INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[hogster160]

We lost our turkey hen today. Tom wanted to mate, she didn't, he didn't care, cornered her got her down and proceeded to try. He slipped and ripped her open but good as she still was trying to get away. Had them separated, he flew over the fence I'm guessing. And now that I'm thinking about it, he probably got on his roost and jumped over the fence.

We decided to cull her as her whole left side was open under her wing. It also looked like I missed a puncture from when he did this earlier in the week (we found her laying upside down, unable to right herself, she had some bloody spots on her face and snood and some on her right wing), as she had infection in the right wing/chest area. She also had some blood clotting internally, so we opted not to put her in the freezer. She was getting ready to lay, she had 6 large eggs all lined up ready to pop out and lots of little ones.

She weighed in at 36 lbs dead weight, with a decent amount of fatty tissue. I really didn't think she was that large. Maybe they were BBB after all. Tom is huge and after this latest escapade, is now limping. He will be culled in the next couple of days. I'm scared to see how much he weighs.

If I ever get turkeys again, it will be from a breeder. No more hatchery. Tom was not a very nice bird. Hoping to have better luck with the "nasty" bred out of them.

Glad and jealous at all the hatching taking place, coops going up, I love it spring is officially here!!

No new birds for us this spring. Maybe next spring. We are getting 1 doz eggs a day, every day out of 17 layers. Can't ask for more than that. I am giving the extras away, and still have 8 doz sitting on the counter atm. I probably need to start charging for them, so our feed is paid for.

Deb

 

[PeacefulWalls]

I don't think this siding is ever going to get done!!

It's 08:30 and I'm done!! At least for a couple days....

It looks great! Kinda reminds me of a log cabin

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Last night in our newspaper the outdoor columnist wrote a piece about ducks and signs of spring. He said you know spring is on the way when you see certain ducks coming around, mentioning the ones we have had. He also said you know spring is finally here to stay when you see the blue winged teal duck (a dabbling - not diving - duck). They are the last to migrate. Well, guess what I just saw on the pond -- 2 male blue winged teals! I looked them up and Indiana is included in their summer breeding area. I'm anxious to see how long they stay. Happy official spring everyone!!

That's just too cool! Its definitely felt like spring last few days. Hardly been in the house!

Woo-hoo! Got a great phone call just now. When we built our new home in 2011 we obviously had our old home for sale. Of course this was during the most horrible time to try to sell a house. After months of having it on the market we finally decide to offer it land contract and that same day had a buyer, giving them 2 years to get their financing in place. We just hit the 2 year mark and our realtor called to say they want to do the final closing on Friday!!! There was always the fear that they would back out & we would have 2 houses and 2 mortgages. They did great, though, making every payment on time. I'll be so glad to have it official signed and sold and no longer ours. Mom & Dad sold their house the same way (they have their apartment here with us) and they have about 4 months left on their land contract. I keep hoping theirs will close early as nursing home care for Mom is looming much closer now & the assets/financial thing for that could be a lot messier with their old house lingering.

Congrats, that's just awesome news! Hope your parents home goes just as well, it will be a blessing for sure. It is much easier if financial affairs are in order.
I can relate to what you were thinking. We sold ours when we built here, also land contract during 2009/2010. They defaulted, 2 mortages

That was during the same period DH and I both lost our jobs when our company closed its doors. What a nightmare for us. Thankfully, we had already built here, but so much left to finish. Worst possible thing to ever experience! Every time I have to drive past that cute little house I have tears. It was just so special to all of us, now its a nasty little run down house in horrible disrepair.

Good Morning everyone!!! I went out to check on the babies after their fist night in the coop. They were no longer chirping pitifully and all got a big drink and then trooped out the pop door into the run in a single file line!!!! SOOOOOOOO CUUUTTEEE! I am also pretty impressed with how bold they are for going out on their own on day 1! The marans didn't go outside until day 3 and that was only because i physically PUT them through the pop door! LOL. Bold group this time around! I have this upcoming Thursday and Friday scheduled as vacation days so I can get some outside work done, so OF COURSE both days are looking like rain! Just my luck!!! Too much to do!!!!

I am so happy for your babies

My chick did not make it.

It'll be ok, though. I feel like I got a little over-confident with my chick raising. This will remind me to make time every morning to check on everybody. Especially when they are new littles that are going out.
Thank you for everyone's help last night! After posting, I kept doing research and I think it was Cocci. That group was treated at first light this morning and I feel a little relief.
On a much happier note,

ITS GORGEOUS OUTSIDE!!!!

Sometimes the weaker ones save the strong chicks. Its hard, but we go forward and learn.

I was SO excited to get some hatching eggs from racin last night! I set them when I got home so hopefully we could have an Easter Day hatch and then when I went to check the bator this morning the temp was at 110*

I could cry! Any chance they're still ok?

On the brighter side we are finally feeling better here and have a beautiful day ahead of us to get some outside time in! BTW loving all the pics of everyone's chickies and projects! I'd comment specifically but it's rather tedious to do on the phone!

Don't give up on them, but be prepared if they don't hatch. Its really odd the temps are fluctuating that much.

Quote: She is sure a keeper! I am so jealous, I love baby goats, probably more than puppies!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Sorry...I forgot to say that I have the "tortured" ones separated in a protected area of the coop until I can get the 2 offenders into a crate.

I didn't have a safe place to crate them away totally. May have that set up tonight. I had originally put them separate but they were in a place they could still see the flock. I want these 2 totally away to see if the flock pecking order will change in their absence.

We shall see.

It really is insane. Not sure what the heck those 2 are thinking. But I have to give them a break since they are just hatchery birds and you never know about those genes.

I think your plan will help. Removing them will change the flocks pecking order almost immediately. They will be stressed in jail, and it will change them too.
I have crated hens before too. Only one EE went to the freezer, flat hateful cruel bird. 3rd time was it.

Windows and people door framed. One wall is sided (overlapped siding). Next is the chicken door and put siding on the rest of the building. The roof will have to wait a few days until funds come in for supplies. Love being broke!
Quick question what size does the chicken door need to be for one of those auto pop doors?

The finished overlapped wall, and two window frames

View from inside at one window

And a look at the people door framed!

I would look at the largest breed you own, and add 15% to the estimated size for the pop door.
You should submit an article on your build in the coops section once you are one, sooo not kidding!
Show off your work!

Okay I need help, maybe. So, candling all the 14 Welsummer eggs on the 28th and only one was nearly completely solid and it has not hatched yet. I don't think any of them will make it.

However, the 18 silkie eggs were put on lockdown yesterday and they were all nearly black except for three maybe? Right now the temp is (on a new digital thermometer) 101°f, 47% humidity. That was went we left this morning for my great aunts funeral. I will have to check it tonight and hopefully get the chance to get on tomorrow and check back with you peeps.

I really hope the silkies make it!! I'm dying for the little fluffy butts! The Welsummers are done I think so I'll have to figure out what to do with the duds. 14 should feed three cats right?

The whole problem was with a possibly faulty plastic thermometer which showed it was at 99.5-100°f until we found that it was not matching up with the new digital one which read it as higher or lower than that. So yeah not really any fault of mine but something we will have to fix for the next time we incubate eggs. Oh well. Live and learn I guess.

Mean while all the Easter Eggers are turning gorgeous!! I've named one, the lightest one, Navajo, because its got red and blue-grey feathers and white down still on its face. The others my dad wants to name after Ireqouis Indian Tribes. I'll have to get camera batteries and get picks

By the way:

to all the new peeps!! Glad to see new chickenereers! Lol.

And Kab, I'm dying! Cricket looks great and id take him but my dad doesn't think I need a roo for my ees.

Otherwise id love that good looking boy in my pen! Lolol

If you do not have odor, set the eggs. Just be sure to smell your incubator, I am not kidding.
Every day take a wiff at the ventilation holes. Some of the breeds you set, the eggs are darker. It can't hurt.
I won't toss eggs till day 25 if there is no odors.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

If there is a limit on pictures on here, I'm about to meet it. I wrangled the wild beasties of EE girls today and finally got 4 and a half week pics of them. I gt the baby bantams too. The little ones love me. I'm not sure why the big ones think I'm going to murder them just walking into the room.








Scrappy is becoming a big duck!

All adorable!!!! EE chicks always seem a bit more flighty, they settle down.
Scappy is a doll

The little bantams
Peanut ..... OEGB

Bandit ... barred bantam cochin that I am positive is a roo, no little girl chicks like people as much as he does. He is in my business constantly

Einstein .... white crested polish. named for her smarts. She kept flying out of the brooder and couldn't get back in, so I gave her my Jack Russell's couch steps to climb back into the brooder. She figured them out the first time she flew out. It took my dog a week.

Kiwi bantam EE.

Little Poe. OEGB. She reminds me of a raven.

Pumpkin. Gold laced bantam cochin. Very sweet. Llittle girl I believe.

Bandit likes to photobomb

precious and so tiny!

A little more siding up and the finish trim on one corner.

Looks awsome!

Quote: hehehehe peter Frampton, David Bowie, rolling stones, kiss, foghat... just google 80s rock hair bands

incubator question and I'm nervous.

I have a homemade incubator and am using the STC-1000 thermostat to control a 25 watt light bulb as heat source. I accidentally left the internal temperature probe under an egg after the rotation this morning about 8:30. When I got home about 5pm I checked on the eggs and the internal thermometer was reading 106 degrees.

I immediately opened the lid to cool it down and rotated the eggs as normal. Be it that this is day 7 what is the likelihood that they will not survive? What are the chances they will survive?

Thank you for your input.

Ugh, been there, wait it out. No way of knowing how long. fingers crossed, and hope all is ok

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I put in our ador last fall. the framing work is not always 10.5 * 13 that is how large the opening is once installed.
Before framing for any of the auto doors, I recommend settling in on one.
But framing for the ador varies by how you want to install it. We choose the most work intensive installation method. But it puts the sensor outside and blooks the poo from going on the door when the door is open.
I also recommend looking at a few of these pictures to decide your framing methods. Picture 3 has measurements, picture 13 is very similar to our install but we used a taller piece of plywood and covered the top so nothing can get to the door when it is open.
http://adorstore.com/products/ador1-automatic-chicken-door

Posting again about our rooster. It looks like Dh is considering processing him this week so if anyone is interested in a sumatra / phoenix mix, now is the time to speak up. He is not child friendly. He has not successfully attacked any of our children but he started jumping at them even though they were on the other side of the run's fence. He has not once shown aggression towards me or Dh.
I am way over limit or would take him. Good luck!

I don't think this siding is ever going to get done!!

It's 08:30 and I'm done!! At least for a couple days....

Ugh, time to take a break a day or so. Looking fantastic!

Quote:

Phew! Is this day over yet? I honestly didn't even accomplish much today...
Managed to lock my keys in my car, so I was stuck at work today after I was done. Since my DD comes with me, I couldn't even hitch a ride, since she'd be car seat-less.
I DID re-home René with thanks to @jchny2000 . I never thought I would ever need to do it, but he was going down the wrong path with the rest of the flock(and my neighbors). Now I know he'll be happy and spoiled.
What a HUGE Relief!!!! It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders... One less thing to worry about.
Now to rehome some of these little pullets...finish the duck run, build all my compost bins, clean up the trees/branches/sticks/leaves in my yard, build a fence, and decide if I am going to start a garden. Easy stuff.

He is a doll, I can't wait to introduce him to his ladies. Thanks for the meet up, and wonderful meeting you and your family today!

Quote:
Yep thats the hair

Maybe if Einstein is a boy I will change his name to Bowie.

It does add a whole bunch of new names to the idea basket

I just candled every egg in my incubator. Good news/ bad news.

25/28 Bresse eggs with movement day 9. 2 blood rings and 1 inconclusive.

9/10 legbars with movement day 9. One quitter.

All 3 BR turkey eggs from Jchny2000 are developing day 8. One with definite movement.

All 7 blue/gold partridge brahma shipped eggs look pretty scrambled with no development day 5. :-(

For anyone I've sold eggs to recently, you should have a good chance at a good hatch. Fertility for both CCL and AB was 100%.

Also put 9 of my turkey eggs in tonight as a test hatch. They are Royal Palm or RP/Narragansett cross

Ooooo congrats, and I will have a few more eggs for you too. When the poults from porters come in, I will bring you a good handful

Still want to have you up for a visit soon too!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

We lost our turkey hen today. Tom wanted to mate, she didn't, he didn't care, cornered her got her down and proceeded to try. He slipped and ripped her open but good as she still was trying to get away. Had them separated, he flew over the fence I'm guessing. And now that I'm thinking about it, he probably got on his roost and jumped over the fence.

We decided to cull her as her whole left side was open under her wing. It also looked like I missed a puncture from when he did this earlier in the week (we found her laying upside down, unable to right herself, she had some bloody spots on her face and snood and some on her right wing), as she had infection in the right wing/chest area. She also had some blood clotting internally, so we opted not to put her in the freezer. She was getting ready to lay, she had 6 large eggs all lined up ready to pop out and lots of little ones.

She weighed in at 36 lbs dead weight, with a decent amount of fatty tissue. I really didn't think she was that large. Maybe they were BBB after all. Tom is huge and after this latest escapade, is now limping. He will be culled in the next couple of days. I'm scared to see how much he weighs.

If I ever get turkeys again, it will be from a breeder. No more hatchery. Tom was not a very nice bird. Hoping to have better luck with the "nasty" bred out of them.

Glad and jealous at all the hatching taking place, coops going up, I love it spring is officially here!!

No new birds for us this spring. Maybe next spring. We are getting 1 doz eggs a day, every day out of 17 layers. Can't ask for more than that. I am giving the extras away, and still have 8 doz sitting on the counter atm. I probably need to start charging for them, so our feed is paid for.

Deb

I am so sorry.

I had 2 bad experiences with turkeys, and so far am really pleased with bourbon reds. Totally different personality and character. The BBs are food driven aggressive birds IMO but I know some have had better luck. My RP pair were a big problem free ranging with my chicken roosters.
Sometimes its better to step back, and plan. Looking at the threads help to plan for next season too!
I do sell our extra eggs now, just to help cover feed costs. Most of our family insists! We fill the freezer and have several dozen on hand, then the rest go.

 

[Mother2Hens]

If there is a limit on pictures on here, I'm about to meet it. I wrangled the wild beasties of EE girls today and finally got 4 and a half week pics of them. I gt the baby bantams too. The little ones love me. I'm not sure why the big ones think I'm going to murder them just walking into the room.








Scrappy is becoming a big duck!

kaphyper ~ My LF Orp chicks think I'm going to murder them when I walk in the room. You'd think they'd make a correlation between me and getting fed.
Didn't you get a couple of ducks from raisinemright so Scrappy could have buddies? Or does he prefer being a house duck? He is very handsome!

 

[Mother2Hens]

We lost our turkey hen today. Tom wanted to mate, she didn't, he didn't care, cornered her got her down and proceeded to try. He slipped and ripped her open but good as she still was trying to get away. Had them separated, he flew over the fence I'm guessing. And now that I'm thinking about it, he probably got on his roost and jumped over the fence.

We decided to cull her as her whole left side was open under her wing. It also looked like I missed a puncture from when he did this earlier in the week (we found her laying upside down, unable to right herself, she had some bloody spots on her face and snood and some on her right wing), as she had infection in the right wing/chest area. She also had some blood clotting internally, so we opted not to put her in the freezer. She was getting ready to lay, she had 6 large eggs all lined up ready to pop out and lots of little ones.

She weighed in at 36 lbs dead weight, with a decent amount of fatty tissue. I really didn't think she was that large. Maybe they were BBB after all. Tom is huge and after this latest escapade, is now limping. He will be culled in the next couple of days. I'm scared to see how much he weighs.

If I ever get turkeys again, it will be from a breeder. No more hatchery. Tom was not a very nice bird. Hoping to have better luck with the "nasty" bred out of them.

Glad and jealous at all the hatching taking place, coops going up, I love it spring is officially here!!

No new birds for us this spring. Maybe next spring. We are getting 1 doz eggs a day, every day out of 17 layers. Can't ask for more than that. I am giving the extras away, and still have 8 doz sitting on the counter atm. I probably need to start charging for them, so our feed is paid for.

Deb

hogster ~ What a sad story for that turkey hen! --and for you. I would have thought that after all the years that humans have been breeding birds that males would not be so horribly rough on females. It sound like you have great layers to get 1 doz. a day. My sister who lives in Louisville said that her fresh egg source started charging $5/doz. after last summer's low production phenomenon that seemed to have affected a lot of hens.
Peaceful Walls~ Congrats on your good news about your real estate transaction!
FlockMaster~ Can't wait to see your pictures of little Navajo!
ThunderChicken ~ Good to see your post. How's your flock doing?

incubator question and I'm nervous.

I have a homemade incubator and am using the STC-1000 thermostat to control a 25 watt light bulb as heat source. I accidentally left the internal temperature probe under an egg after the rotation this morning about 8:30. When I got home about 5pm I checked on the eggs and the internal thermometer was reading 106 degrees.

I immediately opened the lid to cool it down and rotated the eggs as normal. Be it that this is day 7 what is the likelihood that they will not survive? What are the chances they will survive?

Thank you for your input.

goodb ~ I don't know about incubators, but hopefully our experienced thread members can help you out.

 

[HappyHappyHappy]

Tomorrow I will be setting A load of Quail Eggs From Jchny2000 I am so excited for round two with the incubator.

I have decided Just for fun I will also put some of my Eggs from my 2 bantam hens in the incubator as well.. This will be fun Because I have no Idea what I am going to end up with.. Possibly some of you will have some Ideas of what can come out of this cross.. I have a normal size Barred Rock rooster who has got ahold of my two pet bantam hens. I am unsure of the one hens breed but I have a picture of her so maybe someone knows what she is.. The other bantam hen is a D'Uccle or something like that is the name. I will post pictures.
.
THis is the Bantam hen I am unsure of the breed of.


this is a picture of a bird that looks nearly exactly like the one I believe is a D'uccle.
The Rooster is a normal full size Barred Rock any guesses on the outcome?