INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kanina]

Silkies are slowly but surely integrating with everyone else.

Trying to get a decent plan in place regarding poultry (and then stick to it). Have a bunch of babies coming up nicely, but lots of them aren't going to fit the given breed plan, even once I get it precisely finalized.

1. I like the double combs most of the roosters here have (one V, one double rose, one half-Buttercup) because they're nifty and frost resistant.

2. I would like to eventually get something autosexing, which means I'll have to keep some barred birds around, and/or stick with partridge marked types and sex by head triangles.

3. I want a bird that's disease resistant and lays like crazy, so I'm keeping chicks with good Leghorn blood. Interestingly, Leghorns carry barred under their dominant white lab coats. Definitely keeping those kids--they're 95% white but have single barred black feathers here and there.

4. I had initially hoped for the modest goal of making silver laced Leghorns in a flavor other than single combed, but I no longer have full blooded lady Leghorns here--just these pied mixes. Love this goofy pied/exchequer-like color, but it won't breed true.

5. Have several such Leghorn/EE mixes carrying the blue egg genes most likely (strong linkage to pea combs, so I can use those pea combed chicks to keep the blue egg genes around even though I have no blue layers now).

6. The black chicks and blue chicks are mostly Marans and/or EE, and the same would follow for the birchen pullet that's hatched.

7. The silkies are going to wind up a separate project. Want to understand the genetics behind Lion-O's pretty blond hair. Eventually really want to see that in other breeds because it's so pretty.

Going to have to make a thread somewhere else on this stuff and stop spamming everyone here

I like hearing all the things you're checking out with your chickens. I find it absolutely fascinating.

Every day I get a little closer to selling most of my flock and going with ducks. I'm really torn. My blue Maran lays the most beautiful chocolate egg, and I'd love to make some OEs from her babies. But if I get rid of Kronus, that's not an option. What's everyone's experience with keeping a drake and a rooster together (with hens and ducks)? I have a feeling its not a wise idea.

 

[Nyla]

The duck side is over taking you! (Told you!)
Roosters don''t bother male ducks and male ducks don't bother roosters. I just picked up a trio of Chocolate muscovys and they had a "daddy" Silkie rooster. Ohh man did he attack me.

I like hearing all the things you're checking out with your chickens. I find it absolutely fascinating.

Every day I get a little closer to selling most of my flock and going with ducks. I'm really torn. My blue Maran lays the most beautiful chocolate egg, and I'd love to make some OEs from her babies. But if I get rid of Kronus, that's not an option. What's everyone's experience with keeping a drake and a rooster together (with hens and ducks)? I have a feeling its not a wise idea.

 

[Indyshent]

Is anyone looking for lemon cuckoo Marans? Someone posted a couple hens on Craigslist, along with several other flock mates https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/d/laying-flock/6302936110.html

Trio of khaki Campbells https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/d/khaki-campbell-trio/6302423627.html

I like hearing all the things you're checking out with your chickens. I find it absolutely fascinating.

Every day I get a little closer to selling most of my flock and going with ducks. I'm really torn. My blue Maran lays the most beautiful chocolate egg, and I'd love to make some OEs from her babies. But if I get rid of Kronus, that's not an option. What's everyone's experience with keeping a drake and a rooster together (with hens and ducks)? I have a feeling its not a wise idea.

Roosters and drakes are like every other bird in your yard--like keeping several dogs or any other type of animal. There are dominant animals and submissive animals within every social species, and sometimes dominant individuals clash, but this is more likely to be with members of the same gender and species. I've kept lots of drakes, roosters, even turkey toms all together without much issue. There might be some tiff here and there as everyone figures out where they are in the hierarchy, but serious issues are very unlikely. Muscovy drakes tend to be pretty placid (breeding season makes them tear each other apart though).

Don't get rid of your chickens till you absolutely know you that you don't want them anymore. Really experience ducks first. You don't *need* a drake, but as Muscovies aren't fabulous layers, you're best off recuperating costs through selling ducklings. They won't give you a lot of "eating eggs" (for that, you're best sticking with chickens or laying varieties of mallard-derived duck breeds).

 

[Ducksforlife1]

Hello all! I was wondering if any of you wanted some "Collectors" Quails? These are known as New World Quails and or Game Quails.
I have

• 7 Blue Scale quails unsexed for $25 each (Hatched Aug. 10th, 2017)
• 11 Snowflake Bobwhite quails unsexed for $15 each ( Hatched Aug 10th 2017)
• 11 Snowflake Bobwhite quails unsexed for $15 each (Hatched Aug 26th, 2017) Unrelated from other group of snowflakes
• 10 Northern Bobwhite quails for $8 each unsexed (Hatched Sep. 2nd, 2017)
• Can ship but will have to buy A reasonable amount and have to pay for shipping costs and $10 box.

 

[kanina]

Roosters and drakes are like every other bird in your yard--like keeping several dogs or any other type of animal. There are dominant animals and submissive animals within every social species, and sometimes dominant individuals clash, but this is more likely to be with members of the same gender and species. I've kept lots of drakes, roosters, even turkey toms all together without much issue. There might be some tiff here and there as everyone figures out where they are in the hierarchy, but serious issues are very unlikely. Muscovy drakes tend to be pretty placid (breeding season makes them tear each other apart though).

Don't get rid of your chickens till you absolutely know you that you don't want them anymore. Really experience ducks first. You don't *need* a drake, but as Muscovies aren't fabulous layers, you're best off recuperating costs through selling ducklings. They won't give you a lot of "eating eggs" (for that, you're best sticking with chickens or laying varieties of mallard-derived duck breeds).

We're currently downsizing since more girls are finally laying. Bette, Joan and Molly are up for sale, but I'm not in a rush to get rid of them, just looking for less mouths to feed through winter.

We did a lot of talking, and lots more to be had. I don't think we'll ever switch to just ducks, I like my fresh eggs year round, and I won't get that with my Muscovies, but I'm really looking forward to the broodiness of the Muscovies and having them hatch ducklings and chicks. Right now, the plan is to keep the faverolle, cochin, silkies, blue maran, buff orp, and get a cream legbar. But, as I said more discussion to come because I'd like to keep my rooster, hes a good boy but it will all come down to what color eggs his sisters lay. They're supposed to be Ameraucanas and so far my Marans have laid true from the same breeder. If they're not blue layers then we'll sell the trio and replace them with ducks. If we do go further down the duck side, it will be one more hen and a drake in the spring. I would like to see how they do through the winter, I'm assuming well since @Nyla has them up near the lake and my winters are milder.

If we do go further down the duck side, Its my understanding they lay 3-4 clutches a season, so we'd collect the first and third clutch, let them hatch the middle clutch and sell that clutch. If we can't sell them all, we'll process them. So spring time will break muscovy hunting for fun colors and such.

My cochin is 15 weeks old and shes as big as my blue maran. She's huge! I'll have to see if I can get a good picture of her tonight.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Regarding the Feed Mill -
I get my grains from Honeyville Feed in Topeka. They have organic, non-gmo, or regular chemical farmed.

 

[Indyshent]

We're currently downsizing since more girls are finally laying. Bette, Joan and Molly are up for sale, but I'm not in a rush to get rid of them, just looking for less mouths to feed through winter.

We did a lot of talking, and lots more to be had. I don't think we'll ever switch to just ducks, I like my fresh eggs year round, and I won't get that with my Muscovies, but I'm really looking forward to the broodiness of the Muscovies and having them hatch ducklings and chicks. Right now, the plan is to keep the faverolle, cochin, silkies, blue maran, buff orp, and get a cream legbar. But, as I said more discussion to come because I'd like to keep my rooster, hes a good boy but it will all come down to what color eggs his sisters lay. They're supposed to be Ameraucanas and so far my Marans have laid true from the same breeder. If they're not blue layers then we'll sell the trio and replace them with ducks. If we do go further down the duck side, it will be one more hen and a drake in the spring. I would like to see how they do through the winter, I'm assuming well since @Nyla has them up near the lake and my winters are milder.

If we do go further down the duck side, Its my understanding they lay 3-4 clutches a season, so we'd collect the first and third clutch, let them hatch the middle clutch and sell that clutch. If we can't sell them all, we'll process them. So spring time will break muscovy hunting for fun colors and such.

My cochin is 15 weeks old and shes as big as my blue maran. She's huge! I'll have to see if I can get a good picture of her tonight.

While feeding them through winter isn't the nicest prospect, they're easier and cheaper to get in the fall. People are looking to figure which drake to keep now and working to downsize. Get him now. Muscovies don't generally get going til later spring and have about the longest hatching time of any poultry species (think it's 35 days, compared to a chicken's 21 and even a turkey's 28), and *then* you need to wait a few more weeks to discover with any decent probability which are boys or girls... and another year to breed them. Get your possibly even free drake now because a lot of people don't want to process good boys and will give them to good homes rather than eat them. Ducks can be difficult to process because they're cute and the owner has had months to get to know all those boys and try to figure which one she'll keep to breed. Muscovy aren't generally as rapacious as mallard derived boys usually are, so they're less likely to be gleefully weeded out as jerks often are... which means breeders are forced to rehome a bunch of perfectly sweet, lovely guys... or murdalize them. It's an unhappy event because--as tasty and hamburger-faced as Muscovies are--they're sweet and have that duck perma-smile... but also have this awful Highlander thing going on in the yard come springtime. Breeders are often between a couple guys to keep, and all that close watching makes it hard to eat the second-best guy, or that one with the nice temperament but funky color or type. Those are the guys you can generally get for free or super cheap in the fall as breeders are increasingly desperate to find a home for birds they don't want to kill. Plus, if you get him now, you can breed and sell babies in the spring.

From experience, it is harder to kill a nice drake than a mean one, and harder to kill a duck than a chicken (provided you know them about equally). Turkeys are about the worst for me but only because mine are all pets. They have ugly faces but incredibly expressive eyes. No matter what you pricess, expect to see that "But Mommy, what did I do?" face.

They are good broodies for ducks. Ducks don't raise non-ducks, in my experience. They look at such hatchlings like you would if--after nine months of carrying--you delivered a warthog instead of a baby. It's--at best--an unwelcome surprise. Expect to find abandoned and often dead chicks if you stick them under a duck. The chicks will also hatch well before ducklings if set at the same time, which means the mom isn't getting off that nest yet to care for them. Expect nipping if you take eggs and babies from them, and a duck's attitude will only increase if she can spitefully cling to the notion that YOU are the reason she's not a mom right now. They're determined broodies and get more inventive and protective as eggs disappear.

 

[Nyla]

I've had muscovies for over 5 years now. My oldest muscovy was 4 years old I've had since hatch and we just re-homed him to a family who is keeping him as a house duck. My muscovies do great during winters here for me. If you want a male I have plenty of them around 2 months old. I have Chocolates ( sex-linked gene), Blacks, Black pied, and a Blue Pied.
You can pick which one you want and you can have him for free? We will be going to Rensselaer this Sunday for the animal swap if you want to meet us there and pick him out?

We're currently downsizing since more girls are finally laying. Bette, Joan and Molly are up for sale, but I'm not in a rush to get rid of them, just looking for less mouths to feed through winter.

We did a lot of talking, and lots more to be had. I don't think we'll ever switch to just ducks, I like my fresh eggs year round, and I won't get that with my Muscovies, but I'm really looking forward to the broodiness of the Muscovies and having them hatch ducklings and chicks. Right now, the plan is to keep the faverolle, cochin, silkies, blue maran, buff orp, and get a cream legbar. But, as I said more discussion to come because I'd like to keep my rooster, hes a good boy but it will all come down to what color eggs his sisters lay. They're supposed to be Ameraucanas and so far my Marans have laid true from the same breeder. If they're not blue layers then we'll sell the trio and replace them with ducks. If we do go further down the duck side, it will be one more hen and a drake in the spring. I would like to see how they do through the winter, I'm assuming well since @Nyla has them up near the lake and my winters are milder.

If we do go further down the duck side, Its my understanding they lay 3-4 clutches a season, so we'd collect the first and third clutch, let them hatch the middle clutch and sell that clutch. If we can't sell them all, we'll process them. So spring time will break muscovy hunting for fun colors and such.

My cochin is 15 weeks old and shes as big as my blue maran. She's huge! I'll have to see if I can get a good picture of her tonight.

 

[Indyshent]

Started my quest for super bird thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-search-for-superbird.1198523/#post-18968496

 

[JanetMarie]

The "mommy what did I do face" gets me. We butchered one drake, and do not want to ever butcher another muscovy. He was talking to us and wanted to get away, it was absolutely heartbreaking.

I have one hen that goes broody constantly, but she is easy to break when I continually take all of her eggs when she gets off the nest. Luckily, out of the one small clutch she was allowed to hatch, there is only one drake.