INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[birdman55]

I'm the same way. The incubator turns into a "TV" during hatching. At any time, one of the kids or myself can be found watching the eggs/chicks. Even throughout the night I find that we sneak peeks to see the progress, count pips, encourage the zipping, etc. No one really gets a good night's sleep until they're all in the brooder, so we look like a family of raccoons until then. (Except for DH. He hasn't caught on to the excitement & can sleep through anything.)

lol....well at least you get sleep....I don't sleep at all when the hatching starts....something about the good ol mother nature doing its thing...that one cant resist...its very addicting kinda like byc....soon my eggs will be in Louisiana...cant wait...everything is going so great...im so excited..so the fridge bator rocking and rolling...got the top cut and glued the viewing window the fridge cleaned fully out with all the heavy extras that don't have to be there....which there was a lot on the bottom...wow that stuff is heavy...and now im working on the bottom viewing spot...will glue tomorrow only have a little bit of glue left...but will be cut out tonight...and setting 30 more chicken eggs tonight....boy its getting super busy around here...and only gunna get more busy...ahhhh....wish I had more time...till then later my fellow peeps

 

[ellymayRans]

I had a friend who's parents used to have emus.  They get big, like look you right in the eye from the same height big.  It takes strong secure fencing to keep them.  Not sure how they are around other birds either.  I know we weren't allowed to go in the pen with them.

Similar to peas, it's important to properly socialize and tame them. I'm anxious and excited. I've done a lot of reading as I do before making any rash decisions!! Lol! But proper pen and right upbringing it could be quite the experience! She sent 6 eggs though! Eeek! So I may have to absolutely break down and build that extra large Coolerbator like Now!! Anyone want to come help!! Hahaha! Geez! What have I done! I seriously can't stop laughing at my craziness!

 

[bradselig]

Similar to peas, it's important to properly socialize and tame them. I'm anxious and excited. I've done a lot of reading as I do before making any rash decisions!! Lol! But proper pen and right upbringing it could be quite the experience! She sent 6 eggs though! Eeek! So I may have to absolutely break down and build that extra large Coolerbator like Now!! Anyone want to come help!! Hahaha! Geez! What have I done! I seriously can't stop laughing at my craziness!

That is awesome! I've thought about getting some emus! I can't guarantee Id be ready for any, but keep me in mind if they do hatch. I've been eyeballing eggs on ebay,just haven't bit the bullet yet.

 

[ellymayRans]

That is awesome! I've thought about getting some emus! I can't guarantee Id be ready for any, but keep me in mind if they do hatch. I've been eyeballing eggs on ebay,just haven't bit the bullet yet.

Well they take 52 days!!!!!!! Oi!

I will post my updates of course. So if there's any success I'm certain you won't be able to resist!! Lol! My I thought chicks were adorable, Emu chicks are beyond adorable!

 

[bradselig]

Well they take 52 days!!!!!!! Oi!

I will post my updates of course. So if there's any success I'm certain you won't be able to resist!! Lol! My I thought chicks were adorable, Emu chicks are beyond adorable!

Indeed they are! I got to see some at the Wolf's Giant Swap last year or the year before. They are so cool.

 

[Indyshent]

I have partridge silkies laying up a storm if you wanna take a go at hatching.

I have no 'bator, let alone a fancy coolerbator

 

[Indyshent]

I say let your personality shine within your writing. I made it through all my science courses with rather creative style. (Science education not veterinarian, but I need a sense of humor to teach middle school kids.)

A sense of humor is required for working with humans--especially children

I'm blessed and cursed to have been a fiction writer before getting into this technical mumbo jumbo, so I keep trying to clip into character when writing especially dull essays. Also, I've found that if I have to write a personal narrative--anything to do with me--I get hopelessly ticked off and depressed. Better to write dry technical stuff than narrative essays.

 

[ellymayRans]

Our newest addition I brought home today. She's in quarantine for the next month getting her weighed and wormed tomorrow. She's pretty docile which I hope is nice and not a product of her being ill. They never wormed her and she was being raised with chickens.

 

[Indyshent]

Hmmm. The only breed two breeds she picked that met your criteria would be Javas and Rocks. You need to be careful with the game breeds : Aseel, Shamo, Maylay, etc.... They tend not to get along with other breeds of chickens. And the males will injure/kill other roosters. As far as your huge fluffy chicken, you need to throw in some Brahma too. They meet the huge, fluffy, docile category very well! I love mine!

As far as planning for the year. I'll have Mottled Javas, Cream Legbars, and American Bresse chicks available this year. I finally got the groups separated, and I'll start saving eggs in March.

I looked at her list and promptly asked her if she'd read the articles or just liked how they looked. She swore up and down that she'd read it, but later admitted to liking them just because they were pretty. I figured, maybe some day when I have tons of space and money and meet someone who has said game birds from trustworthy generations of breeding... maybe then I'll think about it. I shake my head just thinking about the list she churned out though.

Three of the first thirteen chicks we picked up were Brahma "pullets". One was a roo... who raped my ducks and every other fowl in the yard (and taught my other roosters and drakes to do it too). He found a new home when someone came by to purchase the guinea. Their guinea cock and most of his Brahma flock had died when a neighbor sprayed his fields with something awful. So he had one lonely guinea hen and one Brahma pullet left. I couldn't say no to that, so I let him take the Brahmas too. The guinea was hilarious, but he was loud and didn't like me coming by the coop after dark. I have close neighbors and... well, the guinea was too darn loud. I think if hormones had time to stabilize, both of the boys might have grown out of it, but now they're happy on five acres free ranging, so I think they lucked out

 

[Indyshent]

I do love this pic! There's just something about the loving look she gives.

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought this chicken loved the person holding her.

I was holding Bacon once when he was still little, and he fell asleep in my arms, and my husband looked over at us and said, "There is not a doubt in my mind but what that turkey loves you." He refused to get attached or hold any of the chicks because he figured he'd be drafted to butcher them later, and he'd had rather poor impressions of poultry in general from his parents' attempt to farm chickens earlier in his life. But Bacon was special like that (and now he's weaseled his way into Jchny2000's family, so I'm sure they can attest to what a cool bird he is).