INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Finnie]

Lot of posts to catch up on...

My Black Copper Marans would go broody when I had them. My Black Langshans are the worst! (Or best, if you're after broody.) My Langshans spend more time broody than not.

I've only had a few broody raised chicks. I was surprised that they looked like they were a month older than their hatchmates that I raised in the brooder. It was a huge difference. But the hen only had two chicks to raise, so maybe that's the difference? (I gave her some eggs to hatch from my incubator to get her to stop sittting. She raised the two chicks and then went right back to brooding. Sheesh.)

 

[Faraday40]

I notice that my broody-raised chicks know & obey a roo's alert. If he makes the "hawk" alert, they instantly take cover - sometimes it's the nearest hen. They stick inside the center of the flock & near mama. When she leaves them, they don't get bullied and still hang inside the center of the flock during the day. The brooder-raised chicks look great but hang around the "outside" of the flock. If a roo makes the same warning, they're too afraid to go hide near the adults, so they may run out into the open - which could make them hawk food.

DD prefers raising some by hand because she feels they always stay sweet & docile. However the integration is a pain. However by the time they're laying, I rarely see a difference. I have orps, so they're pretty easy to train and win over with treats.

My June 17th hatch was broody raised (split between 2 hens) but one mama left them at 5 weeks. That's when they adopted me as their mama & started following me around. The other 1/2 of the hatch was raised by a diff broody who left them at 7-8 weeks. Those pullets have more confidence today but I'd have to catch them for snuggles (They don't jump into my lap.) I call the 1st group my babies. The poor male has yet to crow and waits for me to put out the second feeder for them each morning. He & his "sisters" stay away from the flock, so when it was raining yesterday, they were outside under a tree instead of being inside a warm, dry run.

 

[Indyshent]

Dog got two cockerels that had been hiding in a tree last night. Wun Two has pretty good chances, but the olive egger has maybe a 1% chance. They were both covered in mud and in shock. Wun is gimping but walking now, but the other guy is torn up and looks like he's got internal bleeding.

 

[Indyshent]

Dog got two cockerels that had been hiding in a tree last night. Wun Two has pretty good chances, but the olive egger has maybe a 1% chance. They were both covered in mud and in shock. Wun is gimping but walking now, but the other guy is torn up and looks like he's got internal bleeding.

The OE died, and while I was burying him, I realized the dog had pushed a huge hole through the run. Put a chain link fence section over the hole, and it's in place as good as I can get it for now. Brought the other guy in and gave him a bath. Not seeing any huge outward injuries, but we'll see over the next few days how bad off he actually is versus how good an actor he is.

 

[Nyla]

Has anyone tried using a camping tent as a chicken coop?
So I'm thinking about using a camping tent that is 14' wide x 10' long and 6' tall as a chicken coop. I have a spare tent that we have never used. I thought maybe I could use it for chickens until I build a proper coop. But I like the idea of being able to easily move the tent around our property for the chickens to forage. I might just use the tent as a full time coop instead of building a grounded coop.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Nyla
A camping tent won't be predator proof overnight. Any night predator - raccoon, fox, weasel, coyote, etc. would be able to get right in with no problem.

Your coop needs to be "night predator proof" - including not being able to dig under it to get in. Even the little "tiny" coops you see at tractor supply are easy for predators to break through, unfortunately.

 

[Nyla]

I have a German Shepherd Guard dog that runs around the property at night. So predictors aren't an issue.

@Nyla
A camping tent won't be predator proof overnight. Any night predator - raccoon, fox, weasel, coyote, etc. would be able to get right in with no problem.

Your coop needs to be "night predator proof" - including not being able to dig under it to get in. Even the little "tiny" coops you see at tractor supply are easy for predators to break through, unfortunately.

 

[Indyshent]

The OE died, and while I was burying him, I realized the dog had pushed a huge hole through the run. Put a chain link fence section over the hole, and it's in place as good as I can get it for now. Brought the other guy in and gave him a bath. Not seeing any huge outward injuries, but we'll see over the next few days how bad off he actually is versus how good an actor he is.

Wun Two seems to be okay today, but the dog has pushed through yet another hole into the run. Looks like we're going to be down to True Survivors soon. Don't understand why this dog is so desperate to get a hold of the birds--especially when the breed isn't supposed to have a prey drive like that. We're trying to patch everything up with chain link.

Feeling crappy still. Something has been running me down all week. Have an organic chemistry exam Monday and really need to be feeling better. I'm not up to either studying or patching the run in the cold rain.

 

[Nyla]

Just bought 7 chickens. Was told they are all pullets, but 1 is diffidently a rooster and there is another one with red in it's comb. They are barnyard mixes.

 

[Indyshent]

Yup that little gray one smacks of testosterone, doesn't he? Not seeing anything in his feathers that smacks of manliness, but that comb and wattles...