INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[bradselig]

Hopefully this will be my last week of 65+hrs of work weeks. Interviewing an asst manager tomorrow, and should be back to the normal 52hr work weeks. Finally feeling like I'm accomplishing things at work, but still a lot of things to do! Hope to be more active here shortly. I'm atleast been able to stay caught up and am reading through the thread daily.

Trying to get the flock situated for winter. I just need some time off to get it all done! I will likely be downsizing a little more. Probably be getting rid of the orps and a few more silkies if anyone is interested. I need to get out there tomorrow and treat them all for internal and external parasites before winter hits. I think I saw live on the orps I recently picked up.

For heat in the modern pens, I'm planning on using flex watt heat tape. You can make it any length you need it and it is paper thin. I will be attaching it to the wall and put plexi glass over it (leaving a 1/4" air gap between heat tape and plexiglass to prevent it from over heating. Then I will mount a perch about 6" or so away from the heat tape on one end and angle it away from the tape so they can choose the amount of heat they need. I'll also put a perch several feet away in case they don't want any heat. Hopefully it works. If so, I will have less than $30 for the heat tape and cord to hook up and then the price of plexi glass. This is for an 8' run! I've been using this material for many years with the reptiles.

Lastly Im in the market for a new vehicle if anyone hears of any. Looking for an SUV around 100,000 miles or less. I have a budget of $8000 (I really prefer not to have a car payment!) Must be 4 wheel drive! Let me know if anyone has anything for sale or knows of anyone selling.

 

[ellymayRans]

[COLOR=900000]Is this one's comb as pinkish as it looks in this picture? Or is that just my computer?

Also, is one of them really tiny compared to the other two, or was it the angle with the camera in the video?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=13598B]We're in a woods, so my coop is mostly shaded for the majority of the year. It gets more sun in the winter and less in the summer. That's one of the reasons I chose to build on to the south side and add a lot of windows--lots of wintertime sun! Anyway, my point is, it works well either way, as long as the birds have shelter. Chickens do much worse in heat than in cold, so having that shade in the summertime will be an added bonus for your birds. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=900000]Beautiful! I really think Peafowl are next on my list of sbeen a pestpecies to try raising. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=13598B]Had to go back quite a ways to find this, but I've been thinking about it since I saw it. Do you happen to have a link to the netting you're talking about, or a name / phrase to search to find it? This sounds like the stuff I want to put over my duck yard. I was just going to give up on it and use bird netting, but I'd like something more durable if it isn't too costly![/COLOR]

As for the Peas..I read and read and researched them...I was so intimidated by them but finally jumped on the opportunity when @PbirdHaven was rehoming one! I ended up getting the IB pair from her. Both at different times and they were both very healthy and have been easily trained. The new babes I got from a fellow BYCER also, in South Dakota. Everything I read said you need a good chunk of land unless you planned on penning them. We only have an acre here but are butted up to a mature plot of woods. .I really have been surprised by them. They must be very happy because they never have ventured off more than to our neighbors. Also read about warning signs of roosting on vehicles which has only happened a couple of times and that was only when the dog came around the house and startled him. Luckily my neighbors love them and they have never been a pest. I can barely hear them from inside the house and our chickens and roosters are definitely more vocal than they!

I honestly have no bad words to share! Oh..well. .ok...their nails are pretty sharp and always manage to leave good size scratches on me but it's not from being crazy ... just from take off. They are very good flyers too. Beautiful when in flight.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

This would make a great coop. I don't have a way to move it but once moved, paint and add the standard chicken stuff and instant coop.
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/4726048518.html

The floor fell in on our duck shed. It is the coop we are using for the ducks and currently roosters. The chickens that get tossed in with the ducks kind of rotate through out the season. The ducks are great teachers and it was easier for me to combine two growout pens close in age when the ducks were there to monitor the fights. Now I am wondering if I should try to replace the floor before winter or just use a dirt floor. The floor was not covered in vinyl but it had been painted multiple coats of waterproof paint. Our mistake was not paining the floor before putting it in. The water from all of the rain this spring and summer created a moisture pocket under the coop and that underside of the floor rotted out first. I'm just extrememly glad we did not find any mice or other critters living under the rotted floor. I'm also glad it was DH that stepped through the floor and not me.

Our ducks still live in one of our barn stall & go out in their run during the day. The floor of the stall was originally dirt/sand when we built the barn. We put a thick layer (4 - 6") of wood chip mulch down and periodically top it up. If I remember right someone on the Ancona duck thread suggested doing this. So far over the past year it has worked really well. Of course during the winter it all froze solid together. And the chickens love visiting the duck stall to scratch in the mulch!

 

[Faraday40]

I caught my daughter playing Barbies with our little Bantam Orp today.

This is our Bantam Menace: Cookie. Again, I'm not sure why a chicken was needed to play Barbies, but I grabbed my camera. Just too funny.


My daughter & her friends are always using the big fluffy, full sized orps as babies when they play house outside. The bigger ones are my favs b/c they just want to be with us at all times. They like to be lap chickens. Our bantam has more energy & prefers to fly up to a shoulder instead.

 

[Faraday40]

My daughter named her "Cookie" b/c she's small, round, & sweet.
I nicknamed her "the Bantam Menace" b/c of her superiority complex & attitude.
DH calls her "Useless Chicken" b/c of the tiny eggs.

DH keeps joking about Cookie's tiny eggs, but the truth is that she's made 7 eggs in the last 7 days. No other hen is keeping up at this time of year! DH adds that if she makes another 7 eggs, perhaps we can have a single breakfast.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

A friend who bought some of our fav baby chicks just had one die of impacted crop. She said it was acting normal & then very lethargic the next day. The 25 week old pullet was very weak, not walking & allowing herself to be stepped on a few hours later. Another person stopped by in the afternoon & immediately knew impacted crop. She massaged upside-down & got the pullet to vomit up foul smelling stuff with bits of straw. They believe she choked on it & died while being treated.

I was not there to witness it, thankfully, but I was wondering what the symptoms are (before the shut down stage) & if there may be a genetic predisposition. I want to know if I may see it in the siblings here & what I should look out for. Is this common or do some breeds get it more easily? Could it have been the straw? Does it happen more often with cooped or free range birds?

The particular chicken (named Superhero by my daughter) was well loved. The silly baby chick peeped day & night & only stopped when in my daughter's hands. I did not want such a "needy" chicken. My daughter's friend (Superhero's new owner) was the only other person who could handle her. Superhero ran away from all adults but always jumped into the arms of either 9 yr old girl when called. She will be missed.

i am so sorry for the loss. Impacted crop is so many things, not enough water, too long of grasses, foreign material they should not be eating. they always need grit handy even if we need to buy it. I have 50 lbs of grit and 50lbs of oyster shell always available. my birds free range our 5 acres but they still get everything at the main coop.

Another question:
When talking about breeds, some people mentioned that their BAs were mean to new or younger birds. Just wondering if BA was for Blue Andalusian or Black Australorp. Thanks.

BA for me is black australorp;

Quote: yep

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Wanted to share my daughter's blog post. We visited the farm last Saturday where we own a share. The family has a fodder system for feeding the animals fresh, sprouted green fodder during the winter. If you're anywhere near the area, I recommend a share! Or even some pasture raised pork, beef or chicken!

http://www.followtheflavor.com/2014/10/pasture-haven-farm-raw-milk/

You KNOW you want one of these.....

moooooo you bet i do!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Is this one's comb as pinkish as it looks in this picture? Or is that just my computer?

[COLOR=900000]Also, is one of them really tiny compared to the other two, or was it the angle with the camera in the video?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=13598B]We're in a woods, so my coop is mostly shaded for the majority of the year. It gets more sun in the winter and less in the summer. That's one of the reasons I chose to build on to the south side and add a lot of windows--lots of wintertime sun! Anyway, my point is, it works well either way, as long as the birds have shelter. Chickens do much worse in heat than in cold, so having that shade in the summertime will be an added bonus for your birds.

[/COLOR]
[COLOR=900000]Beautiful!

I really think Peafowl are next on my list of species to try raising.

[/COLOR]
[COLOR=13598B]Had to go back quite a ways to find this, but I've been thinking about it since I saw it. Do you happen to have a link to the netting you're talking about, or a name / phrase to search to find it? This sounds like the stuff I want to put over my duck yard. I was just going to give up on it and use bird netting, but I'd like something more durable if it isn't too costly![/COLOR]

The color is correct, and yes, they are all different sizes because they hatched on different days.
Chicks hatched on:
#1 Friday, Sept. 5
#2 Sunday, Sept. 7
#3 Monday, Sept. 8
#4 Tuesday, Sept. 9 (went missing last week)
#5 Wednesday, Sept. 10 (went missing last week)

Here's the last pictures/captions. Are you thinking that you might see a boy? None have combs like your Poe had.


Btw, your little duckies are adorable! You got some over the summer, too, didn't you? I assume you'll integrate them into your new Duck Villa?


@Faraday40 ~ Your cute little hen is such a good sport! I named my chocolate orp Bonbon since she's round, chocolate, and sweet! She actually isn't as round since she's been broody/mothering.
Surprisingly, last weekend my DH commented on the Silkies' eggs tasting extra delicious. It's probably because we've been in the same situation-- not many eggs. Our two Silkies have been faithfully laying every day. The two LF orps are laying occasionally, and the others have been molting. I've been trying to avoid buying eggs. It's just embarrassing to have to buy eggs! hahahaha

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I am looking for a BYCer near hopefully Indianapolis that I can visit to learn about keeping chickens or other birds and coop ideas. Any volunteers?

Welcome

and our thread

i welcome visits well in advance. please pm to arrange it

 

[pginsber]

I am looking for a BYCer near hopefully Indianapolis that I can visit to learn about keeping chickens or other birds and coop ideas. Any volunteers?

I'm in Indy--if you're interested in seeing a tiny city operation with 9 birds, PM me.

Hey all. What's shaking?

Normal fall chores and winter prep. How about you?

The floor fell in on our duck shed. ... Now I am wondering if I should try to replace the floor before winter or just use a dirt floor. The floor was not covered in vinyl but it had been painted multiple coats of waterproof paint. ...The water from all of the rain this spring and summer created a moisture pocket under the coop and that underside of the floor rotted out first. I'm just extrememly glad we did not find any mice or other critters living under the rotted floor. I'm also glad it was DH that stepped through the floor and not me.

YIKES! Hope DH is okay. There's not much time between now and winter. Maybe this is the year for a dirt floor? You use deep litter method, right? Let us know what you decide. You may never decide to put a floor in, who knows?

So I have sadly lost 3 younger chickens this week.

1 little rooster just didn't come in to roost one night and we haven't seen him, we have looked all over. And the other 2, 1 silkie rooster and 1 bantam cochin just got really lethargic and quit eating and drinking. I tried to hand feed and water them, but it seems like they just gave up on living, both were at the bottom of the pecking order. Can anyone tell me what might have happened. All the other birds seem to be fine. I didn't know if it was just the weather changes and they weren't strong enough to handle it or if they might have been sick. I am really at a loss, because they were both fine last week, and this just seemed to come on all the sudden.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

...two of Bonbon's Black Bantam Cochin chicks disappeared...DH locked the bantam cage where Bonbon and her chicks stay. He didn't count them because it was raining, and he assumed he'd hear chicks crying or Bonbon clucking if there was something wrong. He said that the next morning when he opened their coop, there were only three chicks. He looked everywhere around our property, but didn't even find any signs of them. The missing ones were the youngest two, and they often lagged behind. ... It's just strange and so sad.

Poor babies....

Here are the remaining three chicks. They are 6 weeks old, but several days apart-- can anyone figure out what sex each one is? Besides this crummy photo, I have a crummy video, which may help: My Movie

I'm sorry for your loss. I imagine poor DH is traumatized, as well. Hopefully, he's not beating himself up over it.

Two weeks ago, one of our 2 coronation sussex chicks got out of the chicken run on DW's watch. Our new puppies thought it was a great idea to play with her and the played too roughly. She didn't make it. DW waited until I got home from work to tell me the sad news. At least we could bury her. Just having them go missing is worse, I think.

Based on your crummy photo, and your crummy video (remember YOU initially coined that descriptor), if the one in the middle is the oldest, I think you have 3 girls.