INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[MikeTodd]

@iamfivewire

How did they do for you?  Did they make it through the winter so far?

I'm really wanting to avoid buying a package since  most of them are shipped in from GA and from stock that isn't necessarily acclimated to seasons or even healthy. 

I have considered ordering through Gold Star Honeybees since theirs are treatment-free and regressed to small cell, but they are still coming from GA and TN.  They say they are far enough north to be acclimated to seasons.  And Gold Star is in Maine...and they seem to winter okay up there which is a good sign.  Still not sure I want to pay the price this year for a package vs. a local nuc.

Perhaps I'll try setting out a swarm lure box and just seeing if any take up residence.

We are on our second hive. Our first one did not survive the winter two years ago. This past year we put in a package from King Nuc (southern Michigan) and put them in a hive with lots of drawn comb. We fed the mess out of them hoping to have enough stores for the winter. I will let you know what we find when we crack the hive this spring.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Looking forward to hearing!

 

[Faraday40]

The other night, DD & I were playing a game while holding some chickens. I happened to have Bubbles in my lap, but instead of being cuddly like normal, she kept trying to jump onto the coffee table. Then it hit me why she was acting so strange. She was doing it out of excitement. We were using a deck of cards- which in her mind means a training session in which she gets mealworms. Bubbles saw those cards & wanted to peck at the Queen of Hearts like in DD's magic trick. We haven't done that trick since August, but Bubbles remembered it. What a smart bird!

We were laughing so much about it, so DH took a pic.

(If you haven't seen Bubbles, the magic chicken:

Her trick is the 2nd half of the video.)

 

[iamfivewire]

Kewl !
Did you give bubbles her treat then ?

 

[Indyshent]

nucs!
Fainting billies
70 RSL hens
Barred Rocks hens
Hens
Guineas
Show piggies!

 

[Faraday40]

Kewl !
Did you give bubbles her treat then ?

Yes. She's a pretty spoiled bird.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Red sexlink and hatchery Rhode Island red feathers, for comparison:

Look at you! That is great info to know, and nice to have examples!

Haha, well, that was purely coincidental that I had pictures of both. I had taken a bunch of pictures of molted feathers for an article that featured a section about feather structures.

Yep...my girl is red all the way. No white.

Lovely gal!

This is a Rhode Island Red (rose comb). All hatcheries that sell "Rhode Island Reds" are actually Production Reds, which are a mix of something else. The hatcheries are responsible for muddying the true identity of what really is a RIR. True RIRs are only available from breeders.

Gorgeous bird! I usually refer to the hatchery version as Production Reds as well, but I have heard of feed stores selling red sexlinks with that name, too, so I went with 'hatchery Rhode Island red' to avoid confusion with what I was talking about.

[COLOR=333333]The other night, DD & I were playing a game while holding some chickens. I happened to have Bubbles in my lap, but instead of being cuddly like normal, she kept trying to jump onto the coffee table. Then it hit me why she was acting so strange. She was doing it out of excitement. We were using a deck of cards- which in her mind means a training session in which she gets mealworms. Bubbles saw those cards & wanted to peck at the Queen of Hearts like in DD's magic trick. We haven't done that trick since August, but Bubbles remembered it. What a smart bird![/COLOR]

Aww, smart girl!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

More from the babies, specifically my precious little girls. Totally in love with these little feather dusters.

Abra has learned to climb my arms so that she can perch on the edge of the tub and have my full attention...

...which leads to snuggles.

She's just using that as a guise to get to my phone.

Look how precious she is!!

Then there's Rowena. "Look out, boys, it's my turn for attention!"

Isn't she lovely?

"Yeah, I know I'm cute."

Double trouble--looking for a way to hop out of the brooder while the top is off!

 

[JanetMarie]

@JanetMarie
Do you have an incubator over there? I don't own an incubator. Maybe I could collect some Buckeye eggs and we could work something out where you incubate some for me and keep some for yourself....

I'm not very excited about having a lot of red birds. But maybe I'd sneak in a few other breeds too....

I have an incubator, and have had very good results with it. So, let me know when you would like to incubate. I have read that fertility is higher in the spring after the rooster has had the sun on his back for a while.

ETA: I don't want to add many more chickens this year, but would like to incubate some eggs from my Buff Orpington cross rooster X Dominique if you're interested.

 

[JanetMarie]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo Adorable pictures!