INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Greenthumb83]

@Greenthumb83
Yes. It sounds like you have a good roo.
Here's our Brownie pacing back & forth in the coop when one of his hens started laying.



Here he is in the nest box, showing the hens how it's done.

What a handsome roo! That's so cool. I hope Granger shows the girls the nests again. Most are going there, but the 2 BR that are laying are finding other places in the coop. So far, we have 1 Lorp, 2 EE, 2 BR, and 1 Orp laying. That along with finding the hidden nest, we all of a sudden have plenty of eggs!

Thanks. Here's another pose.

Very pretty.

She looks a lot like Sierra, one of my Bieles. The other 2 had more silver. I have no idea which is preferred, but I love the brown/red. My girl started laying consistently this week. I've had them like 6 weeks. Her egg is much different from the others. Hers is like a mauve color.

 

[Faraday40]

Got a new layer yesterday!
My bigger ? is which pullet. We have a RIR & a Biele with the same hatch day. I was thinking the new little dark brown eggs we've been finding for the past 2 weeks were made by the RIR. (I assumed that breed matures faster.) Today's little egg was pretty pale. l remember that our former Biele laid terra cotta & somewhat speckled eggs. Perhaps I've been giving the wrong hen the credit, but I just don't know what shade of brown the RIR's eggs should be.

For anyone who's had both RIR & Bieles, which one looks more like a Biele egg?
Here are both of yesterday's eggs.
The one on the left is the 1st of it's kind. (Has a bit of a shine to the bloom.) The right egg has been showing up & gradually getting bigger for the past 2 weeks.

 

[Crista]

Anyone have chickens with incredibly thick skin? These hens were 8 months old, free range, organic, non gmo. The skin was gross.

I have encountered it with older roosters. Most of the time for "soup birds" I just skin and avoid that altogether.

Thanks. It was a new experience to me. Thanks again.

 

[racinchickins]

Some surprises on the farm here.

first the bad....my first intro to scaly leg mites. right now it is just one leg of one hen. Any suggestions for treatments? Also treating a bad case of bumblefoot.

Then the good. 4 surprise chocolate scovy babies. One of my females absconded to a hidden nest. I saw her occasionally at the feeder and swimming pool, so I didn't realize she was on a nest. still don't know where the nest was. She just appeared with them on Saturday!

Another surprise. A peacock egg. I thought they only laid in the spring. I noticed my females were letting the male mate with them too, so it's probably fertile. Has anyone else seen this in the fall? He still has almost his full tail too.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@racinchickins

I understand that vetrx works for leg mites. Can get it at Tractor Supply. But the main thing is suffocating the mites and eggs with a safe, oil-based material. The "old-timers" used old motor oil (!) I don't recommend that

But the idea is a heavy oil that will suffocate.


On bumblefoot - is this on a chicken, duck, or turkey?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Some surprises on the farm here.

first the bad....my first intro to scaly leg mites. right now it is just one leg of one hen. Any suggestions for treatments? Also treating a bad case of bumblefoot.

Then the good. 4 surprise chocolate scovy babies. One of my females absconded to a hidden nest. I saw her occasionally at the feeder and swimming pool, so I didn't realize she was on a nest. still don't know where the nest was. She just appeared with them on Saturday!

Another surprise. A peacock egg. I thought they only laid in the spring. I noticed my females were letting the male mate with them too, so it's probably fertile. Has anyone else seen this in the fall? He still has almost his full tail too.

@Indyshent and @Mother2Hens both have had experience with it. I had it on my Tom turkey, and used swat ointment on his legs. Killed the mites out fast. I would wash his legs down, and reapply every few days until I saw no more evidence of it. The product is meant for use in livestock and dogs, so I can't guarantee the safety of use in poultry.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hard rains and storms tonight, still moving through. Forecast saying a few days of relief from all this humidity. I certainly hope so! My livestock are miserable. Hosing my pigs off a few times a day to keep them cool. The frozen water bottles really help the birds too. Geese love to play with them lol! Will wait til the storm passes to see if any limbs or trees were damaged, we really had some strong winds come through.

Finally got a new phone, getting adjusted to it. I went with the Galaxy Note 5, the Note 7 is just too expensive yet. Takes awesome photos. Will try to start posting more pictures soon.

 

[ChicagoClucker]

Got a new layer yesterday!
My bigger ? is which pullet. We have a RIR & a Biele with the same hatch day. I was thinking the new little dark brown eggs we've been finding for the past 2 weeks were made by the RIR. (I assumed that breed matures faster.) Today's little egg was pretty pale. l remember that our former Biele laid terra cotta & somewhat speckled eggs. Perhaps I've been giving the wrong hen the credit, but I just don't know what shade of brown the RIR's eggs should be.

For anyone who's had both RIR & Bieles, which one looks more like a Biele egg?
Here are both of yesterday's eggs.
The one on the left is the 1st of it's kind. (Has a bit of a shine to the bloom.) The right egg has been showing up & gradually getting bigger for the past 2 weeks.

I don't have any Biele but I do have a RIR. I would say the egg on the left is the RIR.

 

[Mother2Hens]

@Indyshent and @Mother2Hens both have had experience with it. I had it on my Tom turkey, and used swat ointment on his legs. Killed the mites out fast. I would wash his legs down, and reapply every few days until I saw no more evidence of it. The product is meant for use in livestock and dogs, so I can't guarantee the safety of use in poultry.

@racinchickins ~ My dearly departed BR had a chronic problem with scaly leg mites. I should have started with a more aggressive approach like Ivermectin, which she received from our vet after trying VetRx first. Scaly leg mites are painful and miserable as you can imagine. The mites burrow under scales on the legs and feet where they chew on tissue and cause soreness and infections (my vet showed me some of my BR's mites under a microscope, and they looked like tiny flat turtles). It's common for chickens to pull out feathers from their stomachs—I guess in frustration—they lean forward and peck their legs to try to stop the pain and end up pulling out feathers.

Whether you use Ivermectin or not, the first step is to soak the legs/feet in warm water with epson salts. After the scales soften, take a soft toothbrush and gently scrub away any dead skin. Rinse and apply some type of oil all over legs and feet. Sometimes I simply used sunflower or coconut oil because as @Leahs Mom said, oil smothers the mites. Sometimes I mixed VetRx with another oil, but I applied oil on most nights to help keep the mites under control. Active ingredients in VetRx: 3.3% (v-v) alcohol U.S.P. The mixture contains Canada balsam, camphor, oil origanum, oil rosemary, blended in a corn oil base. Do not do VetRx on legs with open wounds since it will sting.

Since mite eggs will hatch every two weeks, the coop should cleaned out, sanitized, and treated — organic pyrethrum (derived from chrysanthemums) is fairly safe for humans and birds but highly toxic to insects—I'm sure you know of good products. Scaly Leg Mites mites are transmitted by direct contact with infected birds (including wild birds).
It is important to note that it takes several months for the scales of the legs to become raised and consequently to heal again after treatment. Good luck to you and your birds!
I had the vet treat my Jubilee Orp for bumblefoot, and I treated (removed a scab/tissue) from my Silkie. Both were successful, but the vet's bandages were more effective. It was hard for me to bandage a five-toed feathery foot!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Received this email lol...