carpenters in Indy. You could PM her about your Coop Dreams~ and if she's too busy, she could give you some names. Other Indy area members might know carpenter/handy people. Your plans are especially important since Chicken Therapy is imperative.

I received several chicken-related Christmas gifts, too! Haha I used to frequently receive cat-related gifts. Since I like modern design, it's challenging, but fun to find modern chickens as opposed to the classic country style. I was thinking that it would be fun to make a photo album on my profile showing my chicken do-dads, but then I had to tell myself that I really have more pressing priorities! lol
I'm not quite caught up on posts yet, but close!