INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[tmarsh83]

Sooo everyone, to help out newer folks thats joined our thread, whats your favorite chicken breed? Least favorite? Best roosters, and hens? Please share your thoughts, pictures and opinions. Who is your best layers, and if you keep them for a table bird what breed has worked best?

My bad rooster experiences have been Australorps and Wyandottes. I will point out though that they were all hatchery lines and not from a breeder. Hens were also top in the flock and dominant.
All the breeds I currently keep are great, adore the Orpington most. Followed by EE/OE, Sumatra, Ameruacana, Naked Necks, RIR and WL.
Egg layers, Leghorn and comets lay daily and give us a lot of eggs.
Table birds, most of my breeds have excellent size aside from leghorn. If we have to purchase birds meant for the freezer Cornish Cross are huge at 8 weeks, and that's the hybrid we get.

I'm still a newbie, but for outright production our one leghorn keeps pace with two barred rocks. She's standoffish, but will come when called, but she hasn't missed a day laying in 6 weeks. the BRs seem to give 4 or 5 eggs a week. Not the leghorn, that's 7 eggs a week without fail.

We just have the three birds laying at the moment, but 10 pullets that are 11 weeks on Monday, and one handsome cochin cockerel that seems to be maturing nicely.

The 10 littles are a mixed bag of marans, delawares, new Hampshire, australorps,and speckled Sussex. The marans are the most flighty of that group, and have also been the fastest growing of the bunch. The new Hampshire is close, they look a week ahead of the others. I also have a runty Delaware, who looks two weeks behind the rest. All of my birds are hatchery lines, and aside from the BR, all are from Murray McMurray.

Depending on what the next year brings, I would like to add some OE/EE, and maybe another leghorn, or some other white egg layer.

 

[abbyf]

I am also a newbie but we have 5 speckled Sussex, one being a Roo which with humans is well behaved think he is slightly paranoid but that's ok. He is a useless protector most of the time his idea is to be faster than the slowest Brahma, but does feed his hens. The Sussex girls one acts like a roo and has attacked me. Seemed to have reached a cease fire!! Non broody lay well all are hatchery.
My five which are the cutest of course are light brahmas unfortunately they are also Bruces favourite so look worse for wear not as good as layers as the Sussex which is fine with us. They tend to lay roughly every other day. Noisy about laying. Also not one has gone broody yet, too busy trying not to miss out on treats. Dust bathing monsters.
Hubby wants to add some Buff coloured chicks next year he wants four named after the golden girls. But to make the order up will be looking to also add some more Brahmas hehehehehe.
4 Goslings arriving fingers crossed next week, 2 super Africans and 2 Sebbies from Metzer.

 

[Indyshent]

As of yesterday afternoon, the Bloomington RK had Leghorn and EE pullets for $1, and guineas for $2. Also had Buckeyes, Speckled Sussex, Brahmas (dark, light, buff), BB turkeys (bronze and white), Black Spanish heritage turkeys, no ducks, some odd Rock varieties, and a bunch of other chicken breeds I can't remember. Several persons were working the bunches and bunches of bins and were very helpful and attentive, and that RK has no minimum purchase. Heritage turkeys are $13.99 but seemed in excellent health.

Martinsville had a bunch of turkeys (BBB and BBW), BO, RIR, Leghorn pullets mislabeled as something else (EE, I think). The one worker was surly, neglectful and enforced a minimum purchase.

I suckered myself into two Black Spanish poults. They're doing great with the other chicks I had (confiscated broody hatches and three BBW poults), very active and sociable despite being a few weeks old when they were purchased. Wanted to get something longer lived for Major Tom.

Almost done with the new coop. Still working on auto-feeder. Need to put in fencing for the partition, put in brooder and sick ward. Thinking about conscripting old coop as an attached dustbathing area. Working out ways of increasing ventilation. May add a spinny vent on the roof.

 

[amwchickin]

OMG - if anyone is going to Bloomintgon RK and they still have Sussex and/or Buckeyes, please get me some!! I am stuck at home with my back out for a few days! If they are still $1, get me six of each, otherwise 4 of each. You can call or text me at 812-309-3493. I can meet you up there later this week. I asked my dear, dear brother to help me out there, but he declined. (Absolutely not, then I will end up having to by my wife some and we are not doing that...)

 

[amwchickin]

@jchny2000 - so sorry to hear of your losses the past week. I was looking forward to Choc Orps, but I'll keep them on the list for now. One of my parent's neighbors has goats and one kidded this week and the twins were both a failure to thrive. It was very sad to see. That momma goat knew she wasn't going to have babies to take care of and it made her sad, I could just see it on her face.


I haven't had any predator losses for awhile now, FINGERS CROSSED it stays that way!! I did lose a guinea keet that acted more like a Dodo bird. It kept running into things and I think it finally knocked itself out cold. There may have been a neurological problem going on or maybe an eyesight issue. Nothing was ever visibly wrong with it, but I knew it wouldn't live a full life.


My only animal problems this week are with my furchild: I cannot weed-eat while she is outside, as she tends to try and bite the base of the weedeater. It did end up nicking her chin a bit, so hopefully she has learned her lesson. One bath this week was not enough. Bathed her Wednesday after mowing and letting her run all over the place and go down in the creek. Finished mowing just as it started to pour down rain!! So both her and I took a shower. Next morning I took her outside to brush her out and she makes her daily patrol around the yard and woods, comes back filthy again and she rolled in something so stinky that words can't explain! Back to the bath we go... Then, I took a trip to Evansville to see my sister and her new hatchling (he's a week old now and so cute!). I come home and open the door and there is an odd smell. I walk in and furchild had eaten 3 STICKS OF BUTTER!!! I had them laid out to put a batch of cookie dough together. She never takes food off the counter. I have left butter out before and she has never touched it. So for whatever reason, she ate it. There were 3 eggs out too, one was in the living room, one was in the brooder room, and the other, in my bed. I guess she took them down to eat, but couldn't crack them open. The smell was from her vomiting the butter back up - twice in the kitchen (laminate is very slick now...) and once in the living room, on the carpet. I cleaned as best I could, but the carpet is going to need real cleaning. And she stinks, like the butter is coming out of her pores. I'm going to wait a couple days and give her another bath. I've been watch her for signs of pancreatic issues, but so far she seems okay. I have asked to please behave this weekend so I can rest my back. I twisted wrong or something and I have a pinched nerve and the pain is radiating down my legs.

 

[Hholly]

@jchny2000 - so sorry to hear of your losses the past week. I was looking forward to Choc Orps, but I'll keep them on the list for now. One of my parent's neighbors has goats and one kidded this week and the twins were both a failure to thrive. It was very sad to see. That momma goat knew she wasn't going to have babies to take care of and it made her sad, I could just see it on her face.


I haven't had any predator losses for awhile now, FINGERS CROSSED it stays that way!! I did lose a guinea keet that acted more like a Dodo bird. It kept running into things and I think it finally knocked itself out cold. There may have been a neurological problem going on or maybe an eyesight issue. Nothing was ever visibly wrong with it, but I knew it wouldn't live a full life.


My only animal problems this week are with my furchild: I cannot weed-eat while she is outside, as she tends to try and bite the base of the weedeater. It did end up nicking her chin a bit, so hopefully she has learned her lesson. One bath this week was not enough. Bathed her Wednesday after mowing and letting her run all over the place and go down in the creek. Finished mowing just as it started to pour down rain!! So both her and I took a shower. Next morning I took her outside to brush her out and she makes her daily patrol around the yard and woods, comes back filthy again and she rolled in something so stinky that words can't explain! Back to the bath we go... Then, I took a trip to Evansville to see my sister and her new hatchling (he's a week old now and so cute!). I come home and open the door and there is an odd smell. I walk in and furchild had eaten 3 STICKS OF BUTTER!!! I had them laid out to put a batch of cookie dough together. She never takes food off the counter. I have left butter out before and she has never touched it. So for whatever reason, she ate it. There were 3 eggs out too, one was in the living room, one was in the brooder room, and the other, in my bed. I guess she took them down to eat, but couldn't crack them open. The smell was from her vomiting the butter back up - twice in the kitchen (laminate is very slick now...) and once in the living room, on the carpet. I cleaned as best I could, but the carpet is going to need real cleaning. And she stinks, like the butter is coming out of her pores. I'm going to wait a couple days and give her another bath. I've been watch her for signs of pancreatic issues, but so far she seems okay. I have asked to please behave this weekend so I can rest my back. I twisted wrong or something and I have a pinched nerve and the pain is radiating down my legs.

Aw, hope you and your furchild recover ok. Your description made me chuckle though.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm watching to see folk's experiences with roosters and breeds as well. So far I've only had a SFH rooster so I don't have anything to compare. And I've only had 1 of them so I haven't gotten to see different personalities within the breed.

I imagine I'll have at least 1 Buckeye Roo (Breeder Quality) out of my batch of "chicken nuggets" but they are only 1 week old so not sure what I have yet.

In my current batch of SFH babies I think there are 3 cockerels. I will only keep one of them and one Buckeye I think.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

@jchny2000 - so sorry to hear of your losses the past week. I was looking forward to Choc Orps, but I'll keep them on the list for now. One of my parent's neighbors has goats and one kidded this week and the twins were both a failure to thrive. It was very sad to see. That momma goat knew she wasn't going to have babies to take care of and it made her sad, I could just see it on her face.


I haven't had any predator losses for awhile now, FINGERS CROSSED it stays that way!! I did lose a guinea keet that acted more like a Dodo bird. It kept running into things and I think it finally knocked itself out cold. There may have been a neurological problem going on or maybe an eyesight issue. Nothing was ever visibly wrong with it, but I knew it wouldn't live a full life.


My only animal problems this week are with my furchild: I cannot weed-eat while she is outside, as she tends to try and bite the base of the weedeater. It did end up nicking her chin a bit, so hopefully she has learned her lesson. One bath this week was not enough. Bathed her Wednesday after mowing and letting her run all over the place and go down in the creek. Finished mowing just as it started to pour down rain!! So both her and I took a shower. Next morning I took her outside to brush her out and she makes her daily patrol around the yard and woods, comes back filthy again and she rolled in something so stinky that words can't explain! Back to the bath we go... Then, I took a trip to Evansville to see my sister and her new hatchling (he's a week old now and so cute!). I come home and open the door and there is an odd smell. I walk in and furchild had eaten 3 STICKS OF BUTTER!!! I had them laid out to put a batch of cookie dough together. She never takes food off the counter. I have left butter out before and she has never touched it. So for whatever reason, she ate it. There were 3 eggs out too, one was in the living room, one was in the brooder room, and the other, in my bed. I guess she took them down to eat, but couldn't crack them open. The smell was from her vomiting the butter back up - twice in the kitchen (laminate is very slick now...) and once in the living room, on the carpet. I cleaned as best I could, but the carpet is going to need real cleaning. And she stinks, like the butter is coming out of her pores. I'm going to wait a couple days and give her another bath. I've been watch her for signs of pancreatic issues, but so far she seems okay. I have asked to please behave this weekend so I can rest my back. I twisted wrong or something and I have a pinched nerve and the pain is radiating down my legs.

Hope you feel better soon! Not a fun mess to deal with for sure, ugh.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I'm watching to see folk's experiences with roosters and breeds as well. So far I've only had a SFH rooster so I don't have anything to compare. And I've only had 1 of them so I haven't gotten to see different personalities within the breed.

I imagine I'll have at least 1 Buckeye Roo (Breeder Quality) out of my batch of "chicken nuggets" but they are only 1 week old so not sure what I have yet.

In my current batch of SFH babies I think there are 3 cockerels. I will only keep one of them and one Buckeye I think.

That sounds like a good plan. Both are more docile rooster breeds.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Brrrrrrrrrr! I thought this was spring!!!!