INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[browncow15]

Ha Ha, I was surfing ebay and saw it happening out in CA.

But really your rooster crowed, mine rarely crow.  I have a tiny sumatra that crows more that the HRIR.  But my HRIR sure do mate well, and they love showing me how often they mate.  Since i want them to mate I don't put a stop to it but I will carry them around the coop for fun.  It is amazing to me that such a large rooster is so calm and easy to hold.

Geez anything to make a quick buck! That's so frustrating.

This one is a little flighty but I haven't handled him much. His crow was really funny to listen to. It was a time of day I'm not usually out there so he may have been before now and I just didn't know it, but I also saw him try to mount a hen for the first time last night so... I think my original roo is finally headed for the freezer!

On a high note, I became an auntie to twin girls this morning . Now I have 4 nieces under the age of four. I am already anticipating how hard that will be having 4 girls going to high school at the same time. Do you think counseling sessions make good Christmas presents?

I hope your kitty gets better quickly!! My DD, who just turned 2, was the first if 3 girl cousins born within 6 weeks of each other! It's fun now but I foresee drama in about 10 years!

Definitely agree! 
I'd always do whatever I can to help an injury if it's within reason.  And there are many more "natural" ways (you mentioned sulfa, for one) to help an otherwise healthy bird to become strong again.  As animal keepers we really do have to learn to judge the severity of the situation and act accordingly.


I guess I mixed 2 topics into that post too...culling when necessary was one.  The other was husbandry that works toward prevention rather than a "lifestyle of illness" that always needs remediation.  I probably should have separated those

There's a lot I could say on this topic but I think it's been covered very well by others I do want to emphasize that QUALITY OF LIFE needs to be strongly considered when making these decisions; this applies wether it's livestock, a PET, or even family members. There's SO much that medicine can do, but at what point does saving life become cruelty?

Sorry sensitive topic right now, I'm done. (hides under a chair)

 

[ChickCrazed]

I ordered 12, one didn't make the trip. I also have 5(?) more coming from SallyinIndianas order. (I can't remember exactly how many I ordered with her order!). I only plan to keep 2-3, so I will definitely have extras but won't be selling any until I raise them up and keep the best ones if there are any I like.

If anyone is interested in any Wyandotte cockerels, I have several available. They were the extras with my order. I believe they are all gold laced.

Woohoo! I will take one of your cast offs. I don't need breeding quality. I'm flexible on timing also so whenever you decide that one is unfit to breed I can take it - I just ask that we make sure it is a pullet this time! I have bad roo luck with cochins (although they are so sweet I can't entirely be mad about it).

I just placed an order for Bielefelders and Blue Isbars! They will be coming in March and they will be my first possible breeding endeavor! I've done a ton of research on them and can't wait!

Bielefelders have been called the “über chicken” due to their German engineering. Bielefelder chickens sport many desirable features such as being very docile, a dual purpose breed and auto sexing. The dual purpose comes from their large size and their egg laying production. The Bielefelder hens lay upwards of 200 eggs per year. Bielefelder roosters have a claimed weight of 10-12 pounds. They are not flighty and welcome human interaction. Even to the point of being jealous of attention from children.



Blue Isbar!

The Isbar is a cold-hardy breed which produces 150 to 200 eggs per year that come in a variety of shades of solid green or spotted green. The Isbar is the only green-egg-laying single combed chicken breed in the world today. The most beautiful and sought after variety of Isbar is the Blue Isbar, of which there are fewer than one hundred remaining in the world.

 

[barb s]

That's really cool that you are getting Isbar chicks. I am getting Isbar chicks this spring as well. I am also getting Breda chicks at the same time. Breda fowl come in Black Blue and Splash here in the states, are bred to the Standard for the Netherlands. They were in this country at some point in time known as Guelder Fowl. They have feathered legs, vulture hocks and no combs. I don't know how to include pictures from the internet but mine are coming from Walt's Ark If you go to there website you can see what they look like. Along with these 2 breeds I am getting Coronation, Light, Silver Sussex and Swedish Flower Hens from them. Also from 2 other breeders I have Silver Penciled, Partridge Rocks, Red and Silver-Gray Dorking, Bue Orpington, RC Rhode Island Red, Sliver Laced Wyandotte, Buckeye and German New Hampshire. I am also contemplating on trying to get someone to hatch some eggs from Urch/Turnlund's for me.

 

[CRSelvey]

I personally think its the severe weather and temp changes causing some of the colds. I won't cull a bird for a simple infection either.
I do separate them if possible. I think we all have different approach on flock management.

I for one, really appreciate all the different takes on flock management. Even if some of them don't fit my personality, it gives me something to think about and ways to become better. Thanks for that!

CRselvey ~Congrats on the niece additions, auntie. Twin nieces sound like fun-- more than twin daughters! lol Are they locally grown, so your Savannah can join the flock? And do you mean counseling sessions for the mothers?

Kiki lived through the box, but they were kind enough to give me a better one at the kennel. Unfortunately, my 14 lb cat was just too much for the new box and it tore on the way into the house. At least she was already home!!

The therapy sessions would be for the one mom and the dad of all 4 girls. My BIL and his wife are the lucky ducks to have the house full of sparkles and tiaras (at least so far). They live in Noblesville, so its about 1:15 from our house. Savannah is thrilled about the new additions to the family.

Congrats on more auntie-hood!!!!

Thank you!!

I have seen some pretty outrageous stuff! Cragslist is always fun!

There is a thread on here just dedicated to the silly posts on craigslist. Some are hilarious. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/436863/oh-craigslist-you-amuse-me-so

Congrats! I really love this pic!

I vote for infection too. Congratulations on being an auntie again!

Thank you! I've got my fingers crossed that its just that simple. Being an auntie again just gives me more reasons to knit

BrownCow: That is a lot of girls all at once. Do they all get together for a birthday party or have separate ones??

Here are a couple pictures from this morning:
This is Kiki's weird rash.

This was the race to get out of the coop this morning. Peanut Butter (EE Roo), Chicken Little (EOGB Roo), and Cochin (One of the three girls. I wish I could tell them apart better).

All this dust and mess is making me crazy. I want to get the pressure washer out so bad right now!

They have had enough of snow and really want me to put an extension on the run (In my opinion). I think they are tired of looking at each other all the time.

Doesn't she look grumpy? She wants me to hose everything down too! The girls in the back are Winnie (GLW) and Nutella (EE).

This is Sweetie ( Appenzeller Spitzhauben). I'd like to call her Arielle, but for some reason Sweetie is all that comes out when I talk to her.

 

[CRSelvey]

Woohoo! I will take one of your cast offs. I don't need breeding quality. I'm flexible on timing also so whenever you decide that one is unfit to breed I can take it - I just ask that we make sure it is a pullet this time! I have bad roo luck with cochins (although they are so sweet I can't entirely be mad about it).

I just placed an order for Bielefelders and Blue Isbars! They will be coming in March and they will be my first possible breeding endeavor! I've done a ton of research on them and can't wait!

Bielefelders have been called the “über chicken” due to their German engineering. Bielefelder chickens sport many desirable features such as being very docile, a dual purpose breed and auto sexing. The dual purpose comes from their large size and their egg laying production. The Bielefelder hens lay upwards of 200 eggs per year. Bielefelder roosters have a claimed weight of 10-12 pounds. They are not flighty and welcome human interaction. Even to the point of being jealous of attention from children.



Blue Isbar!

The Isbar is a cold-hardy breed which produces 150 to 200 eggs per year that come in a variety of shades of solid green or spotted green. The Isbar is the only green-egg-laying single combed chicken breed in the world today. The most beautiful and sought after variety of Isbar is the Blue Isbar, of which there are fewer than one hundred remaining in the world.

That's really cool that you are getting Isbar chicks. I am getting Isbar chicks this spring as well. I am also getting Breda chicks at the same time. Breda fowl come in Black Blue and Splash here in the states, are bred to the Standard for the Netherlands. They were in this country at some point in time known as Guelder Fowl. They have feathered legs, vulture hocks and no combs. I don't know how to include pictures from the internet but mine are coming from Walt's Ark If you go to there website you can see what they look like. Along with these 2 breeds I am getting Coronation, Light, Silver Sussex and Swedish Flower Hens from them. Also from 2 other breeders I have Silver Penciled, Partridge Rocks, Red and Silver-Gray Dorking, Bue Orpington, RC Rhode Island Red, Sliver Laced Wyandotte, Buckeye and German New Hampshire. I am also contemplating on trying to get someone to hatch some eggs from Urch/Turnlund's for me.

Oh my gosh you guys are lucky to get such interesting chickens!

 

[racinchickins]

I'm so happy! And it's not really because I just got a shipment of LF blue Cochin pullets, but rather my path to the coop didn't blow shut! Lol. Ok, I'm still happy about the Cochins as well! Lol

That's awesome. I bet they will be beautiful. Are they chicks or started pullets? Hopefully the weather will improve too so that you don't have to worry about drifts. I'm probably going to have to plow part of my driveway again tonight because of the blowing snow.

I just found out some eggs I ordered are on their way. 9 Basque Hen and 9 American Bresse. And she told me she gave me a bonus in the package: Double Laced Blue Barnevelders!! I was excited enough to get some more ABs to increase my genetics, but now I get my first Blue based chickens, and dark egg layers to boot! I do need to keep my excitement down though. We all know how shipped eggs can run into problems.

 

[CRSelvey]

So about the mess in the coop, I've been sweeping, using the rake, and using a mudding knife to clean everything every two or three days, but its just so dusty. I chose to use sand in the coop, which I really like, but I'm wondering if I should add something else to the sand in the run to help keep dust down. Any opinions?

I was also thinking of making some sort of raised screen to filter the sand through with a shovel...sort of a reverse colander using left over hardware cloth. I tried wiring some to the pitch fork like the Chicken Chick showed, but it didn't work out so well for me.

I did find some interesting links on making the fodder for my chickens but I am not sure what kind of seeds to use. If I go to the plant farm, do I just buy wheat, barley, or rye seeds, or do I get wild bird seed and sprout it?

 

[ChickCrazed]

That's awesome. I bet they will be beautiful. Are they chicks or started pullets? Hopefully the weather will improve too so that you don't have to worry about drifts. I'm probably going to have to plow part of my driveway again tonight because of the blowing snow.

I just found out some eggs I ordered are on their way. 9 Basque Hen and 9 American Bresse. And she told me she gave me a bonus in the package: Double Laced Blue Barnevelders!! I was excited enough to get some more ABs to increase my genetics, but now I get my first Blue based chickens, and dark egg layers to boot! I do need to keep my excitement down though. We all know how shipped eggs can run into problems.

I looked long and hard at the Barnevelders when I was picking my last two breeds to order! They are beyond gorgeous! I'm excited to see how you like them!

 

[minmin1258]

[COLOR=000080]CRselvey[/COLOR] [COLOR=8B4513]~ Wow, I've had cats my whole life and I've never heard of that (and I thought that I had been through everything possible with my cats through the years-- and those things always seemed to happen at a time when the only place open was the Pet Emergency Center). I'm glad you were able to get Kiki into the vet and treated. And don't feel bad about using a box as a carrier -- bradselig uses them for photoshoots of his chicks. [/COLOR] [COLOR=8B4513]Congrats on the niece additions, auntie. Twin nieces sound like fun-- more than twin daughters! lol Are they locally grown, so your Savannah can join the flock? And do you mean counseling sessions for the mothers? [/COLOR] [rule][COLOR=A52A2A]I was just looking about info for sexing chicks and I ran across this old-fashioned method. Does anyone have comments?[/COLOR]

This doesn't work, just yet another old wives tale.

I'm kind of at a loss as I can't read what is written under each of the pictures in the "sexing" post. (I use my I-4s for access and can't enlarge pics!) it looks interesting though. Can someone give me a little bit of a rundown as t what the captions say?

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

pic 1 caption- Some old books offer interesting methods for sexing chicks. One was that of picking the chick up by the scruff of the neck. If the chicks let its legs hang it is boy. If it draws its legs up to its breasts it is a female. This eliciting a sexual response in the chick. Below shows female response.

pic 2 caption- Another "old time" method is to place a chick on its back in your hand: females will stop kicking after a little while, males will continue to kick.

Pic 3 caption- A final method involves hanging the chick upside down in your finger--female chicks flap and try to right themselves, males just hang. Unfortunatley none of these methods were successful i determining the sex of Don's chicks.