INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Indyshent]

I think every one of us finds the species of birds, waterfowl or livestock we love most. We are a working family farm, so I keep a large variety of animals for our table and freezer. I adore Scovys! They are a cleaner species of duck, more a cousin. Most personable and beautiful duck type breed I have kept. I love to see them fly. Drakes are an excellent table bird too. I do not have any currently but will be adding them again next year.

See, I'm a turkey lady, through and through. I'm not sure why they're so magical either. I never grew up thinking of them as anything but a flavorless breast wrapped in a stupid, ugly package as live animals. But I love them and hate living without them. They're such goofy, charming, even affectionate birds in my experience, and they're all such individuals that I find it impossible to resist owning some at any given point. Life is blander without turkeys, and not just because their eggs taste amazing.

Also, no matter how shiny a chicken can be, a bronze turkey us always going to be shinier. Holy moly, bronze turkeys are dazzling

I also like the air of regal disdain they all seem to have. They always look like snobby old ladies or disgusted old men, just looking down their long, hooked noses on everything. *My* feed is better than yours. *I'm* so much prettier than you are. *Look* at *me*. Benjamin Franklin was certainly right to call them "vain and silly" (and even insinuate that they were better as national bird candidates, but *I'm* not biased at all).

I love quail and pheasants and have pretty much always been enamored of their mystery and beauty. In a wild setting, they're surprisingly hard to find, no matter how many bright colors God and selective breeding have swathed them in. Turkeys can be like that too--here one moment, invisible the next. Quail in a dust bath are about the cutest thing ever, and the ray gun noises are hilarious.

I like chickens, too. I like their grumpy faces when viewed head-on. I like their individual temperaments and the way they chase mice down like a T-Rex among a flock of gallimimus in Jurassic Park. I love the sound of young roosters first figuring how to crow, the statuesque and vigilant nature of adult roosters, the protective poofiness of broody mothers, the always curious nature of Leghorn hens, the fluffy charms of Orpingtons, Brahmas and Cochins.

Ducks so have their charms. They're always smiling. Mallard derived breeds are soft and cute but splat poo everywhere, are generally rapacious jerks as adults, and can be really filthy obnoxious creatures. But they're so cute. Muscovies aren't as soft and gave hamburger faces and less cold tolerance but don't tend to be quite as rapacious (but are more violent at *that* time of year) or splatty.

 

[Andrew10]

Nope. I've never separated genders before. He and the others will have to figure out where who stands in the pecking order, just like with any other introduction.

good I was getting a little worried because he pecked the hens once and awhile.

 

[Nyla]

Anyone know if its okay to feed ducks and quails Producer's Pride All-Stock Sweet Animal Feed as a partial supplement?

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hey I wanted to get yall's opinion on something, I have a 14 week old roo who's already crowing and I want to put him in with my hens. But is he to young?

I wouldn't think he's too young, but you may want to put him in fenced area during the day (metal stakes and chicken wire are handy) and let him and the hens get used to each other with a fence between them—do that for a few days depending on how it goes. I'm sure the hens will put him in his place if he gets too frisky!

 

[Mother2Hens]

NEED ADVICE about Predator Deterrents please. My youngest daughter is spending the summer in NC at my niece and her family's "farm" (24 chickens). After a recent coyote attack, my niece wants to get either a Grand Pyranees dog or two donkeys. She and her DH are both MDs, so price isn't an issue and they have a huge barn with horse stalls (no horses). What do you recommend based on your personal experiences with guard dogs and/or donkeys? What breeds of donkeys or dogs? At one time, she was thinking of getting miniature donkeys, but her vet said that Mamouth donkeys are very sweet and make great guards. She knows that both dogs and donkeys are pack animals, so she wouldn't get just one (she already has one dog that unfortunately is a bird dog! lol) Thank you!

 

[Indyshent]

How familiar and/or willing is she to research said animals? She already has a dog, so it would essentially it would be easier to get a lack of Pyrenees (or Komondors, or Anatolian shepherds, or other similar breeds of LGD).

Donkeys require farriers and large animal vets. From what I understand, smaller varieties work just fine as anti-predator (anti-snake, and anti-theft) measures. They also hate hawks.

 

[Mother2Hens]

She is definitely one to research before she makes a decision. I know that my niece's vet's office is a short distance away and he treats and owns chickens and he has donkeys—not sure what kind, so I assume he'd treat them. I told my niece that I'd check with our thread since LGDs have been discussed. I've been on this thread almost since the beginning, and I don't remember anyone discussing donkeys. Do you? I think you are right, though, that a dog would be easier especially if they had to go out-of-town. Thanks for your input!

 

[Indyshent]

@jchny2000 used to have a donkey who would chase off hawks and foxes. My eighth grade health teacher kept miniature donkeys also and maintained that they were excellent pets, alarm systems, theft deterrents, and livestock guardians. Asses in general are renowned for defending their territories from threats and intrusions, largely due to their more singular nature in the wild.

The biggest issue with LGDs is that people expect a lone Pyrenees to take on packs of coyotes. The second big issue I've seen is poor breeding practices which result in people expecting pets to take on coyotes. Not all dog breeds ate equally up to the task of defending livestock and honesteads, so ALWAYS know what qualities are being bred for in a given line.

Geese and guineas are other options to look into for smaller predator deterrence. Llama and alpacas ate similar to asses in the kinds of threats they are good against.

 

[RoseHaven]

Hello from Da Region! Just joined after being a looker for almost a year and a half! Glad to be pointed to this thread. I've got a mixed flock of 11 of Barred Rock, Rhode Island Reds, Black Sex Links, and a Rooster & Hen set of bantam Mille Fleurs. Along with them, we now have 7 Peking ducks, 2 hens, 1 drake, and 4 ducklings from one mama going broody!

Da Region! [waves] Me, too!

 

[RoseHaven]

I'm down in


I'm down in Memphis and it is blazing hot and horribly humid! I've been letting the girls free range and find their own cool shade and leaving plenty of water for them. Does anyone do anything more for their chickens in the heat? This is my first summer with chickens and I'm curious what others are doing.

Hi,
We put ice in the hen water, and feed frozen fruit, such as seedless grapes, watermelon, etc. we also put up a shade cloth (old sheet) on the west side of the run, for mid to late afternoon hours. The rest of the time the coop and run is under trees, and it's quite pleasant!