INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[twoboystwogirls]

Pretty, but can you actually grow plant near your coop? Don't your chickens just eat it?

I have daffodils that come up inside my chicken run every year. I dug them up but I must have missed a few because they continue to come up. For some reason the chickens do not seem to bother with them. They do like to sit on them and smoosh them but they must taste bad bc they don't eat them.

 

[Faraday40]

I have daffodils that come up inside my chicken run every year. I dug them up but I must have missed a few because they continue to come up. For some reason the chickens do not seem to bother with them. They do like to sit on them and smoosh them but they must taste bad bc they don't eat them.

I had a patch or day lilies & hostas that were so thick I thought I would never be able to remove them. The chickens decided that shady spot was theirs. The ate &/or flattened most of the lilies & hostas. I also have an herb garden bed that they think is a dust bath. That battle is still ongoing.

 

[twoboystwogirls]

I had a patch or day lilies & hostas that were so thick I thought I would never be able to remove them. The chickens decided that shady spot was theirs. The ate &/or flattened most of the lilies & hostas. I also have an herb garden bed that they think is a dust bath. That battle is still ongoing.

They are so beautiful you just can't be mad at them. But, if you have a spot that you do not want them to ruin I have found that putting mulch around the plants and then covering the mulch with deer netting will keep them out of it. I have some plants on the side of the garage that they kept ruining so I did this. At first they would run right over there every morning but then quickly leave bc they couldn't get the mulch to move. In a few days they started to remember and now they never even try to go over there. It works great. Plus, the netting is small enough that you can't even see it. I used landscape "nails" to keep the netting down.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: Sunflowers would be fun, I think but oh so much taller than the other flowers you posted.

When I left my flock yesterday afternoon, they still hadn't eaten much of their FF. I expect to find a frozen feed block in the coop this morning. It's just as well, I was thinking about switching the routine anyway. I'm going to be feeding them dry scratch in the morning, and FF in the afternoon. Maybe if they get it once a day and when it's slightly warmer, they'll get it all down before it freezes.

I wish I had a place in the house I could keep the FF bucket. I'm not convinced it's fermenting, since it's refrigerator temps at best in my garage. Of course, just having it wet is cutting down waste, so it's still worth it, I think.

Depending on finances, I'm considering another heated dog bowl to keep their feed above freezing. It's working so well for the water, it seems like the logical next step. It would sure solve a problem.


In other news, it was so cold here yesterday I didn't bother letting the hens out of the coop. There's plenty of space in there for them to spend a day or two now and again. I'm hoping today will be a little warmer.

I already can't wait for winter to be over.

If you are close to Lowes pellets, their food tends to be cheaper than RK and they offer a discount for cash payment. We make the drive for goat food.

Anyone looking for some very nice boer goat does? I know a family that breeds that needs to sell a couple as soon as possible as they have more due to kid shortly. Her goats are some of the healthiest, well-kept goats that I've seen. They are located in Kewanna, Indiana.

You can send me a pm and I'll send you her information!

I might know of someone. I'll ask around. Would the does that are for sell be bred? or would there be a young buck for sale as well?

 

[kittydoc]

Dr. Mary's Sermon on Cold Weather

I know I am largely preaching to the choir here (thank goodness), but here goes.

On a different site, a lady posted today that she lost a Silkie chick and a Polish chick to the weather. She is NOT in Indiana, but lives in a state with very similar weather to central/northern Indiana. She did not have a proper coop built. She kept them in a greenhouse. Sigh. She did so many less-than-optimal management things that she got mad at me for making completely sane suggestions that I just gave up trying to help. For example, besides living in a greenhouse without a proper coop or henhouse, she let the Silkies sleep in nest boxes on the ground. Baby Silkies. I don't have Silkies, but I know they are NOT "cold hardy" birds. Sigh again.

On the subject of frostbite, I think that can happen to anybody. It happened to one of mine the night I rescued her from death when the "mean girls" kicked her out of the henhouse entirely last winter when it was even colder than it was last night, so she lived in the garage for 3 months last winter. (But for the lighting, it cost us nothing but a little more trouble cleaning out her crate every few days, and she laid eggs like there was no tomorrow.) I am not going to bring her in this year. She has to make it on her own, but I feel confident she will. She is still near the bottom, but she sleeps in a nestbox inside the intermittently heated henhouse now, and it keeps her from being bullied. She also wears a nice chicken saddle. (BTW, @Leahs Mom thanks for the other link!)


While frostbite isn't the end of the world, it IS painful. Very painful while that tissue is dying. My hen couldn't stand to have her entire comb touched until her little spot smaller than a lentil completely healed. So if you are seeing frequent, regular, or severe frostbite, especially causing substantial loss of combs, wattles, or especially TOES, please rethink what you can do to change your management so it doesn't happen that often. A chicken that has lost most of its toes and is walking around on stumps or little nubs may be a live chicken, but it's not a comfortable chicken. It is going to develop arthritis in its legs and what's left of its feet because those toes not only grab onto perches, they spread out the bird's body weight when they stand. Chickens need their toes. Do you see chickens often standing on one leg, like a flamingo? Nope, because it's too much weight on one leg for more than a minute or two.

There is more to consider than the question "Did it live?" Consider "How does it live?" Some birds are really tough and can survive most of what mother nature (and we) throw at them. Others can't. Even if you don't consider your birds pets, or even semi-pets, if you are raising them for income, you need them to do well, too. You can't sell show a bird with frostbite or missing digits for a reason.

No matter what management style you adopt (heated vs. unheated, fully enclosed vs. free range), there are always things that all of us can do to make life for our birds safer, healthier, and more comfortable. We have made changes and improvements every single season of the four years we have had chickens to make them comfortable, happy, and productive.

<Puts soapbox away.> Thanks for reading, and please take this in the spirit in which it is intended.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Kittydoc, I went to a swap and there was a man with tons of buff polish and over half of them were walking on nubs ! I couldnt believe what i was seeing. I couldnt understand how they could even walk . I did ask the man what happened to them and he just shrugged his shoulders. they were pitiful.

 

[kabhyper1]

It's here! Got the yarn today. It's so soft! So if anyone is interested I have several skeins of 100% alpaca in DK and Worsted. I also have some core spun bumps. Alpaca core. The Dk and worsted I am selling at $8/oz. Almost all is Superfine. Dk and Worsted are in 175 and 200 yd skeins. The rug bumps are different lengths. I am selling it at $6/oz . Since I am selling based on weight, it's easier to tell me what color and weight you want. I have Chocolate brown, Dark fawn, Medium fawn, and lots of dyeable white available. Although there is a gray in the picture, it is spoken for. Let me know!

 

[kittydoc]

Kittydoc, I went to a swap and there was a man with tons of buff polish and over half of them were walking on nubs ! I couldnt believe what i was seeing. I couldnt understand how they could even walk . I did ask the man what happened to them and he just shrugged his shoulders. they were pitiful.

That's horrible. If anyone sees something like this in the future, I would phone the local animal control office to report the person for cruelty. This makes me literally sick.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

That's horrible. If anyone sees something like this in the future, I would phone the local animal control office to report the person for cruelty. This makes me literally sick.

it did me too. we have a dog warden and if a stray comes to your house he tells you to shoot them. that is what a lot of people do. I have a cousin that had a dog with tumors, very old and time for it to go. she said she was taking it to be put down. what she did ( she told me later) was to go dump it in the woods. I dont see her any more. that happens way too often here in ripley county.

 

[leslea]

For example, besides living in a greenhouse without a proper coop or henhouse, she let the Silkies sleep in nest boxes on the ground. Baby Silkies. I don't have Silkies, but I know they are NOT "cold hardy" birds. Sigh again.

I was pretty concerned about mine and they were fine. I don't think they're babies anymore since they're laying, though, are they? Just pullets. Anyway, I was worried about them. I can't imagine leaving them in a greenhouse. It was so cold out there.