INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[raisinemright]

We have so far 3/5 mixed egg peeps and 4/7 Wheaten Maran egg peeps!!! So far so goo!

 

[amwchickin]

Max Stout - yes, just down the road!

 

[amwchickin]

So my Aussie Roxy and her brother and mother took off Friday and the brother and mother came back that afternoon. I spent 2 days looking for my dog and finally Sunday we found her. She was FILTHY and full of burrs and ticks. I get her home and notice she is limping. She has a HUGE gash on her hind leg and a smaller wound on her foot and part of the pad ripped off. Infection already started. So I have her at the vet right now in surgery. She is traumatized. She would not go more than a foot away from me last night.

My poor chickens have kind of gotten neglected the past few days. They have plenty of food and water, but I haven't given them human time. My new older roos are having a wonderful time crowing. They are almost in sync! The younger two roos are hilarious. They follow each other around and then get mad at each other and get into a little scuffle, then go back to being funny. Yesterday they killed a mole. I kept walking around saying Good Boys! They got some extra treats of course!

I'm patiently waiting to hear from the vet on how surgery went and if I can pick her up today. Then I can go and do chicken stuff!

 

[Dish chickens]

I want to ask a lazy question, so I'll call it a poll.

What's your favorite meat bird? And why?

I'd offer six options, but there are so many dual-purpose breeds I wouldn't know which to include or not. I know about CornishX and Dorkings, and Marans are good too, right?

What do you like to eat?

We Have tried our Brahmas this year, Rotisserie style------dark meat very tough Baked in a bag----better but dark meat still tough. So upset at the results I started inquiring about ages and what I was doing wrong. I found out that there is such a thing as to fresh chicken ( who knew ) sooooo this time we are going to do a little more research on the aging of poultry before cooking. (I would love any and all feed back on this) They were 18 to 24 weeks old when processed. Sorry this doesn't answer your question but they are supposed to be dual purpose birds and right now I'm calling it cooking error not birds. I'll let you know after I figure out the aging thing

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
Probably for the best, no need for someone to try and breed him.

 

[atrueb00]

Has anyone been following the controversy in Michigan?
This month, the Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development ruled down the previous "Michigan Right to Farm Act."
[excerpt] Kim White, who raises chickens and rabbits, said, “They don’t want us little guys feeding ourselves. They want us to go all to the big farms. They want to do away with small farms and I believe that is what’s motivating it.”

Big Farming Money Talks
(I have read articles about Big Farming/Processing companies that don't like the backyard chicken movement because it has caused people to realize that chickens are engaging creatures-- smart, personalities, entertaining, which has caused people to question how chickens are raised-- what drugs/feed they're given, confinement, inhumane treatment, etc.-- all issues that cost Big Business money to change. As a result, the Big Farming Industry is spending Big Money to urge politicians to vote against small farming, including having six chickens in your backyard).

The ruling will allow local governments to arbitrarily ban goats, chickens and beehives on any property where there are 13 homes within one eighth mile or a residence within 250 feet of the property, according to Michigan Public Radio. The Right to Farm Act was created in 1981 to protect farmers from the complaints of people from the city who moved to the country and then attempted to make it more urban with anti-farming ordinances. The new changes affect residents of rural Michigan too. It is not simply an urban or suburban concern.

The World Health Organization issued a statement: “The Michigan Agriculture Commission passed up an opportunity to support one of the hottest trends in food in Michigan – public demand for access to more local, healthful, sustainable food.”

backyardpoultrymag.com has a 3-part Report:

How Michigan Changed Its Right to Farm Act and What It ...
Michigan’s Change to its Right to Farm Act Unites Advocates (Part 2)
It’s Not Just Michigan: The Importance of Knowing Your Local Laws (Part 3)

I hadn't heard about this, thank you for sharing! I did read something in that magazine about people in Kentucky opening up a small processing farm as the larger chicken processing plants won't accept small quantities of chickens for slaughter. It was good to see a win for the small guys, hoping this happens in Michigan too.

I am so shocked... There is nothing left of my little bantam Cochin boy, Po, except a few of his lovely black feathers. I'm so upset.

He was separate from the flock because he was getting to be a little too much for the girls. It was just a temporary thing, just until he cooled it, because other than wearing down the feathers on a couple of the girls, he was so good to them. His pen wasn't particularly secure, but he had a secure hutch-like thing in it. I forgot to close him in it last night. I'm just kicking myself this morning. My handsome little guy, Po... And he was shaping up to be such a good flock rooster...

I am so sorry for your loss.

Another thing I wanted to share with the group is my low feed alert system. I built several of the pvc feeders for my pens, but wanted an easy way to see when they started getting low on feed. I tied a "flag" on one end of a long string, drilled a hole into the feeder and fed that string through and tied a weight on the end that is inside the feeder. The weight sits on top of the feed and as the feed level drops, the weight also drops and pulls the string. When the "flag" gets near the top of the feeder I know it is time to add feed. It enables me to know what the feed level is without going into each pen. I need to fashion something similar for the waterers. Anyway, I am proud of it and it was really easy to do. It could be added to most DIY feeders.

This is such a great idea, thank you for sharing!

So my Aussie Roxy and her brother and mother took off Friday and the brother and mother came back that afternoon. I spent 2 days looking for my dog and finally Sunday we found her. She was FILTHY and full of burrs and ticks. I get her home and notice she is limping. She has a HUGE gash on her hind leg and a smaller wound on her foot and part of the pad ripped off. Infection already started. So I have her at the vet right now in surgery. She is traumatized. She would not go more than a foot away from me last night.

My poor chickens have kind of gotten neglected the past few days. They have plenty of food and water, but I haven't given them human time. My new older roos are having a wonderful time crowing. They are almost in sync! The younger two roos are hilarious. They follow each other around and then get mad at each other and get into a little scuffle, then go back to being funny. Yesterday they killed a mole. I kept walking around saying Good Boys! They got some extra treats of course!

I'm patiently waiting to hear from the vet on how surgery went and if I can pick her up today. Then I can go and do chicken stuff!

Any time a pet of mine escapes, this is the worst case scenario I think of in my head. I am so sorry to hear this! Glad you got her to the vet asap, they can work miracles.

 

[raisinemright]

I remembered someone wanted close ups of my Black Australorp's and Jersy giants. I finally got a few and by the way I'm not a pro at pics!
This is what I believe is a BA hen

Black eyes

Bottom of feet

Now here us one of my JG
I think cockerel??

Brown in the eyes

And the bottom of feet

Now I'm not sure on any of this besides that I did take a pic of the bottom of chicken feet today!! Lol
So anyone want to chime in and let me know what I this are. If you say both pullets I will be really happy!!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I remembered someone wanted close ups of my Black Australorp's and Jersy giants. I finally got a few and by the way I'm not a pro at pics!
This is what I believe is a BA hen

Black eyes

Bottom of feet

Now here us one of my JG
I think cockerel??

Brown in the eyes

And the bottom of feet

Now I'm not sure on any of this besides that I did take a pic of the bottom of chicken feet today!! Lol
So anyone want to chime in and let me know what I this are. If you say both pullets I will be really happy!!

How old are they? I am going with cockerel on the second, unless they are wayyyy older than I am thinking they are

 

[raisinemright]

How old are they? I am going with cockerel on the second, unless they are wayyyy older than I am thinking they are

The BA were hatched in early Feb, the JG were hatched in late Feb

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

The BA were hatched in early Feb, the JG were hatched in late Feb

Ok, then I still say cockerel on the second one