INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

Shelf life, according to Fertrell, is 1 year.

Based on my current feed usage, it would take me 2 years to use the whole bag!!!!! Fertrell has given me several formulas that I can use (depending on what the price of the grains are, I sometimes use some wheat and sometimes not..all organic). I've just started using their protein crumbles in the last couple of months for a better protein ratio. Also organic, no soy, and adds more variety to my feed than I was originally using.

Anyhow, I usually make up 20 lbs at a time which, rounded, takes about 1/2 lb of the Nutribalancer (really s/b about 9 or 10 oz.).

 

[Faraday40]

Miss @ellymayRans
There's so many friends we don't see anymore.
@Mother2Hens especially, what a good heart and caring soul.

I miss @kittydoc She was so kind & helped us get some wonderful Lavender Orpingtons. Her "Cogburn" was father to our best rooster ever: Mr Dummy. Mr Dummy is the great grandfather to this handsome giant:

He's very tall & now filling out. Only 8 months old, so there's a little more growing to do. He'll look his best around 18 months but he's already bigger than my female turkeys. I think he's about 24" tall when in a relaxed (non crowing / non stretching) position.



Other random pics from my day:

I made a diaper cake for our neighbor. It includes 96 diapers, a rattle, a ball, a blanket buddy, some little bath ducks, ribbon, and an elephant sensory toy thingy.

Our puppy is growing and still thinks he's a lap dog.

Here's what he looked like in November:

Our "house chicken" Cupcake is feeling better and wanting to go back to the coop. She was out stretching her legs & pecking at the glass door to get outside. The dog was outside scratching on the glass door to get inside.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Garden update onions just bunching type

Sugar snap peas and okra

Blue kale and 1 sneaky jalapeno

swiss chard and 1 little tomato, cherry type black

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I miss @kittydoc She was so kind & helped us get some wonderful Lavender Orpingtons. Her "Cogburn" was father to our best rooster ever: Mr Dummy. Mr Dummy is the great grandfather to this handsome giant:
View attachment 1645231
He's very tall & now filling out. Only 8 months old, so there's a little more growing to do. He'll look his best around 18 months but he's already bigger than my female turkeys. I think he's about 24" tall when in a relaxed (non crowing / non stretching) position.



Other random pics from my day:

I made a diaper cake for our neighbor. It includes 96 diapers, a rattle, a ball, a blanket buddy, some little bath ducks, ribbon, and an elephant sensory toy thingy.
View attachment 1645233 View attachment 1645234



Our puppy is growing and still thinks he's a lap dog.
View attachment 1645262
Here's what he looked like in November:
View attachment 1645263


Our "house chicken" Cupcake is feeling better and wanting to go back to the coop. She was out stretching her legs & pecking at the glass door to get outside. The dog was outside scratching on the glass door to get inside.
View attachment 1645232

Yes, @kittydoc is an awesome lady too. She sure shares our love of the orps! My goodness the puppy is getting huge. Tell cupcake we have an arctic blast coming hang in there a couple more days, brrr.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Also there are some like myself that forget some threads like this one that sporadically post here, BTW your right about the conversion, I was lurking around BYC before joining it, and the changed the format about the time I joined and there was an exodus then also of some old members leaving. plus you have to remember that there are some who's lifestyle or circumstances change and can't or won't come back.

Oh, I wasn't meaning to imply that was the only reason for it! It just seems like a lot of users became inactive around that time and the following months. I understand life getting in the way of posting and such. I, myself, went through a long time only posting on my own thread on BYC last year, when I was working on finishing up school. Still haven't picked back up with posting on other sites like FB.

Our "house chicken" Cupcake is feeling better and wanting to go back to the coop. She was out stretching her legs & pecking at the glass door to get outside. The dog was outside scratching on the glass door to get inside.

Is Cupcake an Orpington? Somehow, though I really don't care much for Buff Orps (or any other breed in solid Buff), that tiny amount of black patterning she has is enough for me. She's lovely!

Garden update onions just bunching type

Sugar snap peas and okra

Blue kale and 1 sneaky jalapeno

swiss chard and 1 little tomato, cherry type black

Makes me excited for spring!! Too bad winter's only just setting in!

 

[Faraday40]

Is Cupcake an Orpington? Somehow, though I really don't care much for Buff Orps (or any other breed in solid Buff), that tiny amount of black patterning she has is enough for me. She's lovely!

Cupcake's mom came from a project color English Orp (Blue Buff Colombian). The mama (named GG) was given to me as a bonus, extra egg and grew into a beautiful hen. Although pretty Buff Colombian Orps are not something I want to breed. GG stayed as eye candy. When people learn I have orps I'm always asked.... "Do you have any Buff orps?"
I've had blue, black, lavender, chocolate, mauve, recessive white, and silver laced orpingtons. Technically GG was my 1st Buff, so I guess I can now answer "Yes"

Cupcake's daddy was a lav orp. I only hatched 3 of GG's eggs and got 2 buffs like Cupcake and one black. I had planned to sell Cupcake at the end of the summer, but the kids begged me to keep her. GG went to live with a friend (Can't keep them all.) I may experiment and put Cupcake with my new lav orp to see what colors hatch. Both are gentle giants.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

My flocks, updates.
My favorite hen Mabel (Jr) a Barred Rock just turned 5 and she laid today! I was really excited to see that familiar egg in the nestbox this evening. She is my favorite lap chicken and I adore her. Her mom was an awesome bird too. Going to collect her eggs and do another test hatch on hers. This is going to tell me if Beefy her rooster is still fertile. All her eggs always hatch, all her chicks are strong & healthy. (She's quite the flirt and Beefy's favorite!) Blue my Maran is 4, and Buffy the BO is 3. Those 2 aren't laying yet am hoping soon. He also has the 5 CX pullets in his flock. They are laying great, no fertility yet. Beefy and his flock rarely hatches roosters. I'm very partial to a mutt breed chicken flock.

Foghorn (at least 5 now) and his white leghorn flock are pumping out eggs! I've got about 4 dozen eggs not including what we've ate or set in the incubator. All but 1 of his flock's eggs were fertile and growing in the incubator! So, it's already time to start freezing eggs. Pretty happy about that, I ran out in late November. I've save his most robust large & social son, and he will be ready for his own flock this year. Foghorn's flock chicks are 50/50 on sex, so I have a family that will use the roosters I can't.

EE/OE flock little to none eggs. There is 1 fertile OE egg in the incubator. They are very seasonal layers I've learned. I do like their egg colors tho, so we keep a small flock of them. Usually early March they lay very well into October. It's our first year with this rooster, so we'll see as far as chicks sexing from his flock. The Maran eggs in the incubator are due to hatch the 24th, I'm very excited to have them again. Blue will possibly become a part of that flock too. I've got 2 other EE/OE roosters in a rooster pen if this fella isn't doing his job.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Cupcake's mom came from a project color English Orp (Blue Buff Colombian). The mama (named GG) was given to me as a bonus, extra egg and grew into a beautiful hen. Although pretty Buff Colombian Orps are not something I want to breed. GG stayed as eye candy. When people learn I have orps I'm always asked.... "Do you have any Buff orps?"
I've had blue, black, lavender, chocolate, mauve, recessive white, and silver laced orpingtons. Technically GG was my 1st Buff, so I guess I can now answer "Yes"

Cupcake's daddy was a lav orp. I only hatched 3 of GG's eggs and got 2 buffs like Cupcake and one black. I had planned to sell Cupcake at the end of the summer, but the kids begged me to keep her. GG went to live with a friend (Can't keep them all.) I may experiment and put Cupcake with my new lav orp to see what colors hatch. Both are gentle giants.

Would be interested in knowing what results as well if you do cross her!

Where do you get all your unique Orp colors, by the way? Mom is always wanting me to get more Orps, but like I've said, I just really don't like solid Buff and the other colors are kind of hard to come by. I've told her I'd look into Chocolate because I like Chocolate anyway, but your birds are all just so pretty.

My flocks, updates.
My favorite hen Mabel (Jr) a Barred Rock just turned 5 and she laid today! I was really excited to see that familiar egg in the nestbox this evening. She is my favorite lap chicken and I adore her. Her mom was an awesome bird too. Going to collect her eggs and do another test hatch on hers. This is going to tell me if Beefy her rooster is still fertile. All her eggs always hatch, all her chicks are strong & healthy. (She's quite the flirt and Beefy's favorite!) Blue my Maran is 4, and Buffy the BO is 3. Those 2 aren't laying yet am hoping soon. He also has the 5 CX pullets in his flock. They are laying great, no fertility yet. Beefy and his flock rarely hatches roosters. I'm very partial to a mutt breed chicken flock.

Foghorn (at least 5 now) and his white leghorn flock are pumping out eggs! I've got about 4 dozen eggs not including what we've ate or set in the incubator. All but 1 of his flock's eggs were fertile and growing in the incubator! So, it's already time to start freezing eggs. Pretty happy about that, I ran out in late November. I've save his most robust large & social son, and he will be ready for his own flock this year. Foghorn's flock chicks are 50/50 on sex, so I have a family that will use the roosters I can't.

EE/OE flock little to none eggs. There is 1 fertile OE egg in the incubator. They are very seasonal layers I've learned. I do like their egg colors tho, so we keep a small flock of them. Usually early March they lay very well into October. It's our first year with this rooster, so we'll see as far as chicks sexing from his flock. The Maran eggs in the incubator are due to hatch the 24th, I'm very excited to have them again. Blue will possibly become a part of that flock too. I've got 2 other EE/OE roosters in a rooster pen if this fella isn't doing his job.

You're gonna be swimming in babies with all this hatching! 5 years old is pretty impressive for winter laying! All of my old girls are taking it easy. My youngest bantams and Dorkings are pretty much keeping me in eggs right now. The 2018 Marans are starting to pick back up, though, so I'm getting a chocolate egg or two daily as well. Still waiting on my OEGB hen to start laying, though...

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Would be interested in knowing what results as well if you do cross her!

Where do you get all your unique Orp colors, by the way? Mom is always wanting me to get more Orps, but like I've said, I just really don't like solid Buff and the other colors are kind of hard to come by. I've told her I'd look into Chocolate because I like Chocolate anyway, but your birds are all just so pretty.







You're gonna be swimming in babies with all this hatching! 5 years old is pretty impressive for winter laying! All of my old girls are taking it easy. My youngest bantams and Dorkings are pretty much keeping me in eggs right now. The 2018 Marans are starting to pick back up, though, so I'm getting a chocolate egg or two daily as well. Still waiting on my OEGB hen to start laying, though... View attachment 1646050

So far, 6 Maran Look good, 13 WL. Will candle that 2nd round of CX eggs next Monday when I lock the Maran down. Will also set any of Mabel's eggs then. So thats 19 possible chicks, very doable! Ive got 1 coop 8x8 empty.
The only other hatching I plan on is Muscovy, the moms do that themselves. I do have goslings coming in May, super excited to get them! Last year I had -0- fertile eggs, even after Gee came back home. I had considered not raising anymore but Dad really loves the geese, I do too.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

2 very pregnant goats, we are moving the 3 girls to the garden area for kidding. My lil baby girl Pepper is not showing any sign of pregnancy yet, but she will feel lost without her mom. Goat poop is like rabbits, it can be used directly on a garden rather than composting it like cows. We went with Premiere 1 electric netting 164ft. I use the huge IBC totes as goat houses when I move the girls around, or the boys in the summer. I'll move the milk stanchion and put up a "hoop house" to keep rain and snow out of my milking area right inside the fence. Will share pics once this is done, hopefully tomorrow.

The goat kids need trained to electric, and the charger I went with is half the current of my cow pasture charger. Its quite a jolt from the 50 mile charger, usually holds 8000 volts.. (trust me been bit more than once) I worry its a bit much for the kids. I also prefer them to have a calm quiet space for my girls to kid. My wether Red and Bucks will stay with the bull and steers. With adding the 3 Herefords and 3 calves this last year that's too many noses that need to leave a new mom and baby alone.