INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[bradselig]

Have 7 happy birchen Marans in the hatching incubator. Hoping ill come home from work to find the last 4 out!

 

[mlongworth]

When is the connersville show? That one isnt to far from me. Im allowed more chicks yay for mothers day. But ive got my heart set on some columbian plymouth rock eggs so maybe i shouldnt go it might just get me in trouble.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

I have never hatched raised or owned quail so I'm not very helpful there. As far as guineas go I have 10 right now and I love them! They are loud for sure. But when they give off a warning alarm all my chickens run for cover. So I look at that as a plus. Guineas also love bugs. They even eat ticks. Which is another plus in my book. Iv also read that you can garden wth guneas. They will eat the bugs but wont bother your plants. Iv not tried that yet though. Iv seen people talk about guineas being aggressive towards chcken and its possible they could be but iv never had a problem with mine. Iv actually noticed they will groom my turkeys. I can't go out and pick mine up and hold them but I can say chick chick chick and they will either run or fly to me and some will eat from my hand. Plus they are just so funny to watch. In my opinon their good qualities out weigh the bad. I also hear they taste good but iv never ate 1.

Thanks for sharing your experience -- maybe there aren't as bad as we thought they might be, judging from the comments that have been posted. We'd still need to figure our how/where to house them. They do fly? So is it possible to keep them in a fenced in pasture or will they fly over?

 

[Quinstar]

Welcome! I maybe able to help you out with a SL wyandotte roo if your close to me

I'm beginning to believe that there's not a bird out there that you don't have!

 

[chickentender1]

Seeing those photos of the chics up on there roost taken from below seems like a good time to catch a quick look at their undersides for any problems--oil leaks or skin problems. Yes ?

 

[PeacefulWalls]

Just thought I'd share one of our family's most recent endeavors for whoever might be interested... Church Community Service is an outreach organization in Elkhart. If anyone has heard of the Soup of Success program (to train & empower women in need) or has purchased or received a gift of their soup or cookie mixes, this is their headquarters. Their food pantry also serves as the Food Bank of Elkhart County. Last year a new program, Seed to Feed, was started and has just exploded. The goal was to provide, in addition to all the processed foods donated to the food pantry, fresh & local produce as well as local sources of protein, which is missing in the diet of most of the clients they serve. And, unfortunately, the number of families with food insecurity that are being served keeps increasing. Their pantry alone serves over 2300 families each month. Elkhart County has approx. 1 out of every 4.5 persons in need (around 33,000 or the equivalent of the entire city of Goshen!) If you want to learn more about these programs, their website is www.churchcommunityservices.org

Here's where some of you may feel inspired:
My daughter was inspired by the Seed to Feed program and is committing herself to plant 4 raised garden beds, each 4'x8', with various veggies and will donate everything she raises to the food pantry. (She's hoping some of her church & school friends will want to help, too!) She & I attended a Seed to Feed meeting about a month ago to find out more about the need for local protein. Currently, the Food Bank receives eggs from Culver Duck Farm and most clients enjoy receiving the duck eggs. On our visit to the pantry on Tuesday, we were told someone had donated chicken eggs last year, but sold their chickens for the winter. I got the impression that they were not receiving any other egg donations. We took 8 dozen extra eggs with us to donate & were told they'd all be taken by clients by the next day. We're hoping to be able to make egg donations on a regular basis -- one of the reasons why we got so many cinnamon queen & isa brown chicks this spring! We're hoping they will be prolific food bank egg layers for us this year!

The Food Bank would also gladly receive donated chicken meat. We're not quite set up to get meat birds yet, although I'd still like to this year. If we have the space I'd like to raise a few to donate as well. The Food Bank provided the website of the organization, www.hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org. It lists processors who will process your meat (poultry, deer, livestock, etc) for free if you are donating to a food pantry. You can go to this website and enter a county in Indiana to see if there is a local participating processor near you.

Just some food for thought, if anyone has any extra eggs or meat birds, check out your local food pantry & see if they are able to accept your extra bounty!

 

[bradselig]

I'm beginning to believe that there's not a bird out there that you don't have!

haha. There are still a few I dont have gotta figure out which breeds I like before settling lol. I have two SLW roos but wilk probably be processed when they get the size

 

[me me me]

haha. There are still a few I dont have gotta figure out which breeds I like before settling lol. I have two SLW roos but wilk probably be processed when they get the size

I've counted over 90 breeds a mating pair of 90 breeds would be a full time job

 

[me me me]

And

I've counted over 90 breeds a mating pair of 90 breeds would be a full time job

Them you add the chicken factor to that equation and you need 2 other full time jobs to afford feeding them

 

[itsjustme]

They are pretty decent flyers. I don't know your living situation. I live a quarter mile off the road I'm surrounded by woods and fields. My guineas free range night and day. We have fences all over for horses and cattle and my guineas always fly right over them. Someone else feel free to chime in here if you no. Iv heard you can house guineas with chickens and put them in a run 6 foot high the chickens can't get out but the guineas can. Is this true? Maybe an inclosed run would be best? Iv never tried to get mine to just stay in 1 yard. Getting them to rooste. That's a completly diffrent battle. Lol I hope this helps some.