INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pbirdhaven]

LOOKING FOR 1-3 NEW HAMPSHIRE ROOSTERS

Hi it's my first time posting to the indiana group! I'm located in southeast indiana and lost all three of my NH Roos to a predator. Hope to find a couple close by. Will need to be breeding age by January

Thanks!

Welcome! We're almost neighbors--I'm in Jennings County.

Winters here are hard on my chickens, that's why I always try and give them plenty of room inside. This year I have so many different pens that I am coming up with houses out of scrap and whatever is laying around. I would say 99% of the time my kids are always outside, even in the coldest weather cause I cover the runs and put tarp sides up in winter. and my big runs I will put up like an inclosed porch type of thing. so they always have room to get out of the coop without freezing. plus I don't like water in the coops in the winter so I want some place for that without the girls being too cold yo go out and get a drink.
I have been doing this for the past 4 years and it has worked out. Course I get it better every year. The first year I had allot of frost bite on combs and waddles, no feet I'm glad to say. but not since then, I have learned.... The hard way. Then I found this thread and the friendly people here are quick to tell ya what works best for them and then you can go from there.

I have wide boards in all my coops and 2x4's do work well, I agree, but for this group I have decided to not use a "perch" but DH says he will build nest boxes with extra sturdy tops so they can sit on top of them, That gets them off the floor and will allow then to keep their feet warm too. I will just have to scrap the tops off every day so they aren't sitting in poo...

Like you, I have too many pens to have attractive houses in each, so a lot of make-do. Last winter the only frostbite I had were two cocks that were actually penned inside (good ventilation, etc.). Those outside with tarps and doghouses fared just fine. Go figure!

My free rangers took over a shed that was supposed to be my storage area. They roost on the shelves and my farm dogs sleep in there also. The door is open completely except in cold weather, when I prop it with just enough room that they can go in and out. I don't worry about predators with the dogs in there; they are very territorial. And the shed is only about 15-20 feet from the house.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Like this idea, and looks a lot safer than other options!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Lots of good discussion on tractors and summer versus winter housing. DH has been building a 4x4x8 square tractor with 2 perches 4 feet long each. Its working out great for trio/quad groups of breeders.Come winter, I will go back to the sheds and main flock groups. I like the tractors because I can choose who, if any free ranges that day, and I know my breeds are pure. I have 2 tractors now, and need a lot more, lol!!! I want to be at the point where no one is freely roaming unless I choose them to be

someday.
He is working on Turkey sized tractors now, since I added Holland Whites from porters. Its time to get more organized with Indiana's BOAH laws coming in September regarding poultry sales.

 

[racinchickins]

If anyone is interested, The Livestock Conservancy is doing a Poultry census of breeders that they use to help determine the criticality of breeds that need saving. There is a very limited amount of time and money that can be put forward for this type of work, so knowing where the efforts are most needed is very helpful.

If you are a breeder and would like to fill this out, here is the link:

http://www.123contactform.com/form-1517654/2015-Poultry-Census

Let me know if it doesn't work and I can forward you the email that I got for this.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

It's nice to have a positive feedback instead of just falsely guided criticism. Although being that most of you guys compared to me would be chicken pros it would probably be best to welcome all ideas with an open mind until proven wrong.. At least give input to ideas.. Ways to improve like maybe a slant roof to the top so snow doesn't build up.. Or a tarp over the entire thing to trap heat or adding stilts to the bottom of the tote so it doesn't collapse I think I'm still putting them back in the main coop but these are just examples of ways to tell someone they are wrong without hurting their nooby feelings

I'm sorry if you thought I was only criticizing your tractor. I was actually trying to help you. I was trying to give you a few ways to make use of what you have going to make it thru winter.

I'll be the first to admit that I have coops not just one but more than one that are not winter ready for chickens. We tend to move those coops into the pole barn or for the large free ranging open coop it does not get used year round.

 

[daskhan]

I hav

Lots of good discussion on tractors and summer versus winter housing. DH has been building a 4x4x8 square tractor with 2 perches 4 feet long each. Its working out great for trio/quad groups of breeders.Come winter, I will go back to the sheds and main flock groups. I like the tractors because I can choose who, if any free ranges that day, and I know my breeds are pure. I have 2 tractors now, and need a lot more, lol!!! I want to be at the point where no one is freely roaming unless I choose them to be someday.
He is working on Turkey sized tractors now, since I added Holland Whites from porters. Its time to get more organized with Indiana's BOAH laws coming in September regarding poultry sales.

I have both buff orps and rir but only a rir roo who mates with everyone... So I seperated the buffs to know which eggs were pure.. That's why I need a buff roo but I'm thinking Henry my rir roo is pretty old idk though

 

[kittydoc]

Recent articles pertaining to avian influenza: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/16/bird-flu-to-human-transmission-a-concern-not-yet-high-risk-cdc.html Actually, this article is more about financial issues, like egg prices possibly shooting up to $6 a dozen if we have another outbreak in the fall.

Please ignore that article's outdated link to a bird vaccine against H5N2. This older article said it was only 60% effective. This article from July stated 100% efficacy in chickens (being tested in turkeys now): http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-07-usda-bird-flu-vaccine-chickens.html

Everything else is peaceful here for now. I lost a lavender Orp hen a few weeks ago and was so upset I couldn't even write about it. She had severe acute sour crop, and died within two hours of me finding her with it. She had been fine earlier that day. Kinda just blew me away and made me glad I kept a couple of pullet chicks so I'll still be up one pullet/hen laying in Jan/Feb. I had, of course, hoped to be up 2 lavs. Sigh.

My 3-4 month old blue English Orp cockerel is now as big as my hens. He's having quite the growth spurt. So far, he's fairly quiet, and he's been living with the blue hens for a while. I also have a baby blue boy I kept to see which I'll like better, but the difference in age is large so I probably won't decide until mid-winter.

Here are some pics from a couple of weeks ago, right after my youngest Orps (the lavs and blues) figured out how to climb the ladder up to the roost. They are now good little chickens and roost on the bar like they're supposed to, but just figuring out how to climb the ladder is always an exciting day.


Above is most of the group all scrunched together. This photo has lavs, blues, and blacks. Lavs are 50% English, rest are full English.




Three of my four lavs and one black in the back.

Sorry for the duplicate. Couldn't figure out how to delete it!




This is our darling Oly. She is half Orp and half Ameracauna. Her dad was a delicious lav Orp and her mom is a red wheaten. Her comb is so weird! It defies classification. She is a tall bird like the Orps her age, but her body type is more like the Ameracauna. DH wanted an olive egger, so here she is!

 

[tiffmw10]

I'm sorry for your loss ;( thankfully it didn't hit us over here.

 

[Faraday40]

Kittydoc-
Here's one of Cogburn's sons. He's the pretty orp & already mating with the hens. His brother doesn't have the same round, fluffy look, but we like his lower-pitched crow.



Pics were taken on a windy day.

 

[daskhan]

So been wondering something coop vs tote tractor I'll call it
But anyway I put my buffs in the tote tractor and left my rirs in the main coop.. About a week ago I noticed that the rir had a clutch of eggs and one would sit on it all day then I noticed the buffs weren't sleeping in the raised coop but were on the ground.. Were even laying there eggs on the ground so I added another tote to the lower portion as a temperary fix ok couple days go by every day check they seem to enjoy the new tote and are happy well I finally get time to check at night and notice only three are in the bottom one I open the top tote and there's Thelma sitting on ten eggs and I think good for her Louise is just outside the tote in the main coop sleeping guard I guess lol but today I night checked the rir who earlier in the day tried to rip my head off when I tried to pet her while she was sitting on her eggs and she was not sitting on the eggs but was purched with the rest of them so my question is either of these clutches going to hatch? The rir doesn't seem to sit on hers at night when it's the coldest so low hope there but the buff sits at night but not the day.. Tote stays kinda warm during the day so I have some hope... But any input from anyone?