INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Indyshent]

 That's such a weird & cool looking chicken!  I looked up some pics & it looks like someone had cropped off their tails.  I also never knew a roo could be monogamous.  

Our young bag of walking horomones just claimed himself ruler of the flock.  He's not letting the former head roos breed & is always trying to rape the hens.  There's lots & lots of chasing going on!  He's only 8.5mo.  How long until he calms down & becomes a gentleman?  He's a beautiful, giant, lav orp and not aggressive at all toward people, but making my hens unhappy.  If he keeps it up, I'll have to get rid of him.  Just wondering how long I should wait.

They normally calm down before a year is up, but if he doesn't, you may want to find him another home. Also, there may be too much competition, so you may want to split the flock up. Too many guys makes for unhappy girls.

Right now, I have six roosters with one too young/subordinate to even try breeding. The lav Orp/Sussex cross is the most rapacious one, followed by the Sumatra/BCM/Isbar mutt, who's just started feeling his oats in the last few weeks. Both come from chivalrous lines, so I'm hoping they settle down quickly. The biggest problem is the lame Welsummer hen who always looks like she's squatting--causes a lot of confusion for the boys. Trying to give her time to rest up and see if she heals.

 

[pginsber]

Also not disagreeing that a poor quality specimen is still technically a specimen of the breed, but it's like the hatchery Rhode Island Reds that were being talked about a few pages back. At a certain point, the quality is so poor that it hardly represents what the breed should be. And any good breeder would say as much, or at least mention that the bird is not good quality, certainly not claiming that he is 'good looking' when he barely looks like the breed they're claiming him to be. Same goes for a throwback to an outcross. You just don't advertise those as the real deal unless you don't know what you're talking about. There are plenty of instances of, for example, Silver Ameraucanas being crossed to Black Ameraucanas to improve on size and type, but the early F# crosses, and even later ones that show leakage or inappropriate coloration, are NOT sold as the real deal--even though for all purposes, they are pure Ameraucanas! That's simply dishonest, especially when you're claiming said bird to be a 'good looking' specimen. I stand by what I said, those birds are either very poor quality or they're mixed breeds. Maybe the people who posted that ad don't know any better, as is the case for the thousands of 'Americaunas' and 'Aracaunas' and 'Americana / Aracanas' that are still being sold by backyard breeders who have no clue of what a true Araucana or Ameraucana looks like, but that still doesn't make it an accurate representative of the breed.

As for the two back in January, the reason why I keep saying they look like Polish x Easter-eggers is because there is no reason to believe there's any kind of British Tailed Araucana in their mix. The person didn't mention the words 'British' or 'Tailed' at all in the ad, just 'Araucana', which as you know is a name commonly tacked on to feed store Easter-eggers. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that they got 'Araucanas' from the feed store and crossed those with Polish to get those birds. That's all I'm saying there.

I said no offense meant because I didn't mean to offend with anything I said, and same goes with this post. Well, and I have no spine.

But it really bugs me to see breeds misrepresented, and I like to help educate, especially in cases like this when there is already enough confusion about, well, pretty much all the '-cana' breeds!

We hatched Aracauna eggs from a breeder last year. Got 3 and they all turned out to be roos. It's really a numbers (odds and percentages) game if you're going to breed the birds because you can't really know what an individual's genes might throw out. One of the birds is great with double tufted with dark legs and pea comb while the other has an unacceptable huge comb and wattles but absolutely gorgeous coloring. It all depends on what kind of project you're working in IMHO. For us, they're pets. Our operation is small and we're not breeders.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Faraday40

I'm having a really good experience with my new cockerel. This is the first time I've had Buckeyes so I'm not sure if it is just the personality of the breed or not. HOWEVER...

I'm doing something different with this boy because I have the space this year to do it. He was not mature for breeding before the snow and cold set in. My birds pretty much stay inside the barn when it's snow out so I didn't want him to be coming of age while the ladies were confined in close quarters with him. So...

I put him in his own 6x12 area that is penned off from the girls but part of the larger kennel pen. He's been in there by himself in communication with everyone else, and sleeping on his own little roost with one of their roosts just across from him on the other side of the kennel fence.

Since it's been warmer, they've been getting outside and let him out with them. I thought he might be just crazy and want to mate constantly, but he is actually rather 'chill". He's not mating constantly. He does in moderation, but not like other cockerels I've had that were mating every minute!!!!! (literally)

So I'm wondering if "forced abstinence" has helped him with being more laid back about it all...he knows he can live without it! Or if it's more like a Buckeye personality. I'm leaning toward thinking it's because he's been penned and is having to communicate with the girls through the fence and hasn't had free access. I'll see how he does as spring comes in.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Those Coloncas and Aracaunas just make me feel like something's wrong with their back side!!!!!

I think I'd miss the beautiful rooster tail feathering.

 

[Finnie]

If any one is interested, I contacted this person to see if they have/can get speckled Sussex.

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/5973395272.html

He said he can order some for me for next week! My plan now is to make the 1:45 min drive to Liberty when he says it's time. He said he knows a hatchery about an hour and a half from him and he goes periodically to pick up 1-2 hundred chicks at a time. I have been seeing his ads for a long time on CL, and now he has a Facebook page.

Does anybody in the Indy/north Indy area want me to pick up anything from him when I go? Heck, is there anyone who would like to go on a road trip with me!

 

[Finnie]

That's a beautiful Buckeye rooster! @Leahs Mom

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks He was one of the Buckeye chicks I picked up from Bill Dyke in Indy last spring





PS: One of them had 2 heads.

(just kidding of course)

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Finnie

Do you know what hatchery he goes to?
And what kind of chicks are available?

 

[Finnie]

@Finnie


Do you know what hatchery he goes to?
And what kind of chicks are available?

Weird, I posted, and it didn't show up.
Anyhow, all he said was its a NPIP hatchery in Ohio.

He did say they have just about every breed. So if you want something specific, I can ask.

I kind of think his chicks will be less stressed out since they skip the post office. Even with all the traveling, I would guess they are handled with better care.

Here's his FB page: https://m.facebook.com/andyschickenfarm/?tsid=0.4416266654152423&source=typeahead

 

[Leahs Mom]

I don't like to have chicks or birds shipped. I've driven many miles to pick up chicks that I wanted so they didn't have the stress of shipping, so I'm in agreement that having someone pick up is a better scenario as long as he is careful in transport.