INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[leslea]

Great pics! Its a bit frustrating, I have been "lucky" and usually get all hens, but it stinks cause I have to search for roosters.

Thanks!

You know, yesterday or the day before I got an email from Murray McMurray, offering started pullets of several varieties. I have never bought from them, but my neighbor has and has always been satisfied.

Hubby and I had a serious conversation about whether or not to buy a couple of pullets from them this year. We decided it would be too much of a hassle to grow out a third "round" of birds, even if it was just two.

This time next year, though, if I am not getting enough eggs, we decided I will pull the trigger on that email and get a big box of FOR SURE pullets.

Right now I am getting one or two eggs a day. Max, this time next year I will be getting 3 regular sized eggs and if I am lucky, four bantam sized ones. One of my bantams hardly ever lays. For the past month I am lucky to get two eggs a day. I have four kids, three of whom are very rapidly growing boys. One day my 12 y.o. cooked himself six bantam eggs as a snack.

So, yeah, super frustrating to get a roo!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
Red stars will lay lots of eggs fast but then burn out. Still its one of the better brown egg food conversions.

Personally I like the larger hens but the feed bill does go up.

 

[daskhan]

Just so everyone knows I was refering mainly to southren spring, summer and fall.. Now I'm from Florida where it's green all year round and rarely dips below 50 so greenery is always there ever growing and if left unchecked will quickly become a jungle... That being said I'm now in Indiana and would no way in hell let my animals fend for them selves in the winter

 

[Bawk]

Oh suddenly 21 days seems like forever. ;-)

Then will have to wait on some to tell if roo or pullet

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: Just a quick check-in and saw this post. I had read that the hatchery was Rock River Poultry. Here is what was posted on FB.

Otherwise I haven't been able to find anything official in news.



*** PLEASE SHARE ***
Hi, folks. I have a rather disturbing update on the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza that is spreading across the USA right now. (Information originates from Dr. Diane Stacy, the number two person with the state's Veterinary Health Division in LA.) Apparently 4 Louisiana farms are in quarantine awaiting the test results for Avian Influenza after receiving shipped eggs from Rock River Poultry in Iowa - an operation that has been outstandingly forthcoming and open about what is going on.

*** Rock River Poultry has shipped eggs and chicks to 37 other states across the USA in the past weeks, and authorities have not yet tracked down or tested all the potentially affected farms/flocks.

So... it is advisable to refrain from making ANY poultry purchases for the next few weeks, including hatching eggs, chicks or adult birds. This includes ALL varieties of domestic poultry.
Refrain from going to poultry swaps or shows, and avoid other people's poultry as much as possible.
Healthy backyard flocks are unlikely to become ill from AI, however the disease is spreading at an unprecedented rate and affected flocks are being euthanized by the authorities. The mortality rate of this particular strain of AI is around 90% - and this number does NOT include birds that are being euthanized - only those dying from the disease itself.

**UPDATE - a farm in Arizona has also been quarantined after receiving shipped eggs, and word-of-mouth reports of other quarantined farms are coming in from other states also.
Our condolences to the wonderful and honest people at Rock River Poultry who are doing their part to assist authorities in tracking down egg buyers. It should be noted that they made sure they had very regular testing of their birds prior to this outbreak, and because of their diligence, this was caught as early as possible!

For a list of USDA CONFIRMED cases of Avian Influenza, see:
http://1.usa.gov/1dDoObP

 

[iamfivewire]

i hope someone will claim the lost kittens we had wander thru our yard this eve - here's a picture of one (they other looks just like this one) :

 

[Mother2Hens]

Just like @amwchickin mentioned, it's been HOT and HUMID the past week or so. We've been in the low 90s with high humidity. I've seen my chickens panting and holding their wings away from their bodies...
Most of you probably know that chickens don't do well in heat (or any extreme temps). IMO, Fresh Cool Water and Fans are important.
This is my third summer with chickens. As usual, I've had fans running in my coops (fans use little electricity) because I can't imagine how miserable they'd be without air flowing! They have plenty of shady areas during the day, but I put a fan on their favorite laying place as well as their favorite hang-out. I have four places with water that I refresh when possible. I've read that chickens will drink more if the water is cooler (makes sense!) I give them a mid-day snack of watermelon, cut-up grapes, etc. If the weather worsens, I'll put some chick electrolyte powder in their water containers. And if it's hot and dry, I use a mister to cool down an area.

Did you know? Birds have no sweat glands and must rely on other means of losing heat as the temperature rises. At 85°F, chickens will begin to pant. This has a cooling effect, because panting increases the rate of evaporation. This also will cause the bird to be thirstier and increase its water intake on hot days. Without sufficient water, birds will begin to exhibit signs of heat stress. For example, their comb and wattles become shrunken and bluish, and they will spread their wings in an attempt to allow more cool air to reach their skin.
Here's a link about what to do about heat stress: The Chicken Chick: Chicken Heat Stress, Dehydration and ...

@ChickCrazed ~

Sorry about your Bielie, and sorry that I missed your post about needing predator ID. I last posted the Predator Charts on page 4116, and here is the link: The Chicken Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Reference Btw, I like the Breda fowl picture ~ beautiful! I am continually amazed that there are SO many chicken breeds.
Originally Posted by chickiebaby1

I also found that one of my older silkies was walking around funny this afternoon so I brought her in and looked her over, she wasn't involved in the attack, but she was walking with her wings spread out. Never seen her do that before. When I picked her up she was just fluff and bones. I hadn't realized how skinny she was because of all her silkie feathers. So right now she is sitting in my kitchen eating a bowl of yogurt and chick starter and she acts like she hasn't ate in days. I don't understand this either because she has food in her run at all times. Do you think the other 2 were just not letting her eat or is there something else going on.

@chickiebaby1 ~ It was sad to hear about your predator attack!

That must have been a horrible shock. The only way to keep them safe is to secure your coop "like Fort Knox" as many members have said. (and razor wire isn't a bad idea -lol)
From what I've learned about the pecking order at feeding time, it's recommended to observe the flock eat during the main eating times in the morning and before bedtime — whenever possible — to make sure no one is left out. I've also read that it's helpful to put food and water in at least two locations to give lower status flock members easier access.
When I give my flock treats (like seeds, fruit, veggies), I make sure everyone gets some. I have 9 hens, so I use 9 little plastic plates that I scattered around in an area. You know what they do: they go to the next plate because they're sure the next hen has something better! It's like musical plates! haha That way if one is nudged off of a plate, there's always one to go to. The plate method for treats may seem ridiculous, but I can judge portions better than just tossing food onto the ground. And it's easy to clean the plates for reuse.

Originally Posted by iamfivewire

i hope someone will claim the lost kittens we had wander thru our yard this eve - here's a picture of one (they other looks just like this one) :


Awww! Are they motherless? I know that raccoons can carry diseases, can be vicious, and can kill chickens, and untrained people shouldn't raise orphans. But, they are adorable LOOKING! Here are some links that may help you: Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife rehabilitators list
Michigan Friends of Wildlife: Animal Information

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

i hope someone will claim the lost kittens we had wander thru our yard this eve - here's a picture of one (they other looks just like this one) :

ROFL

Just getting up and moving, saw this and had a good laugh! Oh my, you would be surprised at how many "lost kittens" like this I had while working in animal control! At this age they are already a bit aggressive and can harm someone, usually more out of fear. Children try to take them to their parents, thinking this kitten is lost and wants to keep it.
I kept an adult female raccoon, Bonnie that went to all the neighborhood night out festivals, Scouts and 4H programs.. local programs and events. She was spayed, HUGE and very social with humans, raised on a bottle from just a few days old. She taught people how strong, inquisitive and persistent they are opening trash cans, gates, chicken coops and more.
I raised and released several in the early 90's thinking I was doing good for wildlife preservation. I wish I knew then and was better educated regarding the population and disease issues in raccoons. They contracted canine distemper in the late 90's and the raccoon population had a major drop. They are still severely overpopulated due to a lack of predators.. Wolves, Cougar and Bobcat are mostly extinct in Indiana. All the subdivisions going in so fast further impacted their natural habitat. Its pretty much the same in your state and all around the great lakes area. Just terribly sad but its natures way of population control.

 

[leslea]

Red stars will lay lots of eggs fast but then burn out. Still its one of the better brown egg food conversions.

Personally I like the larger hens but the feed bill does go up.

I honestly think I am liking these LF more than I expected. I do not regret getting our bantams because they are adorable, but now that my boys are eating machines, I do sort of wish I'd gotten LF the first year. Not only do they lay bigger eggs, but these LF chicks I got this year were much healthier than the bantams I got this year and last. Oh, well. Live and learn.

 

[tmctlt]

Hello BYC'ers.....hope everyone's enjoying their weekend!!! Well we finally got our outdoor runs and watering system completed and can relax for a bit...maybe. I was looking on CList and found some great security panels a fella was selling @ a very reasonable price so I bought them, they're 5' wide x 8" tall and there were 15 of them as well as a hinged door and other pieces to help w/ assembly. we also already had a heavy duty 10 x 10 kennel from TSC so in the end we have a 10'x10' run saddled to a 10'x20' run and both have their own entry doors so we can access both areas easily as our flock is currently separated by age.... (2) from racinchickens @ 10 weeks old now and 7 others from McMurray who are now 5-6 weeks old. So we have the coup temporarily subdivided but are letting them view one another until they are roughly same size before combining the two. And our new outdoor watering system is working flawlessly and I put it together pretty affordably as I had most everything I needed already, it is a fifty five gallon drum system that with it's column of water pressurizes the 3/4" PVC lines (approx 25' ) that have 10 chicken nipples (7) in main run and (3) in smaller run. I situated it @ the corner of our barn so it collects some rainwater but floated in two 20lb bags of ice to cool it down, I then wrapped the barrel with a water heater blanket I had here to keep direct sun off of it and also used a trash can lid inverted with a small 1" hole drilled ( and screen to keep crap out ) to allow water in but keep leaves and skeeters OUT. Flock has all figured it out and use it regularly and we're not hauling water all the time now!! Also got my nesting boxes built and have one installed but am waiting on installing the double set I made until we need them. The real beauty of the panels we picked up is we still have (8) panels left in the event our flock grows and we need more run space!!!!
Oh and I almost forgot our neighbors gave us their Bonus chick from our McMurray purchase /split and it turns out she's a little Cuckoo Maran who's doing very well also, so it seems our flock is even more diverse than before with 2 BO's...2 SLW's....2 BR's....1 Bresse.....1 White Leghorn ( I think ) and the Cuckoo Maran. I have been trying to keep up on our page here but WOW....it's NOT EASY.