INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Mother2Hens]

I hate to say it, but the stance and the size of the comb (at 5 weeks!) tells me it is a roo. I would advise you to get one a little older if it has to be a pullet. I would be terribly upset if I spent $60 and KNEW I couldn't have roosters and it turned out to be a roo.

I just PMd her and asked for a photo of its head/comb. Jchny mentioned that she'd like to see a better photo of the comb. Yes, I have to be 100% sure before I spend that much. I'm just justifying paying that much since it will be a pet and I have a limited pet flock size. Thanks for you input!!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Guineas, LOVE THEM! I have 4, my pearl hen Quasey I pick up, hold, she comes to me.. But I raised her as a chick. if an ant crawls on my leg, wham its hers lol! Bug problems, especially ticks they sure take care of. This is going to be a bad year for ticks, seen several on me and DH has had a few on him. I used mealworms, lots of them when she was a baby. She is more timid than a chicken but trusts me. My 3 whites are 2 cocks,1 hen. Got them at 8 months old. Their names are Jeckyl, Hyde and Prissy

They are wild. All 4 stay put here but do travel the whole 5 acres, fly and do their job. I don't clip wings ever, I want them to be able to escape a predator. The cocks are dangerous around my GLW rooster, just him, they try to kill him. These guys were not raised with chickens like Quasey was. Between the geese and the guinea, any visitor is loudly announced. Usually tho, they "trill" its a very quiet pleasing sound. I have about 20 eggs in the incubator now, and will probably not sell more than a few

Mine do return to their little coop and roost, They really like the barn rafters. They spend a good amount of time up in our big cottonwood tree too. They are comical, fun little birds, if you imprint with them, you will really enjoy them.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Oh, and I wondered how friendly guineas are? I was thinking of just picking up a few grown birds so they can get right to work eating those @*$&#*@!$& ticks. I definitely don't want chicks, but I'd be ok with getting ones that are ready to go outside, but still pretty young if that would make them more friendly.

My husband sent me this today and I thought I'd share. I couldn't stop laughing cause this will probably be how we end up...

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/12/the-great-guinea-hen-massacre/307754/

Loved this story!! Now I feel pretty lucky! Less numbers seem to be the key in keeping them home.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Foxes

I was just PMing with jchny about foxes...I found this site that has some good info. I didn't know coyotes hunted foxes. It does say that foxes live in family groups in the summer... I like that the article gets to the point of things I would want to know.
http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/directory_show.cfm?species=redfox


Guineas
I loved the The Atlantic guinea story, too! Have subscribed to that magazine for years. Not sure I'd want them unless I had plenty of acreage. haha Like jchny said, if they're raised from chicks and bonded with you, that would be fun.

Great Book for Summer Reading!



My sister gave me this book because she's urging me to write and illustrate some of my chicken/animal stories, which will probably never happen and they wouldn't be nearly as good as those in this book anyway. I reccommend this book especially for newbies who can relate to her experiences from coop design to fretting about all of the possible diseases a chicken can get. The illustrations and photos are an added bonus. Your local library likely has a copy. I'm posting a couple of sample pages from Amazon:













Some reviews:
“Once Upon a Flock has a clear message: Chickens are people, too. They form bonds, have spats, make new friends and even fall in love. Prepare to be charmed and even moved by the story of these birds, so much so, you might find yourself the proud owner of a couple of chicks.”

“From the first page, Scheuer and her flock are the next-door neighbors you wish you had. Witty, charming, and constantly delighted by the antics of her backyard hens, Scheuer perfectly captures the joy and heartache of backyard chicken-keeping in her art and writing. “

 

[animallover2202]

Jsummer: awe darn :/ oh well ill find someone sooner or later

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Mother2Hens posted: I’m sure that everyone is tired of me saying, “I only have five hens,” which indicates my strength and willpower of not caving in to buying every chick I see unlike our thread members. HaHa However--- because of peer pressure and pipd’s relentless posting of "adorable chicks doing this, adorable chicks doing that, etc., etc.," and because of [COLOR=008080]vickichicki[/COLOR]'s taunts, I am going to add two new girls. I’ve posted these thoughts before, but am getting close to acting upon these maternal urges. Since seven hens will be my absolute limit since I live in a subdivision, I am planning to get "fancier" (more expensive) breeds. I need the discerning eyes of BYC members to help me with my first selection...
[COLOR=B22222]Sex Experts Please
I am planning on purchasing a Jubilee English Orpington Greenfire Farms line pullet from a BYC member, chickenridge (chickridgefarms.com). Since I’ll be paying $60, I want to be SURE I am getting a pullet. I’d love to have a baby chick so I could challenge pipd with cute photos, but it will be safer to purchase the 5 week old.

Here are photos she sent [COLOR=006400]The owner, chickenridge said, "The 5 week old Jubilee Pullet in with the 1 week old Jubilees and a Maran, they are doing great. These Orpingtons are very gentle."[/COLOR] This is a random photo from the Internet, which shows a full grown hen:[/COLOR]

It's hard to tell for sure with such small pictures, but I agree with babymakes6, this bird looks pretty manly...

 

[babymakes6]

Quote: Good-I would also like to see a better head shot.

 

[CRSelvey]

very nice! Love the new chickens as well particularly the white with red! I wonder if those are red shouldered Yokohama?

Hi Bradselig, I just posted some pics of them on another thread and I was told that they are Red Pyle Old English Game Bantams. I checked out the Yokohamas, but I think mine don't have quite the pretty tails that a Yokohama has. Now that I've seen them, I wouldn't mind though, lol.

I'm really fond of the red/brown ones with the black tails, which appear to be another color of the OEGB, and the black Rosecomb. I probably have more than I need, but I just wasn't ready to see them get shot for flying out of the yard. It seems like its harder to place the roos, but I don't mind them as long as they are working on the bug population here.

http://www.oegclub.com/photographs

My DH sat in the yard today and asked me exactly how many chickens do I think I want and what comes next??? I'm not sure if that was a trick question.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Ooooh I have a red pyle OEG hen, they are very pretty little things. She is very inquisitive and friendly. Love the OEGs, they all fly up on my arms n shoulders when I go out to the coop. Same with my sebrights. Love em.

 

[bradselig]

Blue laced red wyandottes are out! I'm splitting this act with countryhen19, and probably sell any left overs if there are any. Here are some pics. Still have 5 in the bator drying out and more still hatching!

And my favorite picture

These chicks are from one line I got and the ones still in bator are another line. These are currently being brooded with the silkies that hatched a few days prior. I really don't want o set up another brooder to keep other line separate so hinting of leg banding them. I wish I had the spiral bands but didnt think about it earlier so thinking of using small zip ties but very nervous to do so. I guess if I left them loose enough and watched it shouldn't be an issue. We will see. I figure if hey are brooded together I won't have issues integrating them later on when I set up breeding groups.