INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I am working on Coro Sussex and Lavender orp crosses after seeing @Faraday40 's! I have 2 Coro hens. 1 rooster hatched from the cross is cuckoo feathered. Going to be huge, so will continue the experiment. Chicks are hatching Lavender and just massive. Agreed, large single comb do not withstand sub zero wind chills well at all.

We have cockerels that are 15 weeks now and was wondering what to feed them as they finish up. I have read to boost protein and I have also read some use only scratch the last couple weeks. I can see how both could work...but they are totally opposite lol. They will be going in the tractor in the next week or two, so I will be able to change their food without it affecting the other chickens.

If they are meant for the table, boost protein with a meat bird ration. Raw meat scraps or cheap hamburger helps too. Scratch will only increase fat in the bird, protein builds muscle.

Quote: I don't know if there will be enough meat on the SFH at 20 weeks. They are a pretty light bird. Boys are 15 weeks now and pretty light. I'll see.

Are you able to use them for anything besides soup at that age?

I usually process my roosters before 6 months old. After that they are more soup birds or pressure cook before frying.

2016 is a dumpster fire.

But my first "little" laid the last two days. MMH Marans. First egg at 16 weeks 6 days. Second egg much more uniform.




And my Cochin roo, biggy, covering hens and finally crowing some. Handsome fella.

Handsome roo! Love the tiny egg pictures its always fun when they start to lay. Nice color too!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

2 broody turkey, 1 broody Sumatra, 3 brooding Muscovy. Come on ladies, your eggs are due to hatch soon! Mabel our barred rock, oldest hen is trying hard to go broody also. I checked that coops nest box several times to find her parked and pancaked over eggs today! She is in the BLR wyandotte pen for red sexlink chicks.
Still have 1 incubator going for a few orders left, mostly quail.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

@ChicagoClucker I'd like to have a Cochin (LF or bantam), preferably a color I don't already have in my Orps (BBS, lav, choc/cuckoo). Did you say they were all sold. I definitely want just one pullet for giggles. We enjoy our "one-offs" like our Brahma and Ameracauna, as well as our "two off" RIR pullets. Where are you located?

I did sell them all on Saturday,, but I will have some more bantam cochins hatching by fall. I will have the silver laced bantam cochins, BBS, and mottled smooth and frizzled. I love my "one offs" for my egg basket color, but otherwise, I love my Orpingtons and bantam cochins. I am on the south side of Chicago, on the border of the southern suburbs. I will let you know when some more hatch.

 

[kittydoc]

Congratulations on your splash Orps! I thought I got a splash chick from under a broody gold penciled Brahma this spring, but alas, it grew up to be a super slow-to-feather Colombian which is indistinguishable from my Light Brahmas (prolly split to buff Colombian because I can't think of any other cross I had available at the time).  

I'm not sure when chickrookie and I are going to make our handing off of Wun Wun possible, but I'm open to taking in another big boy. I've always been a sucker for the crele color on Bielies, and their big dark eggs and fluffy personalities are hardly a turn-off for me. 

Let me know if you'd like to hold one for you, and whether you have an age preference. I have 2 months down to less than a week old and they're getting culled Wednesday otherwise. They are handsome roos. Hopper is camera shy but I'll look for a photo. He has proper tail carriage (obtuse angle). Mostly Omega Hills line. His sons look good, too. Hopper is also my quietest roo. Mostly he doesn't bother because some Orp is always crowing!

At least I'm confident about my splash babies! The girls were all with one blue roo, and I've been hatching eggs out of one black and one blue hen from Fancy Chick lines. I can tell their eggs apart and my two splash came from the blue x blue breeding, as expected, and I can see a few blue feathers on a wing of one chick already. I should have had more splash, including last year, but it just didn't happen! Still, when they first hatched, I was like "what on earth are THESE?!?!?"

My current hatch, since it's just from two hens, is on a rolling basis. On average I get 1-2 chicks a day. I actually am finding this enjoyable. As they hit about a week old, I move them into my mid size brooder box to make room for new littles. I only have a handful more of these eggs to go.

Then my genetic test eggs start. My other blue roo is out of a black/lavender split roo (the avatar photo, Cogburn). I put Junior in with my best lavender hen and have 7 dated eggs. If I get no lavs, I will be thrilled. Otherwise I will get about half lavs but have to cull or rehome Junior, who is a blue version of daddy. I am hoping his dark eyes are telling me he doesn't carry lav. Sometimes intermediate eye color is a clue that a black is split to lav, but some splits have dark eyes.

 

[hbrown322]

I finally got the coop as predator proofed as I could without dropping a couple hundred bucks on electric netting. I am still too nervous to keep my chicks outside overnight. My mother insisted on hiring an animal removal guy. First night we caught two raccoons.

 

[Greenthumb83]

@jchny2000 Thanks Janet! I will pick up a bag of meatbird feed.

 

[Greenthumb83]

I finally got the coop as predator proofed as I could without dropping a couple hundred bucks on electric netting. I am still too nervous to keep my chicks outside overnight. My mother insisted on hiring an animal removal guy. First night we caught two raccoons.

It's so unsettling seeing those two right next to your coop! Hope your chicks can go out soon.

 

[hbrown322]

The chicks have been outside during the day and inside at night. I kept them in this AM, we'll let them out this afternoon once the coons have been removed.

 

[flotisserie]

Hi all -- I'm a new chicken mom in West Lafayette. I have seven 9-10 week old ladies.

Glad to meet you!

 

[MikeTodd]

Hi all -- I'm a new chicken mom in West Lafayette. I have seven 9-10 week old ladies.

Glad to meet you!

Welcome from Jasper County!!