INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Indoor garden has mostly germinated! Having problems with the lettuce, neither variety sprouted. Going to try replanting them. Jalapeno didn't sprout yet either.
Chickens are back on track laying, most days getting 8 eggs. Hoping my older girls will continue laying this year. Out of the eggs I set only 1 WL was infertile, all the cx were infertile also. If that trend continues the 5 cx hens will get a new rooster 1st, if that doesn't pan out they'll be freezer bound. The olive egg is fertile too, so I know 2 of my roosters are doing their job.

 

[Leahs Mom]

My cockerel seems to be having issues hitting the mark. He's pretty laid back and doesn't mate constantly like my SFH did. But I don't think he quite has his technique down yet. I haven't seen many fertilized eggs and when I do see him mate it seems like its a miss more than not.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

My cockerel seems to be having issues hitting the mark. He's pretty laid back and doesn't mate constantly like my SFH did. But I don't think he quite has his technique down yet. I haven't seen many fertilized eggs and when I do see him mate it seems like its a miss more than not.

How old is he? Young fellas are clumsy and in a big rush, what you're describing is pretty average.

 

[JanetMarie]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo Roosts very similar to mine. No roost on this one. They will sleep with their feet on the edges, and one sleeps flat on the tray in the shavings.

In the barn very few chickens have ever slept on the roosting trays. Instead they were sleeping up high in a doorway, and going upstairs to sleep and poop in the loft. That was a problem, so we recently blocked the loft and put up some high roosts. The muscovies mainly use these.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Fellow hatchers, remind me about hatching saddled air sacs.. Been a few years since I've had shipped eggs.

 

[Faraday40]

Fellow hatchers, remind me about hatching saddled air sacs.. Been a few years since I've had shipped eggs.

The saddle shaped air cells develop because the air cell got detached from all the jostling during shipping. It reattaches and but will have that odd shape. The embryos will develop just fine but may have a harder time hatching. Basically make sure the humidity is good at hatchtime so the membranes stay soft and watch them. How do you prepare eggs for hatch? I normally keep my eggs standing vertically in cartons for hatch. (It prevents the chicks from playing soccer with their unhatched siblings, and helps me know exactly which hens' eggs hatched.) However I also read somewhere that the horiz position may be a little easier for the chicks to escape. I think I may test this out over the summer.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@JanetMarie
Are your poop trays removable to take out and dump? I looks like it from the photo. How often do you have to empty them?

 

[AvengingTurnip]

Hey all! Hope everyone is staying warm! I finished the coop and even managed to put some Christmas lights on it before the weather turned! I also have an Easter Egger rooster that needs to find a nice free range home. He is super alert and super concerned about the safety of his hens, I am worried about his protective nature with my two very young nephews and have no real need for a rooster. Clearly this is not a great time of year to have to rehome a rooster but it is sure worth a shot! He has a beard and is just getting his big boy feathers in....18 weeks old. Here are a couple of pictures of "Shrek".

I'm really loving the way the coop turned out. I will have to post more pics when the weather gets nicer. We've already talked about extending the run in the Spring to give them more space. I added 5 feet onto the plans as it was and would eventually like them to have even more room. We will also utilize "chunnels" to give them access to grass. Way too many hawks in this neck of the woods to do much free ranging. My neighbor two houses down has lost 18 chickens to predators in the last 4 months!

I finished my MBA the middle of December and have had construction going on in the house as a bathroom gets remodeled. Project houses are so stressful! I'm going through some job turmoil at work as "restructuring" has been announced (fingers crossed that it ends up being a positive thing) and am in the beginning stage of starting a side business with a friend from my MBA team. Exciting things ahead!

Is anyone else already planning ahead to ordering chicks for Spring? I fully plan to get a couple of Bielies and maybe a crested cream legbar for some pretty eggs!!!!

 

[Faraday40]

My Dec 2nd chicks are now a little over 6 weeks old.

Blue Orp (Poor girl is hitting the awkward stage very hard!) By the feathering & feet color, I'm beginning to wonder if her Daddy was Mr Wonderful (my laced orp roo). The other option is a lav orp cockerel - but his feet are solid slate gray like Jewel (the biological mama).


"White" continues to be my fav serama. She's sweet & calmer than the other. I have no idea what to call her mixed color of buff, white, cream, & gray.


"Chipmunk" is feisty but endearing. She still has the red wattles (tight, not dropped), but I see no other male signs, so I'm pretty sure she's female. She reminds me of her biological mama - Noodle.


Some additional "family" pics. The size differences always make me giggle.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

The saddle shaped air cells develop because the air cell got detached from all the jostling during shipping. It reattaches and but will have that odd shape. The embryos will develop just fine but may have a harder time hatching. Basically make sure the humidity is good at hatchtime so the membranes stay soft and watch them. How do you prepare eggs for hatch? I normally keep my eggs standing vertically in cartons for hatch. (It prevents the chicks from playing soccer with their unhatched siblings, and helps me know exactly which hens' eggs hatched.) However I also read somewhere that the horiz position may be a little easier for the chicks to escape. I think I may test this out over the summer.

Thanks for the input! I do hatch on the sides, and put some damp sponges in the day before hatch. I did read that they have trouble pipping externally. So I will keep close eye for the internal pip!