INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

Cuddles Update:
She ate some mealworms, tomato & bread last night.

I put her outside for a while. She spent a lot of time "talking" to the flock. When I brought her inside, her crop was flat. I tube fed this evening. Again she fights like crazy, but I don't want to see her go back to that quiet lump. She''s lost a lot of weight. After the tube, I offered ground beef, egg, bread, mealworms, & yogurt. (Besides the feed that went untouched all day.) Cuddles ate all the mealworms & bread. Everything else wasn't touched. Not sure how to get her to eat more on her own.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Cuddles Update:
She ate some mealworms, tomato & bread last night.

I put her outside for a while. She spent a lot of time "talking" to the flock. When I brought her inside, her crop was flat. I tube fed this evening. Again she fights like crazy, but I don't want to see her go back to that quiet lump. She''s lost a lot of weight. After the tube, I offered ground beef, egg, bread, mealworms, & yogurt. (Besides the feed that went untouched all day.) Cuddles ate all the mealworms & bread. Everything else wasn't touched. Not sure how to get her to eat more on her own.

I think I would give her at least regular chick starter, or even 24% protein chick starter if you can get it. See if she will eat it. If not, add it to warm water to really get it soupy. Tube feed her with that, it will help her gain a lot more weight back faster. Calf manna feed additive is a really good boost too, and is for most livestock and poultry. She definitely needs the proteins and vitamins to regain strength and body mass.
ETA Also thought she may need probotics rebuilt to help her immune system. Yogurt or a water additive will help a lot.

 

[racinchickins]

Just a reminder that I am having a processing day on the 20th if anyone wants to join in. If you have a few birds, bring them, if you just want to learn how to humanely process, come on down too. Send me a pm if you plan on coming.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Yay! I have turkey eggs (way the heck ahead of schedule!)

Gonna need to get a tom. Not sure if a Palm could cover a BB hen, but it'd be a nice evening of breast meat (and hopefully reproducability).

I have a nice "splash" palm tom for $40. He has the dark colors of a royal palm as well as some tan in his wing feathers. He is not fully grown yet but he is close and has been mating a few of my turkey hens.

 

[Faraday40]

What age do cockerels fight each other?

The 3 males I hatched on April 12th (now 5 mo) are still together with all the hens. I have not noticed fighting or aggression (toward people or each other). My biggest deciding factor on which to keep will be temperament. Are there warning signs I can look for? Now that they are all crowing & mating the hens, will they start to fight each other? (Hatched together, so they already have a peck order.) Our last Orp roo was raised w/o competition. We got rid of him at 11 mo b/c I didn't trust him around the kids.

In order to have some selection, we kept 3. Trying to decide which roo (or roos) to keep. Specifically between the 2 orps. Bielefelder will stay unless he gives us a reason to go. Anyone with orps, please let me know what you think. (Camera was on diff setting, so colors are a little off.)


Roo#1
Faster to mature (crowed & mated early)
Nice round body & xtra shiny tail (I think he's more attractive)
Takes treats from our hands & offers treats to the hens (the other roos just gobble the treats)
Can pick up easily / never squirms
My daughter's fav
Crows more frequently - especially when we're outside with food.
Has a slight limp (not sure what he did), so I'm nervous that it might be a future problem as he gets bigger.











Roo #2
Nicer low-pitched crow
Very shiny feathers.
Long neck & not filled out.
More skittish / avoids people.
Squirms when we 1st pick him up.









Roo #3
Just started crowing, but infrequent.
Not good at mating hens / awkward & pulls feathers
Not as friendly as roo 1, but not as skittish as roo 2
Have heard good things about this breed
Worried comb will get frostbite easy - long thin tips

 

[SallyinIndiana]

My roosters that grew up in the same pens get along in two instances. First if there are 0 hens life is good for all of the roosters. If there is going to be at least 1 hen then I need at least 7 hens per rooster to avoid fights. The head rooster will still spend his day keeping the lower roosters from mating when he can see them.

I have somehow gotten another outbreak of poison ivy. I had managed to avoid it for the most part this summer but I think my kid goats got into it the other day when they escaped for a bit. Then when I was getting them back into the pen it must have gotten on my arm and one hand. Anyone have any great treatment recommendations that are tropical in nature. So far I have been using extremely hot water and dishsoap. I can't use any thing that is meant to dry up sinuses. So allergy meds are out, jewelweed is out because even as a lotion it can dry up more than the skin.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@SallyinIndiana

This stuff is expensive but it really works. Ask me how I know...

Zanfel @ the local drug store or Walmart.

You scrub with it AFTER you know you have it (not an oil cutter...it "cures" the PI). Can also use on face and eye lids.

ETA that the instructions says it's safe during pregnancy and for children.

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

My roosters that grew up in the same pens get along in two instances.  First if there are 0 hens life is good for all of the roosters.  If there is going to be at least 1 hen then I need at least 7 hens per rooster to avoid fights.  The head rooster will still spend his day keeping the lower roosters from mating when he can see them. 


I have somehow gotten another outbreak of poison ivy.  I had managed to avoid it for the most part this summer but I think my kid goats got into it the other day when they escaped for a bit.  Then when I was getting them back into the pen it must have gotten on my arm and one hand.  Anyone have any great treatment recommendations that are tropical in nature.  So far I have been using extremely hot water and dishsoap.  I can't use any thing that is meant to dry up sinuses.  So allergy meds are out, jewelweed is out because even as a lotion it can dry up more than the skin. 

Some naturopathic remedies for poison ivy: french green clay (you can find it on Amazon.com), lavender, rosemary, and tea tree essential oils.

 

[CharlemagneRoost]

Some naturopathic remedies for poison ivy: french green clay (you can find it on Amazon.com), lavender, rosemary, and tea tree essential oils.

Forgot to mention - Technu Extreme ... it can be picked at Walmart, Walgreen's etc.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

@Faraday40 I vote roo #1. I like everything you told us, and his body/conformation is looking promising. Personality tells me he is the rare "perfect roo" we all look for. The only concern like you, is the limp. But for me, I will take that over a skittish rooster that may become aggressive as it matures. Once you take away all but 1 rooster, you open the door to possible human aggression. I would if possible keep 2.
Beilie looks great, I am sure he will mature and figure out what he is doing wrong lol!

@SallyinIndiana ugh so sorry to hear that, hope it goes away quickly.