INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

I was think of putting 1 pen at a time in the big yard.

The shed is plastic, it's not fiberglass. I was thinking about the insul-boards but am afraid the chickens will try and eat it. and I thought about covering the board with a tarp but worried about moisture build up. Cant use that spray foam around chickens, they will eat it... Mine do anyway. But thanks for the ideals.

Are you wanting a permanent solution or just something to get you through the winter?

If winter only, you could put some straw bales around the outsides.

 

[chick rookie]

Are you wanting a permanent solution or just something to get you through the winter?

If winter only, you could put some straw bales around the outsides.

Just to get me through winter. I didn't know it was plastic or I would never had got it, so will turn in into a feed shed or something in the spring but its too late now to find something else for hem this winter.
So I'll put straw bales around it this winter. Thanks that's what I'll do.

 

[hanakimi]

My own coop is a plastic shed i converted and i didn't insulate or heat it. this will be its second winter and i had no problems last year. i don't think you'll have any troubles as long as you have good ventilation.
if this link works here are photos i've post previously of my coop. yay it works you just have to scroll down to my post https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/730582/indiana-bycers-here/32530

 

[daskhan]

None of my business but why do you treat for  [COLOR=333333]coccidiosis at all times?  Your birds will become immune to the meds and if you should have an outbreak you wont be able to treat with that anymore.  [/COLOR]

It's in the feed I give them... It's not fully garrenteed just says it build there immunity against it and 25% of chickens could still get it

 

[Indyshent]

Even though it came off like I was being negitive I actually allowed you to point out another possitive that being that they are good watchmen

"Watchmen" and "Guard dogs" are their #1 purpose on farms, in my experience. Oh, they're pretty birds, lay tasty eggs, taste pretty good themselves, eat cubic football fields bare of ticks and other nasty creepy crawlies, are hilarious to watch, and all kinds of other groovy things can b e said about them... but most people keep guineafowl for their hair-trigger screeching (their best and worst single feature). After all, if you want eggs, get Leghorns; if you want tender, juicy, bountiful meat in artificially low times, get BBWs and Cornish Xs, but if you're looking for a super-inexpensive, self-maintaining and perpetually growing population of tick-eating alarm systems that won't let a hawk, snake, person, predator or anything red get anywhere near your house without their express permission, well, look no further than guineas.

They're faster growing, cheaper, more prolific and easier to maintain than peafowl, while still being great guard animals. Like geese, they're also monogamous (from my experience), but unlike geese, I've never heard of a guinea breaking human long bones, eating all your lawn or pooping in the water dish as soon as it's changed out. Turkeys, while decent flock guardians in some respect, simply don't have the volume when they're threatening something. Turkey threats are just too darn quiet to be proper alarm systems.

My experience has been that they're genuinely entertaining and exceptionally useful animals to have around, and an absolute necessity in woodland settings. I hate ticks, but guineas thrive on the little baznastards and peck 'em up like ambrosia, spilled straight from the cups of Olympus. They aren't the brightest creatures God has ever created, but they're pretty wily in their own right and not prone to predation (pretty well camouflaged, all things considering). They will roost about as high as they can possibly get (which is pretty darn high). Younger guineas sound the alarm unnecessarily more often than adults, and guineas in general may (or may not, depending on individuals) sound off more than geese (who are smarter and don't tend to sound off for stupid reasons). Maternal instinct is spotty in the guinea, and I've heard more of the negative reviews (that they're too stupid to properly raise their own young or even sit on the nest for the required time). Most people I know who raise them put found hoards of stolen guinea eggs in their incubators or let broody chickens/turkeys/geese/ducks/whatever's handy do the job for them. Oftentimes, the guinea will lay eggs into the nests of other birds

They're also difficult to sex (but you can leave them to sort themselves out). Easiest way to sex them is: 1) wait a couple months, 2) listen in on them. Girls make a two-syllable call; boys only have the one one-syllable call. I think the girls sound prettier, but in a way that is either more humorous or haunting, depending on the mood of the person listening.

If I ever get the space to get some, I'll have guineas again. Our guinea cock was hilarious to watch and generally well-behaved (and everyone walking around anytime after dusk knew to avoid our house or that bird would dial it up to 11 and possibly shatter some windows).

*Edited to add that, unlike most other common varieties of fowl, guineas as not rapacious jerks. I'm sure someone else will chime in, but in general, I've found them to be pretty reliably well-mannered with other fowl, and especially with their own hordes (and you want a horde because, when disaster strikes at guineas, it strikes really, really hard, and you go from 40 to 3 pretty fast). Guineas are fairly resistant to learning, in my experience, and if they don't hatch with the knowledge of what to do in a given circumstance, they are far less likely to adapt a new strategy or "think on their feet" than other types of fowl. For this reason, it's very helpful to have guineas free range with quick-thinking,flight-ready, adaptable birds like Leghorns. Guineas will generally follow another bird's lead (big group thinkers and conformists like that).

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
This is a suggestion - take it for what it's worth.

The medication in the feed is a thiamine blocker. If you use a medicated feed at all, it should only be for a short period of time as thiamine is needed for proper development. Chicks/chickens with a thiamin deficiency develop lameness which can become irreversible.

Please consider removing the medicated feed for the health and long-term well-being of your flock.


Quote: "Polyneuritis in birds represents the later stages of a thiamine deficiency, probably caused by buildup of the intermediates of carbohydrate metabolism. In the initial stages of deficiency, lethargy and head tremors may be noted. A marked decrease in appetite is also seen in birds fed a thiamine-deficient diet. Poultry are also susceptible to neuromuscular problems, resulting in impaired digestion, general weakness, star-gazing, and frequent convulsions.

"Polyneuritis may be seen in mature birds ~3 wk after they are fed a thiamine-deficient diet. As the deficiency progresses to the legs, wings, and neck, birds may sit on flexed legs and draw back their heads in a star-gazing position. Retraction of the head is due to paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. Soon after this stage, chickens lose the ability to stand or sit upright and topple to the floor, where they may lie with heads still retracted. Thiamine deficiency may also lead to a decrease in body temperature and respiratory rate. Testicular degeneration may be noted, and the heart may show slight atrophy. Birds consuming a thiamine-deficient diet soon show severe anorexia. They lose all interest in feed and will not resume eating unless given thiamine. If a severe deficiency has developed, thiamine must be force-fed or injected to induce eating."

 

[daskhan]

This is a suggestion - take it for what it's worth.

The medication in the feed is a thiamine blocker.  If you use a medicated feed at all, it should only be for a short period of time as thiamine is needed for proper development.  Chicks/chickens with a thiamin deficiency develop lameness which can become irreversible. 

Please consider removing the medicated feed for the health and long-term well-being of your flock.

 

I don't use it all the time just right now and for about a week because of the two new birds and 12 bought from rural king in fact I think I ran out of all the medicated a few days ago

 

[ellymayRans]

Had an owl harassing the Peas on the roof the last few nights...always something around here..but anyway last night and tonight the momma and babies are sleeping on the railing along with Rocky and the turkeys. .first pic is the babe peeking out on the right, as she hides back under mommas wing the "little IBBS boy?" peeks out. So lovely! We're having our Friday "Nightcaps" enjoying the view!

 

[Seroma Sentinel]

Does anyone know any good poultry shows in Indiana

 

[ellymayRans]

Fun night with DH! Deck dancing, a bit of homemade beer with Bo Burnham and Allison Krauss! Lol! We're quite diverse!