INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I found an interesting article on sexing chicks. Not sure if it is accurate, but it is informative.
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/6-3/determining_sex_in_chicks/

Vent and wing sexing is what hatcheries use (some use one some use the other), it tends to be pretty accurate once you get some experience. Nome of the other methods are true in my experience, not the egg, temps, or dangling from head. Then the obvious wait and watch method. There are some really good videos on vent and wing sexing. I know how to do both, but wing sexing only works on offspring bred for the fast and slow feathering and I prefer not to vent sex.

 

[Mother2Hens]

One thing that I was thinking with the grasses is that you don't get a stump like you do if you need to cut down a tree. Now I have no experience with them so maybe y'all can educate me.
I need a privacy across about 160' but I don't want to plant trees because they often die from the bottom up (spruces) and leave you with a bunch of tall trunks and no cover at the area you want. Then when you go to remove them, there are stumps and roots that are a hassle to get rid of.
So I was thinking to do the grasses as an experiment and if we hate them, I figured that you could just cut them down and resume mowing the area rather than having to grind out stumps.
Is that possible?

Leah's Mom ~ I took this photo today of one of our ornamental grasses that DH just cut back. Sometimes they're not perfectly round at the base if an animal, like a hen named Adeline for example, makes a path to regularly walk in and lay eggs! It is obviously dry and straw-like now, but soon it will quickly turn into a lush green plant. I think that one is Maiden grass, which looks like the photo attached. As I mentioned before, there are tons of colors and sizes.

These two photos are the same stump -- Adeline is a size reference.


Maiden grass photo from Internet. This is what the stump will turn into.

What's the temps in your area? Not your incubator temps but weather temps. I figured i better clarify that since most of us are hatching fanatics. Lol
sent from your friendly neighborhood poultry raiser! cluck... cluck...

CluckAcres ~ It was 60 degrees and Sunny today here in the southwestern tip of Indiana. It was great to have my five chicks outside and to do yard work with my six hens. We're supposed to be in the 70s all week. Hope spring is making its way north, too!

 

[Mother2Hens]

First nice day of spring!!!! The bobble heads got to free range for awhile, and the new duck ladies got to meet the flock with little to no issues. they took right too each other.

kabhyper ~ You have a barnyard full of beautiful chickens! Gus looks very distinguished as usual overseeing the yard. Are your silkies separate from the other chickens/ducks all of the time?

My chicks that I have outside are all 6 weeks and older, the lowest temp this week is going to be 34 at night and 49 daytime, do you think I could shut thier heat light off at night? I already turn it off when it is above 50. If they get cold would they have enough body heat to stay warm? There is 15 of them. in this

chick rookie ~ When that coop is all locked up for the night, is there much ventilation? I can't really tell from the photos except when it's completely open for daytime.
At least you are smart enough to have yours outside! I did start cracking the window in my 3 silkie and 2 orp chicks' "bedroom" so they can get used to nighttime temps. They'll all be 3 months old in a week!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Thats a fantastic lil staycation for the kids! Not bad for adults visiting either.

the babies and broody!

The pallet coop is now ready for the roof!!!!!!!!
Here are a few pics of what I got done today.

Here is a pic of how I connect the walls.
Trust me it's very solid.

A pallet 2x4 cut to length in the corners on ever pallet.

And to connect the pallets together to make a wall was the same concept scrap 2x4 screwed to each pallet

Then the start to my door header

And this is it so far ready for the roof

And now I need a break!

Very nice progress! Yep time for a break.
How exciting!

Well, Ive had a bad good day...LOL that doesnt make much sense does it? Started out by Crook crying like crazy this morning squawking and fussing so much I picked her up to my chest
and held her for a while and she loved it

. My Momma stopped by and laughed at me for being such a softy and hooked on "something" just a day and a half old

. The DSL guy showed up
and I now have internet access, NO MORE I4s auto correct errors!

YAY! After Lunch the little girl I babysit started a fever, started at 99.4, an hour later was 102.6. her Mommy came home after two calls

(I would have bn there in 10 minutes). I went to chk on little Crook and get her to feed her and give her a dose of vitamins, she died

. My "D"H came home and
immediately "demanded" something to eat...what the H..., days just gone down hill from there. Im ready for a vacation...does anyone have a spare room??? Lol. grrrrrrrrr!

I am so sorry for lil crook. You betcha, I have an empty bedroom lol, youngest DD moved out a few months ago.

been bizzy bee's around here, another dog hit by car, Goat issues BTW my doe is felling much better but still no kids yet, today is day 152. I had to get my days mixed up don't know how but had to. Anyway I want to say hello and Welcome to the new people and tell everyone I love the great pic's of chicks, and duckies and such, this thread runs so fast I cant keep up... lol ( good thing ) got a few pic's for ya and then got to go feed and fix supper. Well try and catch up on reading tonight and see what all I have missed, and I know I have miss a lot... lol

Th brothers playing M J and Aronald.



My Brahmas and Wellies went out to stay today.... yea!!!

they seem to be loving the room.

hope your dog's ok. Is it a fence issue? I know how difficult it is to see one hurt.
Love the babies playing, congrats getting the babies outside!

So I started my chicks on fermented feed a few days ago. They LOVED it. Apparently though they have been really messy with it. I knew some of them had some crusted food flecks on their heads or beaks and I wasn't too worried about it, but I was picking all the chicks out of the brooder to clean it this evening and noticed that two of them had NO neck feathers in the front and a few more had dried balls of feed stuck under their beaks and down their necks. It was bad. It was so hard to get that off and a couple places I just had to cut the feathers

I feel like a horrible chicken mom. They are back on dry feed now and they aren't happy about it. Should I not have done fermented feed until they were older (they are 3 weeks old)? Or is there a certain type of feeder that works best for that?

I do really dry ferment for chicks, but they can get pretty messy. I use the ferment "juices" to moisten the feed.
Its very beneficial for them to have it, but it needs to be in your comfort zone too.
A more grain based feed is ideal but they will need grit to digest it properly.

Quote: good post!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Things went terribly nuts and we still have not met up.

I hope to get the pup next weekend. DH is really excited too.

Quote: Yes. The bad boys go to "jail" all the way at the other end of the property. I have a shed with several large dog crates. If I have a bad roo, he goes to jail for 2 weeks. If jail doesn't work its time for the freezer. Same for hens, but I try to give them a 2nd chance. Mean birds have no place here.

Oh no! My sister came to visit and now I'm getting further behind on the thread!

tiffmw~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread! Please see info about our thread on page 2428.

Can't wait to hear about your chicken plans!

ellymayRans~ Thank you for the frizzle boy offer, but I just want girls.

kab??? You're thinking of rehoming Gus!!?? I suppose his services are called for. He's such a handsome fellow.

minmin ~ Good luck with your tiny silkie. Sounds like our new member, atrueb00, gave you excellent advice!
Mama 2 Silkies ~ Your little Cochin chicks are so velvety and sweet looking!
jchny ~ What dog breed did you decide on? I know you've been looking and thinking for a long time. Happy for you!

Its a short hair collie, aussie mix just like Clucks. Hoping to get the pup this coming weekend.

 

[chick rookie]

If you keep straw in it they should be fine. I put my birds out at 6 weeks when the whether was still going down into the teens with no losses and no heat. They actually went out with my older birds. But since yours are used to the heat lamp I'd try to kind of wean them off of it by not turning it on above 40 for a little while then 35 then 30 if it does get that low. Straw is a natural insulator so that's why I suggested it.

O yes I have straw bedding.

First nice day of spring!!!! The bobble heads got to free range for awhile, and the new duck ladies got to meet the flock with little to no issues. they took right too each other.

You have really a beautiful flock, If you turn up with some Silkie hens that you need to rehome don't forget my 2 boys would love some female company, your Silkies are beautiful

This is what happens when you let you Jack Russell out while tearing out a koi pond. GRRRRR

he was just trying to help mom.... lol I feel your pain if I turn my back on my GP's for just a min. when it is muddy out I have 2 giant mud balls I have to hose off then take in to bath.

Sure! We have an unheated cabin with no plumbing and a great view of ducks that's available right now

Man you really don't know how great that really sounds....

Leah's Mom ~ I took this photo today of one of our ornamental grasses that DH just cut back. Sometimes they're not perfectly round at the base if an animal, like a hen named Adeline for example, makes a path to regularly walk in and lay eggs! It is obviously dry and straw-like now, but soon it will quickly turn into a lush green plant. I think that one is Maiden grass, which looks like the photo attached. As I mentioned before, there are tons of colors and sizes.

These two photos are the same stump -- Adeline is a size reference.


Maiden grass photo from Internet. This is what the stump will turn into.
CluckAcres ~ It was 60 degrees and Sunny today here in the southwestern tip of Indiana. It was great to have my five chicks outside and to do yard work with my six hens. We're supposed to be in the 70s all week. Hope spring is making its way north, too!

at least you know where to look for missing eggs...

kabhyper ~ You have a barnyard full of beautiful chickens! Gus looks very distinguished as usual overseeing the yard. Are your silkies separate from the other chickens/ducks all of the time?
chick rookie ~ When that coop is all locked up for the night, is there much ventilation? I can't really tell from the photos except when it's completely open for daytime.
At least you are smart enough to have yours outside! I did start cracking the window in my 3 silkie and 2 orp chicks' "bedroom" so they can get used to nighttime temps. They'll all be 3 months old in a week!

O yes the front has a 1/4" gap all the way around, didn't plane on that but.... and under the eves is 2 - 1" holes that run from front to back on each side. Latter on we are going to put windows in that can be opened to. Didn't want to use this coop yet but the chicks were out growing the brooders fast and I cant put them in the old coop yet.
That reminds me .... how old are your ( any of you ) chicks when you put them out with your adult hens????

FYI I will have 1 BR Roo ( pretty sure ) and ! Welsummer roo to rehome shortly, The BR may already have a home, would love to trade them for Pullets of the same if I can, got them thinking HENS, and if I keep them it will give me too many Hen/Roo rational ( ok I spelled that wrong and auto correct didn't have clue

stupid auto correct .... )
AND Apr, 5th I am ordering some BCM's from a local breeder if anyone is interested PM me. He sells for 5.00 each and cant sex.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: FIL uses hedge trimmers, cuts it to like 4 feet. I really like how lush, fluffy and green it looks in the summer.

Can't wait to see a pic of jchny2000's new puppy. I have one from same litter they they are all gorgeous looking. They are Aussie collie and blue heeler mix. Wonderful pups

sent from your friendly neighborhood poultry raiser! cluck... cluck...

Can't wait to have her here! cluck cluck bakawk!

Saturday morning pond party -- At first I thought we were just having the usual crowd show up: redheads, wood ducks, mallards, a heron and a couple of geese. Then about 15 minutes ago we had a few more geese arrive, this time with a white goose! It's all white with some black on its back end. I didn't see it spread its wings, but I'm guessing the black is on the wing tips. There are no ducks like that. It's a lot smaller than the canadian geese, but I'm pretty sure larger than Benji's ancona ducks, so I'm sure it is a goose. The neck is also a lot shorter than the other geese. According to Whatbird.com online I found 2 possibilities: a snow goose or a ross's goose. It looks like both of those. The ross's goose migrates to extreme northern Canada to breed and winters over in southern US (Texas area)/northern Mexico. Indiana is about 3 states too far east to be on its migratory path. The snow goose breeds in northern Canada & northeastern Siberia and winters over in southcentral US (Louisiana, Mississippi, etc). All of Indiana is on its migratory path. So I'm guessing it's a snow goose. I'm kind of surprised it's alone, though. I would have thought all geese fly in groups, although maybe it actually is migrating with the canadian geese??

Thats odd, but I have an emben hen that flies. She is white, some black feathers towards her tail. She has no problem clearing the 6 foot fence.
Maybe a cross? or who knows, albino birds do occur! Bet its quite stunning in flight.

So I have 11 chicks out and screaming! I haven't had anything hatch in the last 24 hours; when do I give up on the other eggs? Is there anything I can do to check them? The one that piped but didn't hatch I don't think was positioned properly

I wait 5 days after hatch date unless there is odor. I have had several hatch that late! Usually it doesn't happen, but I hate losing the chance for them to hatch.

Quote:

you have him well educated! He needs to treat you well right now anyways! And the filled incubator is a comfort thing

after all.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I'm going to be grouchy today. Another craptastic Saturday weather-wise! Still NO progress on the run. Can you even believe this? We are at like 38 days until our chicks arrive. I thought we would at least have the wood and have it treated but noooooooo. Maybe tomorrow we will at least *buy* the wood so it can sit in our garage and make us feel guilty for not working on it. You how know these things tend to do.

In other news, though, we stopped by Orscheln in Corydon today. Just me and my pre-teen son. When he saw the chicks he went gaga. He's very excited now, whereas before he was kind of so-so about them.

The only bad side of stopping in is seeing how many filthy & sick chicks were there. It breaks your heart. There was one with such a bad case of pasty butt I wanted to say something, but then once I got looking, there were soooooo many! Very sad!!! And then there were two that I think were goners.

I foresee a time when I can't go to the feed store without rescuing a few, myself. Maybe in 2015. It's just too sad.

I never saw sick chicks at the Orscheln in Charlestown. And if they had pasty butt I don't know if it would have jumped out at me before bc I didn't know what I was looking at.

Is that normal or did I just happen upon a really yucky scene?

no its not the norm, but have seen it.

i get very unpleasant...And I will make a lot if nasty loud calls.

Got the treadle feeders built this week! It has been a LOOOOOOTTTTTT more work than I thought it would be but they will each hold more than half a bag of feed, and with no loss to birds and mice it will last quite some time. I also built three nipple waterers. So far only the Marans babies are using the new waterer. I removed their bucket after putting the new waterer in, showed 5/8 the nipples and then according to everything I have read they should be able to figure it out pretty quickly due to natural curiosity and the red nipple color. Today everyone except the Marans are drinking out of a yucky puddle instead of the waterer....

I will spend some more time out there tomorrow when it is nicer to see if they have figured it out yet but I already carried 5 of them over to the waterers, flicked some water out and put their beaks in the water several times. My chickens are morons. I may have to put the buckets out there for a bit each day until they get used to the nipples.

Here are my three new treadle feeders! They step on the front and the lid opens over the food. They are weighted to open to around 2 lbs.

Very nice! Will sure keep the critters out of the feed.

Quote: Its so awesome to give your children that opportunity! And a wonderful piece of your life to share with them too.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Didn't get to much done on the pallet coop today, but I did get my template roof rafter built! And it's perfect. A standared 4/12 pitch, I was gonna do a saltbox style roof but it didn't look right with how square the coop is.

I think its looking fantastic!

Nothing like 3 days of scrapbooking to relax! I got 13 pages done (exculding a few pictures I need to print off and attach). I did do a little bit with chickens. I have started a book to keep track of success (or not so much success lol) at shows and one growing out my stock. I made sure to attach years so that I don't forget.

Time goes by fast. Good idea.

Hi All - I'm new to the forum and to raising chickens. I'm in Southern IN near Louisville, KY. So far, I have 4 RIRs, 3 NHRs and a bossy mutt hen. I still want to get BRs and BOs and who knows what else I'll end up with before my hubby cuts me off.

and our thread

Please feel free to jump right in!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:

ROFL! my DH has learned to look if they have marked down birds even! He knows... Me being unhappy isn't a good thing! He also knows a good deal, we found 3 pekin marked down to 75 cents each, week old. TSC in Richmond. We added them for a new bloodline for our flock. I cannot hatch them that inexpensively!

Had a better day today, Thank God! Over did it on reorganizing and cleaning things up around here. My daughter and Granddaughter have moved in with us so needless to say my chicken room has just been turned back into a bedroom. I had to move two brooders out of the house and into my storage building and then set them both back up again. Then move the Captains bed with trundle out of DH's side of building into the bedroom (after vacuuming, dusting and washing windows), set it up and make the bed. Then moved a Loveseat out of my den and put it in the room so she has seating if friends come over. Oh but wait...the chicken room was also my little Michaiah's playroom (she loves the baby chicks and its a good life lesson for her to watch them grow and change), so I had to move all of her books, craft stuff, toys, babydoll crib and stroller and "kitchen" out of the room. My Den is now her playroom. Oh I also had to remove a chest freezer out of the den and make room for it in my mudroom/laundry Room. Im sitting here in my Lazyboy feeling the back and leg muscles throbbing in protest and content that I only have one big job left to do tomorrow, cleaning the chicken, duck and Silkie coops. but I'll have lots of help with it...my son and his kids are coming for dinner, I will put my three granddaughters to work...LOL.

I can sure relate. Its a revolving door here at times. We do what we can for our kids, and siblings as lives change

I "put them to work" too. There is no free rides here, but those that come home are always welcome!
My oldest DD recently moved home and I am grateful she has. She helps a lot caring for her grandparents.