INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

Momma teaches to forage.. incubated chicks from farm stores will have to be taught. I start mine early learning to try everything.. so they aren't afraid of meat scraps and other healthy treats.

My "teens" had no problem trying out some left over water melon, but my adults wouldn't even give it a peck - for several hours they avoided it !!? HUH???

Then I realized it was the shape. For a party, my artistic sister carved it into a pretty basket with handle & tiny tooth-like edges. (balled melon pieces inside) I suppose it may have looked like a giant predator mouth. Once I ripped off the handle & broke it into pieces, the adults ate it. The teens were given the few left-over melon ball, so nothing to fear.

 

[Faraday40]

Had a BIG party over the weekend. (about 80 people stopped by) With all the kids running about, I locked up the roos & expected the hens to stay inside the coop/run. The hens relaxed in the shade of their fav trees & occasionally came up to someone they knew to beg for a treat. Trouble & her chicks roamed about freely. I stopped locking them up a few days ago & now just let them free range. The only problem is that they can & do slip through the fence to visit the neighbors. The chicks are almost Trouble's size, so I doubt they'll be physically able to slip through the chain-link fence for much longer.

The bounce house & baby chick petting zoo were the most popular areas for the party. The weather was perfect. I loved watching people's surprise as they entered our backyard. We live in a suburban neighborhood. Most houses have less than 1/4 acre. Our house is a sideways split-level, so it looks pretty small from the street and blends in with the other houses. It's a surprise when guests first see that the property is much bigger on the inside. (Any Dr Who fans will understand the reference.)

The party was a combo double B-day & hooray for summer party. I called it an "open house" party, so guests could simply stop by to visit, grab food, etc. In the end, it was a 10 hour party & a whole lot of fun! I think we're still recovering!
Below are a few pics from the big party.

 

[MikeTodd]

The "Chicken Barn" as my kids are calling it is coming along nicely!

 

[Hholly]

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UPDATE ON THE POULTS: 

The two sweetest ones have come down ill. No clue what's up, but they're failing quickly and not wanting to eat or drink. Bathed and cuddling the Royal Palm, who's by far the worst off of the bunch. Some kind of sinus problem

 

Sorry about your poults.

My sick pullet seems back to normal today. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Indyshent]

Got pseudo-stood-up today. Went to Greenwood area to pick up two BCM cockerels, but the lady apparently didn't recognize my car, so we both waited (because I have a dumb phone and was not able to get fb alerts... and because I'd already left) awhile and she never said anything to me. So I have the guilt for standing someone up even though I waited an hour and was on time.

Came back and found my Royal Palm poult dead. Feeling terrible. I've been holding her almost all day, and I knew if I had to put her down that she was going to die on me... and she did. Of course, she was the sweetest one of the six bitties, and I'm going to be kicking myself for a long time because it happened so quickly, and I couldn't fix her. I was trying to unplug her nose, and giving antibiotics for her respiratory issues, and vitamins and Vet RX and vaporub and lots of cuddles, but it just wasn't enough.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Those of you thats been out to my "microfarm" have seen my ugly old coop.. Part of a tree fell on it a couple years ago, and wrecked the roof, and took out the cover over the pen. It was a really nice big shed, but too much termite damage to salvage. After 2 years of patching and repairing, I was tired of how awful it looked. Anyways, we finally got it torn down today.

I hired a fella (bartered) and it was completely torn down and cleaned up in 2 days. Would have took us a month of weekends! I have had some other tasks that he has also completed thats saved me a lot of time. In return, I am helping him build a large flock of several species, and setting him up with hogs. I love to swap and barter! It helps others, helps us and I get to meet new friends & neighbors in the process.

Wedding rehearsal tomorrow afternoon, and Sunday is the big day! DD is stressing, of course wants everything "perfect"! This is a very formal planned event and she is last minute on so many things. Am tired but so excited and happy for them. Off to catch up on posts!

 

[Jntnrmn]

Got pseudo-stood-up today. Went to Greenwood area to pick up two BCM cockerels, but the lady apparently didn't recognize my car, so we both waited (because I have a dumb phone and was not able to get fb alerts... and because I'd already left) awhile and she never said anything to me. So I have the guilt for standing someone up even though I waited an hour and was on time. 

Came back and found my Royal Palm poult dead. Feeling terrible. I've been holding her almost all day, and I knew if I had to put her down that she was going to die on me... and she did. Of course, she was the sweetest one of the six bitties, and I'm going to be kicking myself for a long time because it happened so quickly, and I couldn't fix her. I was trying to unplug her nose, and giving antibiotics for her respiratory issues, and vitamins and Vet RX and vaporub and lots of cuddles, but it just wasn't enough. 

I'm so sorry to hear you lost your sweet little royal palm. I hate that you feel so guilty, but I'm sure there's nothing anyone can say to take that feeling away. I know that feeling all too well. But you DID do everything imaginable and gave so much love. Peace be to you through this.

 

[Jntnrmn]

Good morning

Has anyone here ever tried to use a leash and harness on a chicken? I'm so worried about my bantams because they just don't get down from their coop very often. They don't forage or walk around and scratch much. I started taking food and mealies to them, putting it on top of the coop where they stay most of the day. I'm wondering if I leash them and have them walk with me throughout the day maybe they will start to get down more. I read that their breed prefers roosting high but this seems too much to me. They don't want anything to do with us and when I have to handle them, i have to use a net to catch them which perpetuates the trust problem. I have even considered they just might not be happy HERE and maybe I should offer them to someone else but I hate to give them up if it's not their home environment or us making them unhappy.
Another problem with them is they will not go in their coop. They even stayed on top of their coop through the storm last night. I had been catching them and making them go in at night but I feared i was stressing them too much.
Any suggestions on what I should do would be greatly appreciated. (I'm sorry for such a long post)

 

[Jntnrmn]

One more thing...as far as putting food on their coop, i just started doing that in the past couple days so I know that's not why they stay up there.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Here are some updated photos of my SFH kids...11 weeks old.

PLEASE EXCUSE THE DIRTY FRONTS...THEY WEAR THEIR WET FEED!

Love the coloring of this boy... But SFH change so much from week to week they're like a box of chocolates. Never know what they're going to end up being! From German/Sweden Lines. SL mother I believe.




"Mr. Green Band" (Blue based of course.) (Sweden line origins)



"Mr. White Band"/ Another blue-based but he has a lot of black. German/Sweden



Then the girls:

"Miss Orange Band. Blue-based girl from German lines with SL father.



"Miss Yellow Band". Sweden lines.



Then... "Whoopsie"!!!! (Whoopsie because she has a crest. I don't do crested birds ) She has been using the wet feed as hair mousse.