INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[weezerfish]

I would say for 2 weeks she will be fine. several chickens at the fair survive in their crates for a week at county then another week at state. But happy is another matter.

LOL! Showing what a new egg I really am I guess! Probably been to the county fair at least once every year of my life and completely missed that connection!

One last question about Peep's isolation before she goes into solitary confinement. My fallback option is the dog crate in the garage. The crate is roughly 18"x18" by 24" but the garage is 100% secure and the other chickens won't see or hear her at any point during the isolation. Solid plan but life will stink for Peep for two weeks. A new alternative that just popped up is using a neighbor's portable chain link dog kennel that has significant space in it and I could put together some temporary shelter for her within it pretty easily. Far less secure than the garage, but I don't think raccoons, possums, or other critters will be an issue. Just the neighbor dogs and it will keep them out. Only snag here is that the way our property is set up, the only place I could put her is on the opposite side of the shed that the coop is on to get her out of sight. If we free range them a bit each night like we have been, they might see her for a few minutes but we can keep them at a distance. If she clucks loud enough they're gonna hear her. I like this plan better but only if it will achieve the desired outcome of dropping Peep out of the pecking order. Thoughts?

BTW...you guys are all awesome! Thanks for sharing your chicken wisdom!

 

[Greenthumb83]

beautiful pics! Love the ham shot! Lol
She looked as though she was having fun in a mud puddle.

Yes she was! lol We all very much enjoyed finally getting some rain! My garden did as well.

 

[kittydoc]

Whew, it's getting to be that lovely time of year when the last chicks are sold/placed and we can reclaim one bedroom and half the garage for ourselves!

If anyone is interested, I have the following birds left and am willing to entertain any reasonable offers.

• Pair of rose comb silver grey Dorkings--APA accepts single comb only, but these would be frostbite-proof! Really nice project birds, pretty much ready-made. They are juveniles, about 8-10 weeks, one pair, M and F, totally ready to be outdoors. Excellent flyers! 5 toes, ancient history back to 43 AD when the Romans invaded Britain.
• Pair of Bielefelders, autosexing breed, all are crele in color. Mellow birds. Lay dark brown eggs. Young juveniles, but fully feathered and flying. Would benefit from being in a grow-out pen for a bit longer before being put in with adult birds.
• English blue Orpington cockerel--dad is ginormous! Right around 3-4 weeks old
• English splash Orpington cockerel--same ginormous dad! Right around 5-6 weeks old
• English black Orpington cockerel--again, same big daddy. Around 5-6 weeks old.
• English blue Orpington rooster, year and a half old. Great with hens, very protective of them, totally non-aggressive to people. I would trust him around responsible kids. Beautiful head/comb and massive size. Does not have much of a tail, but his offspring have had good tails bred to hens with normal tails. I can't keep both of my English blue roos any longer because after a brief separation, they no longer got along, and I don't want to see either one injured. Nor does either deserve to go in the freezer, though there is sure a lot of meat on the guy I'd like to sell or rehome. I'm keeping the other one because he's Cogburn's son and luckily I was able to prove that he does not carry lavender.

 

[Lengerich Farms]

@[@]redring[/@]
@Indyshent

Here's Reba checking one of the stalls out lol

I'm going to tack up a side on that one tomorrow, since it's the one she seems to favor.

 

[kittydoc]

I meant to ask: has anyone seen upper beak injuries to cockerels? I've been hanging on to a lavender Orp boy with a spectacular tail, and after I got back from being gone for two weeks noticed that his beak is no longer smooth along the top. It looks like the top layer chipped away, riight in front of his nostrils. I have 3 boys in that grow-out pen, and he's the only one with this issue. The other boys are two Dorking cockerels that are a bit older, taller, and heavier. They are old enough to be sparring if they feel like it. The lav is the smallest of all of them, and I moved my oldest occupants into adult pens tonight (my three blue Orp pullets).

Wondering if I should try to smooth it out with a nail file, or just let it be? I think I'll put some BlueKote on it tomorrow just to help keep it from getting infected.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. In six years, I have not seen this precise injury/issue.

Thanks!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Big thanks to @Indyshent, @ellymayRans, and @Jchny2000. Going to try removing Peep for a while to see we can knock her down a peg or two. Going to have to get creative with secure housing though. Will she be okay in a small dog crate for two weeks given adequate food, water, and a little outside play time each day?

Yes, and this is the best scenario. I call it jail, lol. You want her to be completely shut off from everything for about 2 weeks. A few minutes outside is a good idea as long as she has no interaction with the flock.

Has anyone seen my post about rehing roosters & male guineas? I haven't seen any response.

If you weren't so far I would take them! Am guessing I am about 2 hours from you. I usually am able to rehome birds pretty well, and am partial to guineas too.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I have sent a few PM's to folks regarding this but no replies so, I am going to post to everyone...I have discussed my issue with my d'uccle bantams in the past and I have tried to accept them for who they are, they sure are beautiful birds and the little pullet is as sweet as the boys will let her be. They don't want any of them (there are three total, 2 boys and a girl) to interact with us people. My issue is, I want interactive birds. I suppose I could be willing to just leave them alone IF they would go in the big coop with my other hens. They have all been togetherror since spring and they now interact OK but they just won't go in the coop. I am unable to get them a winterized coop. We used to have to net them to get them in their pen at night but no longer have to do that, we can just simply walk them in when we lock everything up at night. So that is a plus....I am really wanting to find them a home. I know most folks don't want boys, but I truly believe these boys are going to be good roosters. One of them has already called the girls to safety from a hawk TWICE and he STOOD GUARD over them right in the line of sight and retrieval of the hawk. I was able to get out there in time both times but I am sure he would have been snatched. Also, my hens had always went around the front of the house to cross the road and would forage in the woods over there, they now stay around back all the time. They don't technically obey the boys fully yet as they try to keep the girls away from me and the girls want my attention but they seem to be falling into a natural dynamic with the boys.
PLEASE if anyone else is interested or know own of anyone that may want them, please PM me. I would love for them to go soon enough that they have time to integrate with new family by winter. I PROMISE they are not mean (yet) one male has recently been more forward with me now that the hens are allowing the bantams to be around them but he has not shown any agression. He tries to herd them away from me, or he will herd me away from them.

@ellymayRans did keep them, tagged her in case she is interested.

Gotta question about nesting boxes:

I started to make a temporary hutch for my buns, and decided after I had the roof and walls screwed together that it was too small. They are 16in deep, 12in wide, 12in tall "stalls". As I had is sitting on the work bench roof down I thought, "hunh! I can still use this for the chickens!" Would these dimensions work? Do I need to add a top to it, even though it's in the coop? I just want to know if I should make any adjustments.

I can't really complain, I've only spent 5 bucks on the whole coop (hinges for the door). Everything else is pallets and scrap ply and 2x4s that were given to me from various people. Not very pretty but it works! I just want to make sure Reba, and her incoming "sisters" will be happy and utilize them for nesting.

Sounds like a good size.

Quote: Thats great news. The 2 younger hens, Syd and Sweetie both lay well. Syd will go broody fast also just fyi as few as 2 eggs!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
You can try it, if it doesn't break the connection then I would do the garage idea. The pecking order won't change as fast unless they "see" she is gone.

<a href="/u/410214/redring" data-huddler-embed="href" data-huddler-embed-layout="inline">@redring</a>
@Indyshent

Here's Reba checking one of the stalls out lol

I'm going to tack up a side on that one tomorrow, since it's the one she seems to favor.

Happy girl.

I meant to ask: has anyone seen upper beak injuries to cockerels? I've been hanging on to a lavender Orp boy with a spectacular tail, and after I got back from being gone for two weeks noticed that his beak is no longer smooth along the top. It looks like the top layer chipped away, riight in front of his nostrils. I have 3 boys in that grow-out pen, and he's the only one with this issue. The other boys are two Dorking cockerels that are a bit older, taller, and heavier. They are old enough to be sparring if they feel like it. The lav is the smallest of all of them, and I moved my oldest occupants into adult pens tonight (my three blue Orp pullets).

Wondering if I should try to smooth it out with a nail file, or just let it be? I think I'll put some BlueKote on it tomorrow just to help keep it from getting infected.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. In six years, I have not seen this precise injury/issue.

Thanks!

Cant hurt to smooth it out,and I would put blukote on too. I had a hen that lost part of her beak, and she regrew it and healed fine.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Wow, had been an incredibly busy weekend, and lots more going the next few days. We finally got a newer truck, a 2010 GMC Sierra 2500HD. We found a "too good to be true" deal on it. Mechanically sound, but the prior owner really beat up the body. DH has the tools to repair the damage, so its already looking a lot better. Here it is: http://www.robycarsinc.com/2010-GMC-Sierra2500HD/Used-Truck/Columbus-OH/7792770/Details.aspx DH is very happy to have a solid, dependable truck again. Makes me happy that it will pull our big livestock trailer! Going to save us a lot on vet visits, now we can take the critters to him again!

We got a 4 wheeler bike ATV thing a month or so back, its now up and running. Fun to ride too, I used to love riding dirt bikes lol! Like having 4 wheels even more. I have a small 8ft trailer I hook up behind it. Come winter hauling feed and water around, Its really going to help. I am using it to collect tall grasses/weeds/tree limbs and load into the trailer. Pull it into the pasture, drop the sides and let my critters eat! My goats and pigs love all the greens! We have looked at what grows here carefully. Aside from 2 Burning Bush left to remove, 3 Japanese Yew the plants are safe. Adding a second hog pen, It will be for my boar, and other sows that are not currently with piglets. Our other pen will be used for the sow that's got a litter at the time, and for piglets growing up. Also hope to get another pasture set up this week. Then move the cows new house into the bigger pasture. Its a large carport, like you see at apartment complexes. Winter months, we will put sides up, and they will be partially removed for summer.

Starting to see relief on predator issues. The chickens certainly are a lot calmer. I am finally getting eggs again, not near what we should be. I can't help but think part of the issue is all the heat and humidity we've had too. I love summer and don't mind the heat. Its been hard on the birds & livestock trying to stay cool. We did need the rain but oh geez, now the mud is terrible! My garden is giving us tomatoes at least. The corn failed terribly, lot of missing kernels on the cobs. Cukes, squash all failed. Going to try using cardboard next year and some other tips folks have suggested. Yellow squash is so easy, having it fail is disappointing.

 

[tmarsh83]

We did need the rain but oh geez, now the mud is terrible! My garden is giving us tomatoes at least. The corn failed terribly, lot of missing kernels on the cobs. Cukes, squash all failed. Going to try using cardboard next year and some other tips folks have suggested. Yellow squash is so easy, having it fail is disappointing.

All of my squash failed this year. Zucchini, yellow summer, and pumpkin. We got one yellow squash. Everything else failed before it set fruit. Aside from that though, it's probably been our best garden year yet. Tomatoes are going like crazy, and my aunt is leaving for a two week vacation soon, and I have run of her tomatoes while she is away. So between salsa, sauce, and diced, i'm going to be trying to put up enough tomatoes to not have to do as many next year.