INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[iamfivewire]

 

[Indyshent]

Holy crapola, someone is selling my bane on craigslist. Most things, I can avoid pretty easily, but... well... someone up north of Indy is selling pheasants, silkies (blue), guineas, and Chukar partridge. As in "golden" pheasant varieties (and Lady Amherst for $65/pair). Seller has cinnamon, dark throat and red golden pairs available for $50-$55. I've wanted some for a couple decades now. If anyone wants to get incolved in a roadtrip or chicken train, I'm game when the weather gets better... 'cause I really, really want some red goldens.

Someone in Aurora (same person with the Cemani and blue double-laced Barnevelders), also breeds mille fleur Leghorns ($75/trio) and tons of name brand game chickens.

Someone in Lagoda has some super rare English Orps and Cemani chicks, and is selling a trio of red crele English Orps for $250.


@jchny2000 , I'm not sure if this little guy can get Fanny where she wants to go, but he's awfully cute.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Okay, so I come and go on here and this is why! I just spent over 2 hours, enjoying myself but NOT getting lesson plans done. BYC is just MUCH more fun!

here is the clip from Jimmy Kimmel that @wheezy50 mentioned. The silkies are the first 3 minutes, and yes Jimmy, I agree, a silkie is like a hug turned inside out!

@Mother2Hens I am also hoping and praying that Mareks was just a instant diagnoses and once more info is determined you find out Mareks is not the problem. It makes me sick to think how you must feel.

@Indy Edge -regarding the heater you reviewed - how big is the coop?

@chick rookie thanks for the insight about your hen with the missing toe. Good to know she is still a happy chicken. Olaf still acts very much like a chicken, scratching and pecking in his pack-n-play, talks to us, perches on the edge of the pack-n-play. He does not like our puppy so he is happy to stay there and never even jumps off and wanders when I forget to put the lid on at night - just in case that puppy is around! He will have his own little harem since we have no other bantam roos and will join Anna and Elsa (the buff and blue/partridge we got from you. Elsa gets more and more of a partridge look daily but still lots of blue)

lastly, so sorry to hear about @minmin1258 's hubby - makes me so sad. I was going to add the picture from facebook, but then I noticed the watermark, so if you haven't seen it, it is beautiful and you need to see it https://www.facebook.com/cindy.hamilton.1000/posts/1089858757702394?fref=nf

@tmarsh83 we don't have poop boards, but thought I'd still share my 2 cents. We have deep litter. When we had our coop built, we had him put everything about 10 inches higher so we have a good 6 plus inches of litter - they scratch in it and it composts down. I will dig it out for the garden this spring.

@ellymayRans out of curiosity what kind of perches do you use? If they are round, narrow or natural limbs that may be why you've got chickens with frostbitten. The worst toes on Olaf are his longest, it looks like they were curled around something so his body couldn't keep his toes warm enough. We use 2 x 4s and I don't heat and so far (knock on wood) no frostbitten toes. The guy who built the coop put the 2" side up so we screwed boards on top, with the 4" side on top so they can easily tuck their feet under them at night.

@Leahs Mom (Happy Valentines day to you too!) I came to the conclusion last winter, after a long discussion about frostbite on here, and some research that the hands off approach probably is best. I am sure that Olaf is in some pain. When I was first trying to get a good look at his toes, he was very agitated but normally is very calm and a lap chicken. However, he seemed to like me gently rubbing the salve in. He did not fight at all so I think it gave him some relief - I am thinking once every other day with the salve, don't want to irritate the area too much. @Mother2Hens the thing I worry about with aspirin for pain is what I have read is you can only safely give it for 3 days, but frostbite lasts longer than that. I have mixes feelings about using it. But thanks for the dosing info, it is good to have for reference. He has lost one toe tip, and I am about 99% sure he will lose 2 more - the longest on each foot. There is one more I am wondering about, but I think it is going to make it.

@jchny2000 so glad you were able to get a night out! You deserved it!

Happy

Day to everyone. Now I must get off here if there is any hope of me getting sleep tonight (but I may have to check and see if there are any new posts first . . .)

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Holy crapola, someone is selling my bane on craigslist. Most things, I can avoid pretty easily, but... well... someone up north of Indy is selling pheasants, silkies (blue), guineas, and Chukar partridge. As in "golden" pheasant varieties (and Lady Amherst for $65/pair). Seller has cinnamon, dark throat and red golden pairs available for $50-$55. I've wanted some for a couple decades now. If anyone wants to get incolved in a roadtrip or chicken train, I'm game when the weather gets better... 'cause I really, really want some red goldens.

Someone in Aurora (same person with the Cemani and blue double-laced Barnevelders), also breeds mille fleur Leghorns ($75/trio) and tons of name brand game chickens.

Someone in Lagoda has some super rare English Orps and Cemani chicks, and is selling a trio of red crele English Orps for $250.


@jchny2000 , I'm not sure if this little guy can get Fanny where she wants to go, but he's awfully cute.

Aww, he is a handsome bull! But a bull is a huge undertaking. If I had more land, I would keep one. Think of Bochepus my goat buck but weighing 1000 pounds. They are not all mean, many are gentle souls. But It takes a lot of equipment to manage a large dominant fella, properly. Anyways, My good neighbor has a nice Angus bull I will be breeding her to. He is a bit small, and its a very good mix. She is due any time, but milk hasn't dropped yet. I am glad she has waited to get past this bitter cold snap.

Okay, so I come and go on here and this is why! I just spent over 2 hours, enjoying myself but NOT getting lesson plans done. BYC is just MUCH more fun!

here is the clip from Jimmy Kimmel that @wheezy50 mentioned. The silkies are the first 3 minutes, and yes Jimmy, I agree, a silkie is like a hug turned inside out!

@Mother2Hens I am also hoping and praying that Mareks was just a instant diagnoses and once more info is determined you find out Mareks is not the problem. It makes me sick to think how you must feel.

@Indy Edge -regarding the heater you reviewed - how big is the coop?

@chick rookie thanks for the insight about your hen with the missing toe. Good to know she is still a happy chicken. Olaf still acts very much like a chicken, scratching and pecking in his pack-n-play, talks to us, perches on the edge of the pack-n-play. He does not like our puppy so he is happy to stay there and never even jumps off and wanders when I forget to put the lid on at night - just in case that puppy is around! He will have his own little harem since we have no other bantam roos and will join Anna and Elsa (the buff and blue/partridge we got from you. Elsa gets more and more of a partridge look daily but still lots of blue)

lastly, so sorry to hear about @minmin1258 's hubby - makes me so sad. I was going to add the picture from facebook, but then I noticed the watermark, so if you haven't seen it, it is beautiful and you need to see it https://www.facebook.com/cindy.hamilton.1000/posts/1089858757702394?fref=nf

@tmarsh83 we don't have poop boards, but thought I'd still share my 2 cents. We have deep litter. When we had our coop built, we had him put everything about 10 inches higher so we have a good 6 plus inches of litter - they scratch in it and it composts down. I will dig it out for the garden this spring.

@ellymayRans out of curiosity what kind of perches do you use? If they are round, narrow or natural limbs that may be why you've got chickens with frostbitten. The worst toes on Olaf are his longest, it looks like they were curled around something so his body couldn't keep his toes warm enough. We use 2 x 4s and I don't heat and so far (knock on wood) no frostbitten toes. The guy who built the coop put the 2" side up so we screwed boards on top, with the 4" side on top so they can easily tuck their feet under them at night.

@Leahs Mom (Happy Valentines day to you too!) I came to the conclusion last winter, after a long discussion about frostbite on here, and some research that the hands off approach probably is best. I am sure that Olaf is in some pain. When I was first trying to get a good look at his toes, he was very agitated but normally is very calm and a lap chicken. However, he seemed to like me gently rubbing the salve in. He did not fight at all so I think it gave him some relief - I am thinking once every other day with the salve, don't want to irritate the area too much. @Mother2Hens the thing I worry about with aspirin for pain is what I have read is you can only safely give it for 3 days, but frostbite lasts longer than that. I have mixes feelings about using it. But thanks for the dosing info, it is good to have for reference. He has lost one toe tip, and I am about 99% sure he will lose 2 more - the longest on each foot. There is one more I am wondering about, but I think it is going to make it.

@jchny2000 so glad you were able to get a night out! You deserved it!

Happy

Day to everyone. Now I must get off here if there is any hope of me getting sleep tonight (but I may have to check and see if there are any new posts first . . .)

Thanks so much! The opportunity just "fell" into our laps! We had not seen them since last summer, and our Tony called saying hey lets hook up! My middle nephew had just got there to visit grandparents, so I just asked him if he would be there a couple hours..he said of course, go. Its nice to catch up, laugh and see old friends.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I have a friend that's not on our forum offering Ringneck pheasant for sale. Its a quad, 1 cock and 3 hens. All were hatched last spring. They are an easy keeper but you are required to have a permit with DNR to keep them. Her health and family circumstances is forcing her to sell off her birds. I asked her to get pictures, and will post once I receive them. They are quite pretty, and very robust.
Its not a bird I care to keep, she is selling them CHEAP. Please PM if interested and will give details.

 

[Mishlerfarm24]

So ready for spring time!! I was quite okay with the way winter was going until these last couple weeks! I'm ready for warmer weather so I can clean the coop out. It's starting to smell ranky when I go in there to collect eggs! Plus we are going to improve the coop and make it bigger for our hens. Bigger coop calls for more baby chicks!!!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

So ready for spring time!! I was quite okay with the way winter was going until these last couple weeks! I'm ready for warmer weather so I can clean the coop out. It's starting to smell ranky when I go in there to collect eggs! Plus we are going to improve the coop and make it bigger for our hens. Bigger coop calls for more baby chicks!!!

Welcome to our thread, and I totally agree with your feelings, UGH!
I need to do a lot of coop maintenance and frozen poo does not shovel well at all.

 

[slutter]

Welcome to our thread, and I totally agree with your feelings, UGH!
I need to do a lot of coop maintenance and frozen poo does not shovel well at all.

You guys do deep litter I am guessing?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I do. Its less labor, and since I compost with so many other species its an awesome mix. I try to turn the coop floors and add new bedding as often as possible. We have a mound of compost DH turns with the tractor.Its right by our garden plot. We do compost from the hogs separately. They eat a lot of things I want more time for it to decompose. I have a pile for carnivore type species, and another for vegetarian species.

 

[flyladyrocks]

@Indyshent if you want pheasants you better get them before April 1 b/c they are not on the allowed list for our lovely rezoning! (And if you get them I wanna come see, they are soo darn perty!)

In case you can't all tell from my post below I am less than happy about the new zoning. What I learned in trying to fight this was I was fighting a one woman battle

(once again special thanks to @Dreamwalker for providing much needed moral support at more than one meeting!) that few knew about and that in reality the City Council was going pass with a few minor changes to an over 700 pg. document b/c of a multi million dollar HUD grant that was used to create this albatross. Sure, the Councilors would act like they cared what the few who showed up thought, but public comments were pushed off over and over and it had too much covered in it to not pass it just because a couple people showed up at the meeting and were against it. In the end, only ONE councilor on the committee who passed this on to the whole council with a recommendation to pass, voted against the recommendation with obvious disgust.

Indy Rezone Reminder:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings,

but just an unhappy reminder if you live in Indianapolis, in case you did not know, Indy Rezone is a done deal. So if you live in Indianapolis make sure you know the new laws taking effect.

Indy Rezone takes affect April 1! If you want to be grandfathered in with more than 12 birds, more than one rooster, or birds other than chickens, quail, pigeons or ducks, my understanding is you need ADULT birds 8 months or older at that time (this definition of adult is in the footnotes). There are also limits on other livestock - see pg. 527 for the permitted livestock table.

(kinda humorous that one of our councilors went over the official numbers so his chickens were grandfathered in!)

From the Gov. website:
The Metropolitan Development Commission approved the amended version of the Consolidated Zoning & Subdivision Ordinance on October 7, 2015 which was the final step in the adoption process. The new ordinance will take effect on April 1, 2016.
The six month time period between the adoption date and the effective date will be used to train city staff and modify administrative procedures. There will also be training sessions for practicioners and developers to help them understand the new ordinance. In addition, there will be an outreach effort to inform the general public about the new ordinance. (HA!)
very little outreach has been done, and it has barely been publicized. You can find a public meeting to attend here: http://www.inrc.org/zoning You must register and I am not even sure livestock is covered at any of them from the list I've seen of topics. To see the meeting dates you must click "select" below "Please select which date you would like to attend?"

Here is the link
with the document on Indy.gov (this link has changed AGAIN even our new councilman had a hard time finding it!):
http://www.indy.gov/egov/City/DMD/Current/Pages/ordinance.aspx

Here are page numbers - these are the pages printed in the actual document (in my pdf reader the pages are slightly different)
.

• Agricultural uses, Farmers Market, Garden as Primary use (Pg. 483-486) (in a very logical place, right between substance abuse and adult entertainment!)
• Personal Garden, Personal Livestock (pgs. 526-528) (again in an easy to find location right between Dry-cleaning/Laundry and Outdoor storage!)
• The only thing that would be considered “Grandfathering in” what you currently have/are doing- "Applications and Nonconformities" begins pg. 118.

The entire code can be downloaded at the top of the page above. If you scroll down to the very bottom of the page you can download the "draft" of the livestock license.
HOWEVER PLEASE NOTE: The Personal Livestock License is limited to ONLY chickens quail, pigeons or ducks. And you are bound by certain restrictions, which is why you are better off to have adult animals outside these numbers before April 1 so you are Grandfathered in!

Also, if you want to be Grandfathered in you need proof! When we asked one of the authors of the document how to prove what we have, these methods were mentioned (but there is nothing printed anywhere explaining how anyone can prove to Code Enforcement that they had these things before April 1):
1. Receipts
2. Pictures with a Date stamp
3. Pictures of your animals with a copy of the Indianapolis star

SOOO I have receipts for everything (thanks to all you BYCers I bought from!) AND I will take pictures of my roos with the paper.

Okay, on to happier things like a sink full of dishes and those lesson plans I still need to work on!