INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

I "think" the tips that come off like that is similar to a scab that falls away after the cut is healed and no longer needs it. I'm thinking that as the live flesh below gets it's new skin and becomes strong, the dried parts can come off to reveal the good flesh below.

That's one of the reasons I don't like to disturb it if there isn't infection or oozing. That way it comes off when it should rather than me possibly disturbing it too soon and causing more trauma to the area if it doesn't show a need for intervention otherwise.

 

[kabhyper1]

Hey guys, I'm about to incubate some of my standard cochin eggs for the first time in my styrofoam forced air incubator. Can you more experienced hatchers give me temps and humidity instructions and tips for keeping humidity up? Its got a auto turner. They are for a friend who wants 6 chicks. I usually use my silkies when they are broody.............of course no one wants to be broody right now. Figures lol. I need as much info as you all can give me, and explained to me like I'm five years old. Haha, I need to be able to remember what I was told.
this is the one I have. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/farm-innovators-pro-series-circulated-air-incubator

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Just wondering if the frostbitten comb tips will fall off in spring. My lav Orp roo has a TALL comb. During this last week the very tips of his comb & a little area on edge of wattles turned black. Some of my hens have some frosting too. (theirs looks whitish not black.) Last year I saw posts of a roo that recovered well with no interference. Did the edges fall off then heal up smaller or did it kind of grow back?

They do heal well. I have an OEGB rooster thats comb is rounded off, a "tree" rooster that would not coop up. I also have a LF roo, mixed guy missing a toe from frostbite thats fine, he was given up to me last winter. They heal, and recover if we are watchful and help them. Don't touch them, just ensure they have good ventilation.

Faraday, is this the post you were thinking of? Hope this helps either way!

Quote:
Last we were close, Mister is quite attractive and you would never known he had frostbite. Will do my best to get a pic, but he is a free range king here! He has drawn a lot of attention from my mixed hens. We have so many outbuildings several of the Roosters have their own lil flocks if they are not confined for breeding. I do know Miss Black has chosen to stay with him. He has a few EE hens and some BA that follow him, they roost in the barn lean-to now. Spring egg "hunting" will be interesting until the new egg coop is built. Mister will be my egg flock roo, He is quite the gentleman.
Anyways, I have tried the prevention on the combs and waddles, its best to be sure you have proper ventilation before it occurs. Moisture in the air will cause frostbite as well as respiratory issues. Clean, dry and ventilated coops..that's the best choice. Free range flocks rarely have any problems, they choose a healthy environment on their own.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Checking in from Bristol, Indiana. 5 miles from the Michigan border. Got a large egg this morning...3.74 oz. haven't done any research for records. Truly do not have time. Went on BYC to sorta check, got swept up in Indiana Chicken Keepers blog. Late to it, but love it.

welcome! Post away, we love pics and welcome everyone that wants to post.

Quote:
I wonder how he kept all of the dust out of it. I got one similar from amazon but had to send it back because lousy shipping made for a broken heater. I then got 2 small generic models from Sams for my cold spots in the house. But they both have fans, I just know they would get tons of dust from a chicken house.

I wonder if the oil radiator is the way to go. I don't have gas from the gas company here anymore. I'll need to look more into their setup.

A wood stove is out too but would look kind of cool sitting in the middle of a shed.

I'm still trying to decide the layout of the shed as well. I'm hoping to use it for the chicks that are 4-8 weeks old in Feb and March. Then in April for the goats that are kidding. But there might be a small overlap and the kids might need to share with the chickens. I'm wondering how much space needs to be blocked off for the kidding stall or if I will need to make sure the shed is chicken free before kidding time. I know the bedding needs to be fresh and not deep litter but that is not too hard.I'm also trying to think of a way to add a screen door so none of the chicks can fly out when I'm trying to get in if I put the kidding stall in the back. If the chickens are in the back, I'm not sure how I would keep the kids in the shed while i was coming in. Choices and more choices.
Interesting thought. Kids stay with momma doe, no doubt until they are pretty mature. Sophie is over a year old and still cries for Sugar if separated. My safest heat choice is oil filled electric heaters. Very economical too.

Below are the pics of my boy & girl with larger combs. Both have frostbite, but the girl should be OK. (This happened to her last year & it seemed to just fade when the weather warmed up.)
It's my roo that has me concerned. We had some very brutal weather this past week. It's nice to be back up to the mid twenties today. Did anyone ever have frostbitten comb this bad? For now, I'm just leaving it.

I would leave him alone, those white tips may drop but its not severe. They look really good considering the severe temps we had.

In December when the temps were mild, I had a drinker like this outside in the grass & my heated bucket with horz. nipples inside the run. The wattles could have happened because of the outdoor drinker. He had whitish comb tips before the bitter cold. I used Vaseline as a preventative, but only on the coldest nights. It allows all kinds of dirt to stick, so some of the black (closer to the head) may be dirt. However, the tips must be frostbite.

My coop is not heated but insulated. My garage is detached, so I'm not sure that would be much warmer - especially w/o the hens to keep him warm. The coop is more dusty than wet. Sand floor with the poop sifted out each morning. I have the food & water in the run. Because the runs are covered & wrapped, my chickens only sleep & lay eggs in the coop. During the days with -25'F wind chills, they were out in the run constantly making their complaining noises. They could have stayed in the coop but chose not to.

Here's the interior of the coop before the sand was added. We closed the back window during the winter, but the 2 side windows are open. To block wind, the left window is near the garage and the right is facing the run. The side of the run facing the coop is open. The other 3 sides have storm windows made from plastic sheeting.


Normally, the left coop window is always open (left pic above). Last year I closed some of it up by making a vent (right pic above), but everything I read said to increase ventilation. This year, the window is open. The only night I put the vent up was when strong winds were blowing snow & a dusting got into the coop.

You did exactly what I would have done. If bedding is dry, its just the humidity you can't control. Beautiful coop. well thought out BTW

Quote: yes.. cover your costs. I try to help a lot and yep.. I get burned some. Usually it doesn't happen especially with members on our thread. I am so sorry you had to deal with it. So many of the folks here we have know each other 2-3 years and have really gained each others trust..When one of us try to expand, improve our flock we are gritting our teeth! Post if those birds need to be resold. someone may jump at it.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hey guys, I'm about to incubate some of my standard cochin eggs for the first time in my styrofoam forced air incubator. Can you more experienced hatchers give me temps and humidity instructions and tips for keeping humidity up? Its got a auto turner. They are for a friend who wants 6 chicks. I usually use my silkies when they are broody.............of course no one wants to be broody right now. Figures lol. I need as much info as you all can give me, and explained to me like I'm five years old. Haha, I need to be able to remember what I was told.
this is the one I have. http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/farm-innovators-pro-series-circulated-air-incubator

Forced air 99.5 temp
keep the well in the base full of water to keep the humidity up to around 35%. Try to up the humidity HIGH at hatch at day 19, stop the turner. with sponges help a lot.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I got an Excalibur for Christmas... Yay! (Dehydrator for the un-initiated.)

Thought just struck me... Wonder if you could use it as an incubator?

 

[racinchickins]

In December when the temps were mild, I had a drinker like this outside in the grass & my heated bucket with horz. nipples inside the run. The wattles could have happened because of the outdoor drinker. He had whitish comb tips before the bitter cold. I used Vaseline as a preventative, but only on the coldest nights. It allows all kinds of dirt to stick, so some of the black (closer to the head) may be dirt. However, the tips must be frostbite.

My coop is not heated but insulated. My garage is detached, so I'm not sure that would be much warmer - especially w/o the hens to keep him warm. The coop is more dusty than wet. Sand floor with the poop sifted out each morning. I have the food & water in the run. Because the runs are covered & wrapped, my chickens only sleep & lay eggs in the coop. During the days with -25'F wind chills, they were out in the run constantly making their complaining noises. They could have stayed in the coop but chose not to.

Here's the interior of the coop before the sand was added. We closed the back window during the winter, but the 2 side windows are open. To block wind, the left window is near the garage and the right is facing the run. The side of the run facing the coop is open. The other 3 sides have storm windows made from plastic sheeting.


Normally, the left coop window is always open (left pic above). Last year I closed some of it up by making a vent (right pic above), but everything I read said to increase ventilation. This year, the window is open. The only night I put the vent up was when strong winds were blowing snow & a dusting got into the coop.

Your coop is beautiful. Very well done, and looks well set up. But I do see something that could be contributing to your issues. The best way to ventilate, if possible, is up above the birds heads. You don't want any moving air directly on the chickens. In my coop, the chickens gravitate towards the perches with the least moving air. It looks like if the chickens are on the lower perch, then the vents will allow drafts right on them. That being said, with the roof style your coop haw, it makes it very difficult to put a side vent anywhere else, but you could try moving the perch so it wasn't right next to the vent. As an alternative, if I was trying to vent your coop, I'd put one in above the window in the back.

 

[Faraday40]

Your coop is beautiful. Very well done, and looks well set up. But I do see something that could be contributing to your issues. The best way to ventilate, if possible, is up above the birds heads. You don't want any moving air directly on the chickens. In my coop, the chickens gravitate towards the perches with the least moving air. It looks like if the chickens are on the lower perch, then the vents will allow drafts right on them. That being said, with the roof style your coop haw, it makes it very difficult to put a side vent anywhere else, but you could try moving the perch so it wasn't right next to the vent. As an alternative, if I was trying to vent your coop, I'd put one in above the window in the back.

Thanks. I may give an extra vent a try. I now have 2x4 roosts and added a 3rd bottom roost about the height of the nest boxes, but no one ever sleeps on the lowest one. They simply cram together on the upper roost, a few on the middle, & no one on the bottom.

 

[birdman55]

morning everyone...hope everyone had a good weekend...

id say on the frostbite issue...let nature do its thing...if you put oils on petroleum jelly on the birds then it invites dust and dirt and such to stick to the bird....so a lot of time is does more harm then good...birds like to take dirt baths....when there throwing the dirt, sand, or snow...it will stick to the bird where the oils were applied...not to mention you have to reapply the oils every like three days....so I just let my birds do there own thing..mother nature didn't give the birds oils back in the day....and they did perfectly fine...yes some breeds like the leghorns are more apt to get it....but as long as your humidity is down and you have good ventilation then it should be minimal on how much frostbite a bird get...

 

[PeacefulWalls]

My pretty egg basket today. Apparently my Legbars and at least one of my EEs have started to lay again!


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Yay browncow15! Mine are getting back into it also, the cold has set them back a bit though.

Love the colors -- so pretty!