INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Soon2BChixMom]

@kanina you can come take a look at them. I created a thread and am keeping it updated.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-new-muscovy-ducklings.1228627/

 

[faerydust16]

I heard that and thought "three hens a-laying"

 

[JanetMarie]

I've decided not to re-home Wilbur at this time.

 

[Indyshent]

Eventually going to get some pictures if this new guy. Thinking (hoping) reports of abuse might have been exaggerated or misunderstood maybe.

Think he's an EE/game mix or else a muffed game (came from area that's apparently rife with cock fighting). Leaning on EE because I've never seen games with pea combs. He has a very tall stature even despite his leg problems, and an exceptionally long neck. He's mostly black but has some red bleed in his hackles and shoulders. His legs appear black with yellow soles. His beak is black and the most impressive, serious, thick, strong looking beak I have ever seen on a chicken.

He is pretty friendly and quiet, is so far curious about the broody turkey Penny. I put him in the front part of the coop this morning after Sweetie tried to haze him this morning. Sometimes birds need more introduction time, and I've noticed tall boys are more likely to offend turkey hens (sometimes toms too) who think the new guy is being uppity. Leg problems can also lead to birds attacking each other, so while I can't be around to supervise, I'm going to keep them separated but able to see each other.

His feet are turned inward such that he's basically walking on the outsides of his feet. If you stick your arms in front of you at a desk and lace your fingers together, that's about what it looks like. I had a rooster who had suffered some kind of leg injury a couple years ago who hobbled around kind of like this, and unfortunately, we had to put him down. This guy does seem to be making improvement and can definitely get around. He walks slowly, but he does walk at least.

While nutritional deficiencies do cause the feather sheen banding and foot issues, the slippery floor and puberty don't help with those either. I've seen lots of guys this age with sheen banding that seems more to do with rapid growth at this stage, so I don't want to read to much into that alone. He's very thin and tense muscularly, but pretty relaxed considering all the change in circumstances.

He enjoys roosting and surprised me this morning when I found him nearly four feet up, roosting on the lip of a nest box tub. Was pretty well behaved in the car for the ride and wanted to roost on my shoulder with his tail feathers in my face. His tail is sometimes held straight out like it should be, but at other times is held at different angles (some about 90 degrees), and I think this might be from the confinement and just not having room to straighten out perhaps. Lady I got him from seemed very happy about the improvement she saw in his ability to hold his tail out straight sometimes. The ends of his tail feathers do seem to have been rubbing against an enclosure, but other than that and the banding, his feathers are in great condition, and he's very clean.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I have:
three silkie hens not laying, and my silkie roo
two EE hens laying, and their EE roo
two Maran hens laying, fairly regularly
one Muscovy Drake
two Muscovy Hens

The silkie's I expected to be fairly lax on their laying. They're more eye candy than anything else. BUT I AM SO READY FOR DUCKLINGS O.M.G. I'm going to try to set them up a special nesting box this weekend if it will ever stop raining and then maybe they'll feel safer and start.

In other news, I saw what I believe to be a coyote the other day. I knew they were down here, but I haven't seen or heard them yet since we're all open fields nearby. S/he was a few streets over crossing the street near another coop. But once its bored trying to make it in that one I'm sure it will head my way. Lots of extra proofing and reinforcing to do. I told DH to go pee on the fence near the run

I hope everyone is doing well, welcome to our new friends and have a Happy Easter everyone!!!

I tell all the guys here the same! ROFL it does appear to deter predators. I remind them to miss the electric fences .

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

A little about me, some of our older thread members already know. I started our Indiana thread like 6 years ago after getting my first laying chickens. Prior to that I had raised meat birds and lived in town a while. My new girls, GLW where flopping in the dirt and honestly thought they were dying! Soooo, after a long search on google I found BYC. I learned about dust bathing, and a whole lot of other things heritage birds do.
We have a good group of friends now. Many come and go, but there is some very helpful posts on most farm animals here! We are not just about chickens, but every day homesteading life too.

 

[faerydust16]

A little about me, some of our older thread members already know. I started our Indiana thread like 6 years ago after getting my first laying chickens. Prior to that I had raised meat birds and lived in town a while. My new girls, GLW where flopping in the dirt and honestly thought they were dying! Soooo, after a long search on google I found BYC. I learned about dust bathing, and a whole lot of other things heritage birds do.
We have a good group of friends now. Many come and go, but there is some very helpful posts on most farm animals here! We are not just about chickens, but every day homesteading life too.

I love this thread!!! Everyone is super supportive and so helpful.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Agreed, several OT's here including @Leahs Mom lot of great info.

 

[Indyshent]

Well, new guy has made it through his first day on our hobby farm! I supervised some time outside the run (there's a fenced in area separating an area around the run from the rest of the yard, though the dog had to come in a few times anyway because she's masterful like that). While Pancake and Sweetie had to test him out and make sure he wasn't too uppity and knew his place, nobody hurt him, and within a few minutes, they pretty much ignored him. Penny and Jake seemed to have missed having more chickens around. He seems to like Penny, and I've often seen him in really close proximity to her, and she doesn't seem to mind him being there--even though she's broody and sometimes nips me--and I hand-raised her! I'm taking that as a good sign.

So far, the only name that's availed itself might be Ambrose Burnsides. Might come up with something else later, but I think he could get worse if I keep looking for names. Have to see how he turns out as he settles in.

He's getting around much better, and I spotted him all over the yard, coop and run, so he's not letting his feet interrupt his plans to get around. Glad to see that he's more curious and less afraid of the outdoors as time goes. He didn't voluntarily leave the coop, but I brought him outside where he and the turkeys could regard each other with a lot more room to maneuver, and things went swimmingly.

I've seen turkeys and roosters really, really not get along before, and these guys haven't hazed him anywhere near as much as I thought they might (they're a pretty tame lot as turk-turks go). My mom was over and thought Pancake was going to hurt him, but I had to keep reassuring her that if Pancake was going to hurt him, she'd do it. She's not a combative personality, so it kind of surprised me that she periodically made like she was going to peck the top of his head--never so much as pulled a feather on him, mind you, but she let him know where he stood, just the same. As hazing can go with new flockmates, and especially as hazing can go between species, this was super tame--downright *nurturing*. It was seriously more like she was trying to artfully arrange his feathers than hurt him, and the vast majority of the times she made like she might arrange said feathers, she didn't even touch him.

Turkeys that mean business have a different manner, and they don't play around with it--they'll straight up go for blood and try to kill a rooster, if they feel threatened seriously. I've never seen a tom hurt a rooster, but hens can be sensitive and seem more likely to feel threatened (and react "accordingly"). This guy's too submissive to give them the wrong cues that might lead them to feel legitimately threatened. There's a language barrier between chickens and turkeys, and some birds have an easier time learning to "talk turkey" than others, but from what I've seen, it often comes down to who's going to give first between dominant hens and stupidly hormonal roosters who don't realize that the smallest turkey hen is still much bigger than they are and might just stomp him to death. That's not to say that turkey hens never lose those stare downs because I'm sure it's happened before. Thankfully, I've never kept birds with those kind of pyrotechnic personalities before, but I've heard lots of horror stories, so I try to keep my eyes out just in case anybody feels the need to surprise me by developing a... particularly ballistic streak.

Kate's been hoarding turkey eggs--and she's doing the broody squeal! It's adorable! I haven't had the honor of hearing that much, even though I've been nipped by some other broodies and seen a few puff up at me manhandling them and the babies. She's so dinky and cute!

Maple was scoping a nest box earlier, so I'm hoping she's going to get laying. Sweetie might have laid her first today for the year, too (in the old pheasant enclosure! I have no idea how she even fit through that little door!).

 

[faerydust16]

I found chicks at big r. Lol!