INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Good morning all!!! I have been late to work every day for the last week because I am overly enjoying the cool mornings and am just standing around staring at my animals eat in the mornings!!! Luckily work is super flexible!! I am starting to have rooster issues with my Isbar rooster. He has always had a young Hedemora cockerel in with him, the Hedemora cockerel does not challenge him and is very subservient but the Isbar roo just chases him around and he spends all day hiding. I feel bad for him. The Isbar cockerel also doesn't seem to be being very nice to his girls. He will just get off one and will start chasing her again, he is absolutely terrible. A couple of days ago he got on one of them and wouldn't get off, he was on her for a good 45 seconds until I chased him off her. He is too small to process (maybe 5 lbs at best) so I'm not sure what to do with him. I am considering putting all the girls from that pen in with my layers for the winter and putting all the boys together in one pen. Do you guys think he will settle down if he doesn't have any girls? I will feel bad dumping my Cornish cross cockerels in there with a bully. I would feel ridiculous giving him his own pen by himself and overcrowding the other two pens. I am kind of at my wits end with him! I hate seeing a bully! Heiser my Bielie roo continues to be perfect! All my Bielies are. I am super in love with that breed. I REALLY like the Isbar hens too, their man is just a bit of a jerk (although he is not at all human aggressive). Harris the Isbar Heiser the Bielefelder

I think you own about 1/3 of my want list! Those rooster boys, though... From my experience, all roosters go through a phase when they are a bit more overzealous than what will become their norm. Some are pretty gentle even during this phase, but most, it seems, are like your Isbar boy. His hormones are pumping and he doesn't know what to do with them. The overzealous phase usually ends at around their first birthday, though it depends on the individual, of course. When Mr. Po went through this phase, I actually ended up just making a temporary pen within the chicken yard to keep him in during the day, and then closing him in a cat carrier and putting him in the coop where he would be safe at night. He was in this pen all through his first winter, and by spring he was much more calm and gentle with the girls. He wasn't as bad to start with as you're describing your boy, but it could be worth a shot. I understand not wanting to give him a pen to himself, having a limited number of pens, myself. Maybe it would be worth investing in the materials to build a small, secure pen just for him over the winter, which could then be used for other birds if needed once he's out of it? Personally, if he's not human aggressive, I would at least want to give him a second chance! That seems to be a trait in roosters that's hard to come by anymore! Just my opinion, though.

 

[ChickCrazed]

I think you own about 1/3 of my want list! Those rooster boys, though...

From my experience, all roosters go through a phase when they are a bit more overzealous than what will become their norm. Some are pretty gentle even during this phase, but most, it seems, are like your Isbar boy. His hormones are pumping and he doesn't know what to do with them. The overzealous phase usually ends at around their first birthday, though it depends on the individual, of course.

When Mr. Po went through this phase, I actually ended up just making a temporary pen within the chicken yard to keep him in during the day, and then closing him in a cat carrier and putting him in the coop where he would be safe at night. He was in this pen all through his first winter, and by spring he was much more calm and gentle with the girls. He wasn't as bad to start with as you're describing your boy, but it could be worth a shot. I understand not wanting to give him a pen to himself, having a limited number of pens, myself. Maybe it would be worth investing in the materials to build a small, secure pen just for him over the winter, which could then be used for other birds if needed once he's out of it?

Personally, if he's not human aggressive, I would at least want to give him a second chance! That seems to be a trait in roosters that's hard to come by anymore! Just my opinion, though.

Thanks for chiming in Pipd! I would think he will settle down eventually and isn't nasty by any means, just a pest! I do really like the idea of separation but I'd like to get the other boys in there with him too for company and to help with space. Maybe I'll pull him out of that pen, put the two younger Cornish cross cockerels in there with the nice Hedemora boy and then add the Isbar boy back in a week. Or I can hobble him to slow him down. I need to take the steam out of his sails somehow! I agree that there should be hope of redemption. Thanks for the kind words on my boys. I think they are stunning and it is a lot of fun to see them out in my yard!

 

[racinchickins]

Quote: You will need to be careful mixing roos together, especially if they haven't been raised together. In my experience, the bottom of the new rooster pecking order gets to be the honorary 'hen' and you end up with very similar issues. I have a feeling if your cornish X boys aren't a mobile as the others, they will end up getting beat up pretty bad. I'm constantly shuffling roos around until either they get big enough to process, or I find a new place for them. I have two BCM boys going to jchny2000's, and they need to. One is getting chased all over and beat up when he gets caught. I am letting him free range during the day to get away from the others.

 

[ChickCrazed]

You will need to be careful mixing roos together, especially if they haven't been raised together. In my experience, the bottom of the new rooster pecking order gets to be the honorary 'hen' and you end up with very similar issues. I have a feeling if your cornish X boys aren't a mobile as the others, they will end up getting beat up pretty bad. I'm constantly shuffling roos around until either they get big enough to process, or I find a new place for them. I have two BCM boys going to jchny2000's, and they need to. One is getting chased all over and beat up when he gets caught. I am letting him free range during the day to get away from the others.

Oh boo. They are actually pretty fast little chicken nuggets but I don't want them getting beat up either. Guess stoopid Harris is getting solo digs and his very own freaking heated waterer for the winter and everyone else is getting squished into the other two pens.

 

[ChickCrazed]

Oh boo. They are actually pretty fast little chicken nuggets but I don't want them getting beat up either. Guess stoopid Harris is getting solo digs and his very own freaking heated waterer for the winter and everyone else is getting squished into the other two pens.

Oh, and if anyone wants a Splash Hedemora cockerel



or a Cornish Cross cockerel they are free to a home that won't eat them



Oh, one other question. My splash Hedemora pullet is around 20 weeks old and looking like she is about ready to start laying. She has gotten a bright red comb and wattles. That is great news, but I noticed the beginning of spur nubs on her legs yesterday!!!!! I don't THINK she is a he since Harris is not chasing her around like he is the other boy. Do I have a REALLY late bloomer or is she going to be a manly woman with spurs? She is in the picture above, the one that looks like a pullet with spur nubs. Just my luck.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Hi all - if you live or Work in Indy I thought some of you might be interested in this workshop. I am putting in a picture of the flyer but in case it is too small to read here is the text for the flyer too:

Manure Management for Urban and Small Scale Livestock
Lunch & Learn
Wednesday, October 1st
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Discovery Hall – 3rd Floor Conference Room NW Corner of the Indiana State
Fairgrounds, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis
If you have or would like to have poultry, rabbits or other livestock but live in
an urban area, this free workshop is for you.
Bring your lunch and join us!
Featured Speaker:
Tony Bailey, CCA, USDA-NRCS State Conservation Agronomist
*Livestock in the City? Myths and Reality
*Animal & Neighborhood Health
*Manure Storage & Disposal
*Composting
*Composted Manure Uses & Safety Guidelines
Sponsored by:
Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District
Purdue Extension – Marion County
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
For more information or to register contact Marilyn at 317-786-1776
[email protected] / www.marionswcd.org

 

[Rhandi74]

I'm sorry you all had to have that experience.  
One never knows what a chicken has done or where they've been during the day.  Head injuries are always a possibility, too.. I was keeping a keen eye on how her progress was, in case we run into the same thing over here.
Sending positive thoughts your way.

So sorry

I have also only had to cull a bird for a health issue one time and it was very hard to do.  (egg peritonitis/egg binding)

Thank you both for the kind thoughts.

 

[Minminme]

Gr

1.  Yes, I do them in the house.  Mine are in the laundry room as I have a laundry sink there that I can use easily.

2.  A.  After the initial soaking they don't get water.  But...  you soak then rinse.  Then lay it out flat with the seeds distributed flat in the bag on something.  I use the lid of a rubbermade like in the video.  The next bag (the next day) gets rinsed and stacked on top to that one.  So..actually, each day that you stack another on top, the little bit of water from the one above filters down through and provides enough moisture to keep everything damp.   I ALSO PUT A ANOTHER LID OR SOMETHING ON TOP OF THE STACK.  That way the one at the very top doesn't dry out before putting the next one on.

B.  No light.  I keep them in a dark place. Think of them as seeds under the dirt beginning to sprout.

3.  Since they're in a bag, just pick up the bag like you would a normal one.  Nothing falls out since whatever is loose is inside.  When I get it outside,hold the bag upside down and shake the loose ones around the run so they can go scratching for them.   It also gives the "lowers a chance to get some that they may not get if they had to stand in line at the bag.  Then I put the bag on the post so they can clean up whatever is left on the bag which will be most of them.

Great! Thank you for the answers. It sounds pretty easy and may help some with normal feed costs. I'm very seriously thinking about trying it this winter.

 

[AnnaPi]

A question for sellers of roosters:

I have a Swedish Flower Hen rooster that I am not keeping. He is amicable with people and really quite a nice boy..never a problem w/him. But he is crested and I don't want to breed crested birds. I was planning on processing him but I'd sell him (or possibly give him away) if I thought he wouldn't end up in a cock fight somewhere.

So...
When y'all sell roos, how do you go about it? Do you try to get references from folks?

I just think putting a 1.5 yo roo on CL may be disaster for him. I'd rather process than see him abused.





ETA: Not getting rid of the human rooster...keeping that one.