INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

@Indyshent
With a name like Optimus Prime I would really like to see his pic.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Ugh, I wouldn't think they'd be worth it at this point. The shock of losing him seemed to throw her off laying entirely, because I haven't seen new eggs since he disappeared.

Two EE have gone broody, including one little olive Egger from you (not the one with the battle scars on her eye). Yes, both of the olive egger sisters lay little olive eggs. The RIR and WL are still laying pretty well here so it might be your Cornish rooster. I'll have to check fertility, but they're laying well most days, though some have decreased shell quality.

Hens here are all looking pretty ragged with six roosters. As nice as Fog horn i in almost every respect, his obnoxious and frequent crow--often right in my ears as I'm gardening -- has made him the only rooster I've ever been tempted to throttle, so I'm very happy his pen is almost done! He's the only one of your boys to have been even slightly problematic. My two roosters are growing up pretty and chivalrous, and I don't want to give either up ever. The silver laced Polish has started fluffing up nests for the girls, and he's not yet a year old! And Optimus Prime is gorgeous, quiet, and claimed by my youngest.

Aww I miss Foghorn soo much! Miss that handsome Lavender Ameruacana roo too. Hows lil Feisty the mallard doing? Every scovy I had is gone, even Physco.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Anyone else getting all but carried off by mosquitoes? AARRRGH they are horrible here!

 

[Dayrel]

Anyone else getting all but carried off by mosquitoes? AARRRGH they are horrible here!

Yup. No fun.

Question- Do mosquitoes cause any problems for chickens?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Yup. No fun.

Question- Do mosquitoes cause any problems for chickens?

Mine snatch them up! There is the Lyme disease issue to consider.. contact your local Extension office to see if the disease is an issue where you live.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

We fogged some parts of the property tonight that's still "unclaimed" aka overgrown in weeds. Especially around the barn, just unbearable to be out there right now! We have an active honeybee hive far out in the back of our property, so we avoided that acre entirely. Did not fog our pastures or any where my cows and goats graze.

 

[Faraday40]

Took the camera out today...
I squatted to get a pic of my pretty orp pullet & see the look she gave me! (I think she was upset that all I had was a camera & no mealworms.)

Here are my "Mini Moose" (Lav orp roos, sons of "Moose")

Hatched a ton of chicks. What I find funny is how many look like Brick. All the chicks with head spots are his! (While the other 2 roos were deciding who gets to be flock leader, Brick decided to spend his time with the hens. I guess he's not so dumb after all.)

Here are my 13 wk old Spitzhaubens (1 male & 1 female)

 

[hbrown322]

Hey guys! My two hens are a year old! Not sure if this is a normal thing to celebrate, but they are my first chickens to make it to this age! So they got some special treats today!
The little chickies are getting pretty big as well. I'm starting the process to integrate them all together. Fingers crossed all goes well! Last night I was making dinner & I look out the window to see a deer chillin with the chickies. We live in the city, and usually these guys only come at night. So to see this sweet girl in the day was pretty exciting for us!

 

[MikeTodd]

All right fellow BYCers, I am in need of some advice. I have an extremely broody buff Orpington and I have not been able to break her and I've tried all methods. My wife and I are at the point to where we are going to let her hatch out her eggs. Any advice is greatly appreciated as we have never hatched chicks either in the coop or in an incubator. We are not really sure what to do.

 

[Faraday40]

All right fellow BYCers, I am in need of some advice. I have an extremely broody buff Orpington and I have not been able to break her and I've tried all methods. My wife and I are at the point to where we are going to let her hatch out her eggs. Any advice is greatly appreciated as we have never hatched chicks either in the coop or in an incubator. We are not really sure what to do.

It's actually a lot easier than you'd think.
After finding some fertile eggs, mark them with a sharpie and place them next to her. She'll gladly roll them under herself. The reason why to mark them is to make sure she's only incubating those eggs & to prevent a staggered hatch. If another hen adds a fresh egg, remove it.

If your hen gets bullied & you want to have her nest moved somewhere else, I found to simply wait until she's really broody & do it at night. If you want to keep her with the flock, you could simply put up some mesh across the entrance of the nest to keep the others out. (Just make sure to open it daily & allow your broody to eat/drink/potty. I actually take mine out of the nest before I start my chicken chores & she's done & back on the nest before I'm done. I put up the screen & repeat daily. The hen learned the routine within a couple days, so all you'll have to do is open it daily to give her the option.)

Candle eggs at night about 1/2 way through to remove any bad eggs. Around Day 18-19, she'll probably stop taking potty breaks & barely move until the chicks hatch. I love watching mine talk to her eggs at this point. When the chicks are 1-2 days old, she'll get out of the nest & encourage the chicks to follow. I'm a little protective, so I put my little family inside a rabbit cage (inside the run/coop) for the 1st 5-7 days. It allows the other hens to get used to having chicks around. Below is what my current nursery looks like. My chicks are bigger & this is their "safe house." The side has a crack through which the chicks may pass through to safety.