INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

Also, Kab, maybe you can answer this: what is the reason to have Alpacas? They are super cute animals but what are they used for? Do you use their wool? Is it even called wool?

Not an expert on alpacas, but alpaca fiber works well with wool fiber to make really really soft yarn. From yarn all kinds of knitted projects or crocheted projects can be made. Gloves, socks, leg warmers, hand warmers, baby clothes, shawls, sweaters, hats, scarves...
 
Not an expert on alpacas, but alpaca fiber works well with wool fiber to make really really soft yarn.  From yarn all kinds of knitted projects or crocheted projects can be made.  Gloves, socks, leg warmers, hand warmers, baby clothes, shawls, sweaters, hats, scarves...


I have used it often in my knitting because it's dreamy but I'm just wondering if that's the main reason to have them or are they just interesting pets for 4-h or something.
 
Oh Sally! M2H is going to croak when she reads that. I have a very good imagination and it almost did me in.
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I just use a large dog crate too and wrap it with broken down cardboard boxes half way up to keep in the bedding. It worked well for us because we were able to hang the water and food dishes from the top and slide a 1x2 through the tines for the babies to roost on.


We've tried sand and shaving but liked the sand best.
I've been thinking about you and your animals all day. I'm so happy for you that you get another week of time to figure out what to do. My DH was laid off once when my son was a baby and it was very very stressful. At the end he found a new position that was even better. I hope the patience and waiting will bring the same for you and your family of animals.
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Good luck!

Chick crazed and Kab, those are nice pics!!
thank you .. I'm glad it worked out for you. It is stressful that's for sure. just having DH home all the time is too, he messes with my routine... lol I dont know what we would have done if his boss hadn't called and told him to come get what he needed...

this is my dog create brooder with plastic on outside..

Hello. I have two mixed hens and a Cochin roo. Kabhyper1 is my daughter in law. I am starting to incubate eggs this week. Wish me luck!
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good luck with your hatch and
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I am so sorry
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Been thru it too. A few years back the company my DH and I worked at closed its doors.
we went from a 6 digit income to almost nothing. I know how you feel. It is a very painful wake up call for sure!
We lost everything, but in the end the only important thing was we had each other. It made us both stronger and more frugal.
One thing you can try is hang up CDs with fishing line or string, it sometimes works a few days.
Plastic grocery bags cut in strips, flapping in the wind and tied to the coop... motion drives them off.
Be creative, even strips of an old Tshirt will work.
thanks for the words of wisdom, hopefully we get straighten out before I have to get rid of my critters... don't know what I would do without them.





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so exciting! sending good hatch vibes!
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I love how your coop looks! Hope all the hard work helps.
I am getting the starlings again too since my run was wrecked by the snow
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No time for anything right now tho!
They may eventually, but at least it gives you time to work on it more.
Fermented feed seems to lessen the wild birds also.
want to try the feed but I don't have a warm place to put it I need at least a 5 gal bucket to start (27 hens 2 roo's ) and just no place to hide it from dogs and DH cause I cant convince him it is better for them. had read all kinds of stuff about it to him. but if I can hide it and him see the benefits before I tell him....... lol So that will be a summer thing..

I like the idea of an awning. They sure didn't have any trouble going under cover inside the coop but I did have fewer of them when I had the tarp over the run as my temporary slow down measure while I got more materials. The distress calls are another good idea. I am hoping they stop being an issue once the ground is uncovered and bugs come back out, but my fear is they have figured out where the easy meal is and they will find the open run door the second I open it to free range the kids. It really is unbelievable how quickly it became a MAJOR issue, so my recommendation is to have plans in place in case they find you!
We have plans on an addition to our coop and we are going to put an awning on it for shade and rain and snow protection... But that will be after he gets back to work.
 
We have alpacas for fleece. They get sheared once a year, usually late spring/ early summer. It's beneficial to them and to us. They don't handle heat well, so all of that fleece is dangerous to them in the summer, and we get to make pretty, soft, hypoallergenic things out of it. They don't eat a lot, and they are very relaxing to have around. :) The chickens and alpacas are symbiotic. The chickens eat the nasty parasites that could affect the alpacas, and the alpacas provide a certain amount of protection for the chickens, among other reasons.
 
I posted this on another thread and just in case y'll missed it or don't go to that thread... here it is again.
A warning about the Starlings!!! they will kill your chickens.!!!! found a hen in a corner under a big group of Starlings... they were pecking her. She cant hold herself up and she has not eaten for 3 days, I told DH when he got up that he needed to put her down. he don't want to but I am not going to let her suffer any more then she has. I have done all I can and she is tired of fighting, so I feel its time. Really upsetting!!! this winter I have lost 5 hens including her to this dang cold and the problems it has caused. I never thought BIRDS would attack a chicken!!!! but that mistake will not be made again!! I get one problem solved and another one pops up. So glade I got the Starlings stopped from coming in the coop... for now....
Cant wait till this cold and white stuff is gone..... So sick of it.!!!!!!
Anyway if your having problems with these birds WATCH THEM AND GET RID OF THEM they are killers!!!!!
 
Does anyone know how long to wait, or if you even have to wait, to incubate and hatch eggs that are laid by a hen that just got off of antibiotics? My silkies just got off Duramycin and I would like to not have to toss the eggs if they will hatch safely.
 
I posted this on another thread and just in case y'll missed it or don't go to that thread... here it is again.
A warning about the Starlings!!! they will kill your chickens.!!!! found a hen in a corner under a big group of Starlings... they were pecking her. She cant hold herself up and she has not eaten for 3 days, I told DH when he got up that he needed to put her down. he don't want to but I am not going to let her suffer any more then she has. I have done all I can and she is tired of fighting, so I feel its time. Really upsetting!!! this winter I have lost 5 hens including her to this dang cold and the problems it has caused. I never thought BIRDS would attack a chicken!!!! but that mistake will not be made again!! I get one problem solved and another one pops up. So glade I got the Starlings stopped from coming in the coop... for now....
Cant wait till this cold and white stuff is gone..... So sick of it.!!!!!!
Anyway if your having problems with these birds WATCH THEM AND GET RID OF THEM they are killers!!!!!
Wow, I didn't know they would do that. Something like that happened to me a few weeks ago, but it was the other way around. My ameraucanas killed a starling. Sorry about your hen. That is just terrible
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thank you .. I'm glad it worked out for you. It is stressful that's for sure. just having DH home all the time is too, he messes with my routine... lol I dont know what we would have done if his boss hadn't called and told him to come get what he needed...

want to try the feed but I don't have a warm place to put it I need at least a 5 gal bucket to start (27 hens 2 roo's ) and just no place to hide it from dogs and DH cause I cant convince him it is better for them. had read all kinds of stuff about it to him. but if I can hide it and him see the benefits before I tell him....... lol So that will be a summer thing..
I can understand that completely. My DH works from home in the basement but he's up here all the time and I'm not kidding, it really slows a girl down. I adore him, but on occasion, it would be nice if his office was located elsewhere. There is also something to be said for getting to miss someone. We aren't friends on FB just so we have things to talk about that we didn't already experience together
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Maybe the fact that fermenting feed cuts the cost by 1/3-3/4 depending on who you read or listen to would convince him. If you can feed the same number of animals for significantly less, it seems to make sense. I'm just worried that it would go bad and I wouldn't know enough to know that it was wrong. You can get free 5 g buckets at Kroger or Walmart's bakery to get you started. We have had long discussions here (you can search this thread for FF) and last year we were hoping to have a demo at Poultryfest, but I think we got too busy talking and ogling Patrick and Wade's house (racinchikin) for Janet to show us. I'm hoping we can work it out this year. Here is an entry I just read on it http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/fermented-feed.html

We have alpacas for fleece. They get sheared once a year, usually late spring/ early summer. It's beneficial to them and to us. They don't handle heat well, so all of that fleece is dangerous to them in the summer, and we get to make pretty, soft, hypoallergenic things out of it. They don't eat a lot, and they are very relaxing to have around. :) The chickens and alpacas are symbiotic. The chickens eat the nasty parasites that could affect the alpacas, and the alpacas provide a certain amount of protection for the chickens, among other reasons.
That sounds pretty nice! My DH loves them, but I can't yet figure out if he is actively pursuing the interest or if its a passing fancy. My guess is that it will pass, but their faces just make you want to kiss them.
 
So i havent been on for a few days due to battelingstrept throat and the stomach virus.....So since I dont have anymore chickens I need a new hobby and I'm thinking of arts and crafts does anyone have any spare arts and crafts laying around??? Pm me since I'm not always on
 

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