INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

I got the call at 6 this morning that my chicks had arrived at the post office (it took 20 hours for them to drive the 5 hours from Missouri to Indiana, no wonder the USPS is going bankrupt). I left right away to go get them and heard the beautiful sound of chirping from the box! They all survived but you should have seen them attack the food and water! I got two extra male Bielefelders (for a total of 5 Bielies) and two extra Isbars (for a total of 5 straight run but increases my odds for a good female showing!). They are just beautiful and not at ALL skittish. I don't know if that is the breed personality already showing through or if they were handled a lot, but they aren't afraid of me reaching in from above and when I pulled a couple out and plopped them down for pictures they just sat and accepted some loving with no fear! The Bielies are HUGE too! About 3 times the size of the Isbars. I'm not sure what the hatch dates were, so they may be a bit older.

Male Bielefelder - they are lighter colored with cream and bronze barring



Female Bielefelder, darker with chestnut and bronze barring



Blue Isbar - they are so tiny next to the Bielies! I'm not sure if they are younger or of there is that big of a size difference!

You have my full attention! Wow are they gorgeous!

Ugh. Power is out. Have little over 100 eggs incubating and my blue/gold brahmas are in lockdown!

been there.. good luck!

O
Quote: Good luck to you too!

Maybe some of you might be quicker with the helpful info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/862288/bloody-poop#post_13004526
This is my post.

I agree, hopefully you were able to get the medicine.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Power is out for part of IU Bloomington campus, just got a call from a family member telling me that
Thanks for sharing the info!

Hope the power comes back on quickly up there. How much snow have you all in the northern part of the state gotten so far. It rained here all night (around Indy) and switched over to snow an hour ago. Luckily it's not sticking to the ground yet.

I have 10 Legbar eggs and 6 barnyard mixes in the incubator hatching as I type this, from work. First barnyard mix was out of the shell yesterday afternoon, one Legbar was almost out this morning before I left for work. I know at least 4 more of the Legbars had broken the first hole in the shell. Hopefully there will be more out running around when I get home later.

I was a little concerned with this hatch. The temp stayed good from day one 99.5-100.5 the whole time. My humidity was 25-30% until lockdown then I bumped it up. I had trouble for some reason getting the humidity high enough on day 18 &19. Finally, 4 water trays with sponges and a couple wet paper towels and by the end of day 19 it was 55%. This morning it was 64% so hopefully that will be high enough for them to make it out of the shell.

It should be ok, if one has been externally pipped over 24 hours, then I will start to help them.
You were having fair humidity during incubation, so just watch the pips.

put some eggs in lockdown this morning. Now as the outside temps decrease, I'll need to make sure the humidity stays high every time the furnace heats our house.

Ugh I know I sure don't miss that headache.

Ok here is all the information I got for the NPIP Blood testing- I emailed them

-There is no minimum age limit on which you can become a tester. So if any of you have young kids that want to be more involved and aren't squimish, this is a perfect oppurtunity.

-In Indiana you can test your own flock once you are certified

-The classes are offered on two seperate dates
Saturday April 12, 2014 at Purdue University (lily hall) 8:30-noon
Thursday April 17, 2014 at Purdue SIPAC (Dubois, IN) 4:00-7:30

-cost $50 for class and an additional $22 if you want the starting kit

-You must pass a final exam at the end of the test

Here is the link to the Indiana State Poultry Association
http://www.inpoultry.org/

Thanks so much for sharing this! I am going to see if they have more classes later this year too.

Sorry for reposting, but, I asked one time before and don't think I got any replies. (If anyone did reply and I missed it then I'm sorry) Does anyone know what this hens coloring would be called. She is a bantam cochin from TSC last year. I looked up "silver-penciled" and that doesn't quite look the same. Neither does "silver-laced"

Any ideas?

That would have been my thoughts too. I like the breed, but don't have any yet. Hopefully someone can help.

Quote:

I hope everyone who has Bator's going get 's power going soon. So far I haven't seen anything but wind and some rain in So In.

I am toying with the idea of getting a small Brinsea incubator, probably the pro or whatever it's called that does more for you. Einstein's boyfriend (I call him Rex, after that 47 pound circus rooster) was over again the other day and, oh, my poor girl, she's on the small side of a chicken and he's huge! But I would totally love to see if I can get some chicks to hatch. I think EE x BCM would be so neat. And I don't think she would go broody - ever. She's way to interested in what the human's are doing! She followed me in the garage yesterday where my 6 three wk old chicks are and checked them out. They all got real quiet and I saw a bunch of stink-eye's being thrown!

My DF is thinking about doing quail this summer. He really would like to get more back in the area. So we will probably need a bigger incubator for that. We used a Styrofoam one for snake eggs and it totally ruined them within two days and we were following instructions to the T.

SO, anyone with advice on incubators: I would like to do just a few eggs here and there for fun, so I'm thinking a small brinsea, but if we do start quail this year and would be doing a bunch, we would obviously need a bigger one.

Anyone who does quail - let me know what has worked best for you!

Ok, enough BYC time, gotta head up to the farm and see my chicks and dogs!


Einstein and Rex enjoying the spring? sunshine!

They do offer several sizes. If you plan to do some hatching for crosses, its totally addictive! Some of the mixes are just stunning birds. Blue layer X dark brown may produce olive eggers...so much fun! If you process your roosters, you will find out what an amazing difference there is in a home raised bird for the table.
I would go bigger size depending on the size of your family. Quail are fantastic little egg machines. 3 jumbo coturnix will make 1 chicken egg. In the LGs (foam bator) I could get 120 set at a time. My Sportsman holds an unthinkable amount (1368 Quail Eggs) but I really don't want to feed/brood that many

I have 60 eggs in the fridge for frying or cooking. Several dozen more hardboiled ready to eat. 65 in lock down, another 63 in the bator, and about 70 chicks right now. Am setting 58 more tomorrow! They can be very friendly, and 2 of mine are true pets, Speckles and 2 Toes. Both are just strong healthy birds, even though they are different color (speckles is a golden) and 2 Toes was attacked by a chicken when he escaped.. lost 2 toes

. Both walk right up your arm to be held. They will live their lives out and be spoiled.
The easiest comparison I can find is pheasant or a young heritage turkey, but much better as far as flavor. This is a lean bird, so read up on cooking ideas. They will dry out easily, so low and slow cooking method is best.Marinating or brining is just

I process birds at 8 weeks or so. Rotate the breeding flock every 9 months or so. We really enjoy them for a food bird. DH will be smoke curing them also soon to see how they turn out. A serving is 2-3 birds per adult. The biggest reason I started raising them is the health values for my parents. Google the heath benefits and nutritional values, eggs and meat. Its pretty incredible how healthy they are for us.

Quote: browncow15 I am sooo sorry to hear it

Very good points from SallyIN. I usually don't candle til lock down unless I need the room, or I smell "that odor

" Its rare to have an egg explode if you just smell (yep, smell them) the ventilation holes every day. I have been really surprised by hatches I knew would fail because of power losses. And have lost some pretty special eggs too. We are getting a battery backup SOON so its not an issue anymore.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

ok cant find anything that gives me actual temps. so I made the billy a coat and blocked all the drafts with a tarp and put a whole bale of hay on the floor cause I don't have straw. It is going to get down to 15 tonight, you think they will be ok?

Wish I was there to help! I would keep checking to be sure. I know you are a late nighter like me, so feel their feet, ears etc.
Put a heat lamp up and secure it well if you have to, this is the last bad spell according to all the forecasts. Just watch that lamp close.

is it a state certification only, being that it is offered in Indiana & i live in Michigan

http://www.hpbaa.com/NPIP_Information.html
Hope this helps
Did I ever tell you, I was born in Brown City/Marquette MI

My family moved here when I was about 8 months old.

Quote: Staying soooo very far away from there!

Hello, everyone!

My babies have turned 10 months old today, so I have pictures!

My girl, Rangi the Ancona. Poor girl has lost half a wattle and all but one of her comb tips this winter.




The attention hog, Roha the Exchequer Leghorn:




Huka the Silver Lakenvelder, who was uncooperative because she was fussing over where to lay an egg. She was the last one to start laying out of these girls, but I don't know when she laid her first because she hid it.

Ihi the Golden Campine, who finally has regrown her fan-tail!:




My sassy Egyptian Fayoumi, Marama. Such an attitude! She's always got something to say about everything:




Whiri, my beautiful Light Brown Leghorn:




Margie the Silkie who is closer to 11 months old. She's just quit brooding for the fourth or fifth time.




Oh, and Mr. Po the black Cochin bantam. He's been such a good boy lately, finding treats for the girls and breaking up fights between some of them.

I'm so proud!

Just a couple more pictures I forgot in the last post. Marama being sassy:




And Ihi, who is just so silly sometimes.

She's preening in this picture, by the way.

They are all just gorgeous birds! Rangi and Roha and my favs!
Margie will be your incubator for sure, and she is just a beautiful girl..

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

So anyone know how to calm down a showgirl hen? She does NOT like other chickens! I had her in with a roo but got rid of that roo. So I was making up a new pen with the showgirl, 2 silkie pullets, 1 showgirl pullet and a roo. She was was attacking the rooster as if she was another roo! Flogging and everything! I went out to take care of the other chickens outside and I find one silkie pullet just sitting in the middle of the pen with her head down not moving. I pull her out and she is practically our if it. Just sat there. I looked through her crest and sure enough, her scalp was bloody. The pullet did not live through the night! The other showgirl is so submissive anyway I pulled her out before she could get injured.

I'm not sure what to do with her. So far she has settled it out the roo, but I'd rather not have just pen for the pair. I guess I need to hatch out as many chicks from them and then cull her. I've never had to deal with such a mean hen!

Oh my, The poor pullet, I am so sorry

My white silkie hen is just as aggressive, I put her in with LF LO hens, and she settled down, then dominated them also

She thought she was as big and needed to be dominated. She did undermine the orp hens, but the GLWs with them set her up to realize its not happening. She is now back in the silkies pen and much better mannered. I do not plan to breed her at this point. DD will need to decide what she wants to do with her, mean birds cannot stay.

Sorry about the hen situation Brad.
Well my power stayed on and I just put 9 out of 14 eggs on lock down! 5 did not make it. One egg was about a 3" long embryo (slight smell to the egg) and one was about pea size, the last 3 I knew from candling they were glow in the dark duds. This is a batch that was staggered in the same bator at 65 percent humidity for their first five days. And they also were shipped eggs! So 64% isn't to bad I don't think, but I am new (2nd hatching) to incubating. Hopefully in a few days I will have 4 BPR's and 5 RIR's running around!

Bad eggs

Anything above 50% is awesome for shipped eggs. Congrats!!!

Quote: Try putting her with LF hens, she sounds like she needs to learn pecking order.

Quote: #1 will be ok with you bottle feeding him.

Its so hard to see a weak one, just be positive, lots of vitamins/electrolites and keep him warm.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hope everyone is surviving the latest winter weather bout - it finally stopped snowing here after aprox an 8" accumulation + high winds causing some [not so] nice drifting. i drove into town this afternoon & parts of our driveway are drifted over where the tire tracks used to be a couple hours ago. per a weather app i use, it looks like another snowstorm coming on the 19th + 20th. it may be quite late before we can plant our garden this year, unless i decide to grow icecubes instead of vegetables this year

U aren't kidding. I have a few hundred seed for heirloom trees and veges started but ugh....Am really wondering if the trees will go out this year.

Don't know if anybody ever checks out the Rare Breed Auction or not. But Greenfire Farms has 15+ rare breed chicks up for auction, bid right now is $25.01. There is another listing for 10 assorted 100% English Orpingtons chicks up for auction, the current bid on them is $30.00

I look a lot! Need a lot better security and a LGD tho

I got a few more pictures today and ones from one of the nice "spring days" we had before the latest snow storm.

This is my D'uccle before the snow




After the snow and trust me she had much to say about it


Black Rosecomb bantam




I haven't posted a picture of Alfie since I got her-she is starting to molt




Blue araucana (no she does not have ear tufts, so can't be show, and does not confirm to the SOP, but she can be used for breeding and great to have around as a pet)




And completely unrelated, but I went to my sister's house last night for supper and this is their family guinea pig (I thought he was cute)

Lovely birds! And you are making me miss my lil piggies! Guinea pigs are so funny and social!

 

[lilmizscareall]

[COLOR=A52A2A]lilmizscareall ~[/COLOR] [COLOR=8B4513]I am still catching up on posts and overlooked this one at first (If it's an emergency, please use a little bit larger type size in red). Did you find anything out?[/COLOR] [COLOR=8B4513]What is the breed of the chicken that cutie Pearl is holding? Is that feather type called double lacing?[/COLOR]

All the chicks are being treated. They are in a grow out pen, so that makes it easy to watch them. The chicken is one of three partridge Cochins! I don't have names for them, because I can't tell them apart.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Thanks for sharing the info!

It should be ok, if one has been externally pipped over 24 hours, then I will start to help them.
You were having fair humidity during incubation, so just watch the pips.
Ugh I know I sure don't miss that headache.

Thanks so much for sharing this! I am going to see if they have more classes later this year too.

That would have been my thoughts too. I like the breed, but don't have any yet. Hopefully someone can help.

Quote:
They do offer several sizes. If you plan to do some hatching for crosses, its totally addictive! Some of the mixes are just stunning birds. Blue layer X dark brown may produce olive eggers...so much fun! If you process your roosters, you will find out what an amazing difference there is in a home raised bird for the table.
I would go bigger size depending on the size of your family. Quail are fantastic little egg machines. 3 jumbo coturnix will make 1 chicken egg. In the LGs (foam bator) I could get 120 set at a time. My Sportsman holds an unthinkable amount (1368 Quail Eggs) but I really don't want to feed/brood that many I have 60 eggs in the fridge for frying or cooking. Several dozen more hardboiled ready to eat. 65 in lock down, another 63 in the bator, and about 70 chicks right now. Am setting 58 more tomorrow! They can be very friendly, and 2 of mine are true pets, Speckles and 2 Toes. Both are just strong healthy birds, even though they are different color (speckles is a golden) and 2 Toes was attacked by a chicken when he escaped.. lost 2 toes . Both walk right up your arm to be held. They will live their lives out and be spoiled.
The easiest comparison I can find is pheasant or a young heritage turkey, but much better as far as flavor. This is a lean bird, so read up on cooking ideas. They will dry out easily, so low and slow cooking method is best.Marinating or brining is just  I process birds at 8 weeks or so. Rotate the breeding flock every 9 months or so. We really enjoy them for a food bird. DH will be smoke curing them also soon to see how they turn out. A serving is 2-3 birds per adult. The biggest reason I started raising them is the health values for my parents. Google the heath benefits and nutritional values, eggs and meat. Its pretty incredible how healthy they are for us.

browncow15 I am sooo sorry to hear it Very good points from SallyIN. I usually don't candle til lock down unless I need the room, or I smell "that odor "  Its rare to have an egg explode if you just smell (yep, smell them) the ventilation holes every day. I have been really surprised by hatches I knew would fail because of power losses. And have lost some pretty special eggs too. We are getting a battery backup SOON so its not an issue anymore.

I think they only do two classes a year. I asked for all the dates in my email and those were the only two they gave me. On here website it said thy do two classes a year usually aroun April in two different locations

 

[Urbanmom519]

This is one of my SF chicks, I'm thinking it may be a roo? Anyone with more experience want to chime in? The others are mostly white right now on wing feathers and are a lot farther along.

 

[wheezy50]

For you experienced incubators :

How long do you normally leave eggs in the incubator after day 21??

Today is day 22 for me, the last egg that pipped yesterday hatched this morning. I didn't see any more external pips this morning but will obviously check again tonight after work.

Just curious how long you normally hold out hope before unplugging the incubator?

 

[Urbanmom519]

For you experienced incubators :

How long do you normally leave eggs in the incubator after day 21??

Today is day 22 for me, the last egg that pipped yesterday hatched this morning.  I didn't see any more external pips this morning but will obviously check again tonight after work.

Just curious how long you normally hold out hope before unplugging the incubator?

I've never been brave enough to incubate myself, but from what I've read, some wait till day 25, I'm going to try it next spring so I'm interested to: