INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Old Salt 1945]

Are you guys referring to my post? Because I never said there should be a law.

Nah. I was flapping my jaw.

John

 

[Kiniska]

So who else here has fans on their chickens right now? Mine spend most of the day under them.

 

[MillerBirds]

????? Very sleepy hen who is walking lopsided. Thoughts?


She is a beautiful full fluffy BO who I believe is molting as no egg laying is going on these days and there is little white downy feathers on her lower back. Just noticed her walking lop sided and then stopping and being very still. Picked her up with no protest at all. She cannot even keep her eyes open. She is now in the chicken hospital...sleeping or so it seems. She did wake for a minute and take a few bites of food.
Just odd behavior.

 

[Quinstar]

Quinstar, that's a nice looking coop so far. When you have it finished, you will be proud that you didn't make any compromises. You will have happy chickens who will give you plenty of eggs! I am a little worried about how far the hardware cloth is buried. Everything I read before building said to make sure it is at least 2 feet down, or about 2 feet out horizontally. We did the 2 foot horizontal thing, and have found no evidence of digging creatures yet. Also I agree about how fast that price adds up for the hardware cloth! We were going to do the whole run like that until it was priced out, then decided 2x4 wire is good enough. But now, our 18 week old chickens are roosting outdoors, I'm worried about racoons or something getting them while they sleep close to the 2x4 wire. Oh well.

And I agree. Really, 42 posts since this AM!!!!!! Very active thread.

Yeah, I read between 1-2 ft. My neighbors coop has a 4 ft 1x4 fence around it and the coop is never closed up at night. As far as I know they've had minimal issues with predators, so I'm hoping that 1 ft down does the trick. If not we can always do some type of garden boxes or pavers around the run to help if we see any digging. Even with all of that I still close up the coop every night. I think the longer we have them the less paranoid I'll be about something being able to get to them, but for now I close everything up like a fortress.

Coop looks great!

How old are the guineas now? What is the protein % of both the chick feed and game bird feed? What if you just mixed the two feeds together at a 1:1 ratio? Honestly you'd probably be fine just feeding one feed or the other. I've heard of people using high protein starters for their chicks and people using chick starter for their keets. I think the higher protein would definitely be better for the keets but don't think it would hurt the chicks.

Regarding the Roos eating layer feed, I'm to too worried about this. If you are use a flock raiser feed and put a dish of oyster shells for them to eat when hey need it.

Thanks! I was thinking of doing this, but I wasn't sure if I could.The gamebird feed is 24% protein and the chick starter is 18%. The keets are about 13 weeks old now. They crack me up. They are some of the funniest little birds and wow are they quick. I'm really glad we ended up getting them. Using the flock raiser instead of layer feed makes sense. Do I need to worry about the Roo eating the oyster shell? I've read that they aren't always the smartest about what they eat.

Ours do that too! My DH thinks they are inspecting his every move. It's pretty funny. For not liking them much we joke that he's turning into the chicken whisperer

Yeah, DH has grown quite fond of our chickens. He even comes out with me at night when I secure the coop to make sure everyone is ok and accounted for. It's amazing how these birds worm their way into your heart.


So, when we first went into this whole chicken experiment I really didn't want a rooster. I thought we'd buy sexed chicks and be 100% ok. I knew there was a chance that we'd get one, but it my head we had all girls. I really wanted some blue/green eggs so we made sure to buy a couple EE's. I thought, if we end up with a roo, as long as it's not one of the EE's, then that might be ok. I probably have only myself to blame. Caroline (one of our 3 EE's) started looking a bit masculine, and now I can't imagine not having Carl. Hands down this guy is my favorite. He is the first to run to me, he loves to be held and will just sit in arms, and he is quite the looker. I had no idea I could love a rooster so much. He's just hitting 3 months old and is starting to develop his saddle feathers. Can't wait to see what he looks like when he's all grown up. I even forgive him for the fact that he won't lay eggs.


Seriously, he's a stud right!?!? (I think I'm abnormally attached to my rooster)


My only question is will his personality change as he matures? He's just the sweetest guy and I make sure that he gets held everyday, because I really don't want him to turn into a mean roo. Since I've never had one I have no idea what to expect from him as he grows.

 

[browncow15]

Sent 9 of my last 10 roos to freezer camp yesterday. So glad we got it done because today it's raining cats and dogs!
I finally made it to TSC to get some oyster shell for the girls. It's been on my to do list it just hadn't gotten done We've had two more perfect allbeit small eggs since the shell less one though, and my done has beat daddy to getting both of them!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Nah. I was flapping my jaw.

John

O, I was just wondering. I was tired when I typed it, which I usaually am tired because most of the time I get on late night or early morning lol. So I wasnt sure.

 

[HouseKat]

Freeze empty drink bottles with water and put into their waterers. helps a lot to have cooled water. make sure there is plenty of shade, and room for each bird to relax. Dust bathing is important too.
ETA oops some of thats already posted LOL!

My chicks are now three weeks old, can they start doing dust baths now?

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Yeah, I read between 1-2 ft. My neighbors coop has a 4 ft 1x4 fence around it and the coop is never closed up at night. As far as I know they've had minimal issues with predators, so I'm hoping that 1 ft down does the trick. If not we can always do some type of garden boxes or pavers around the run to help if we see any digging. Even with all of that I still close up the coop every night. I think the longer we have them the less paranoid I'll be about something being able to get to them, but for now I close everything up like a fortress.


Thanks! I was thinking of doing this, but I wasn't sure if I could.The gamebird feed is 24% protein and the chick starter is 18%. The keets are about 13 weeks old now. They crack me up. They are some of the funniest little birds and wow are they quick. I'm really glad we ended up getting them. Using the flock raiser instead of layer feed makes sense. Do I need to worry about the Roo eating the oyster shell? I've read that they aren't always the smartest about what they eat.



Yeah, DH has grown quite fond of our chickens. He even comes out with me at night when I secure the coop to make sure everyone is ok and accounted for. It's amazing how these birds worm their way into your heart.


So, when we first went into this whole chicken experiment I really didn't want a rooster. I thought we'd buy sexed chicks and be 100% ok. I knew there was a chance that we'd get one, but it my head we had all girls. I really wanted some blue/green eggs so we made sure to buy a couple EE's. I thought, if we end up with a roo, as long as it's not one of the EE's, then that might be ok. I probably have only myself to blame. Caroline (one of our 3 EE's) started looking a bit masculine, and now I can't imagine not having Carl. Hands down this guy is my favorite. He is the first to run to me, he loves to be held and will just sit in arms, and he is quite the looker. I had no idea I could love a rooster so much. He's just hitting 3 months old and is starting to develop his saddle feathers. Can't wait to see what he looks like when he's all grown up. I even forgive him for the fact that he won't lay eggs.


Seriously, he's a stud right!?!? (I think I'm abnormally attached to my rooster)


My only question is will his personality change as he matures? He's just the sweetest guy and I make sure that he gets held everyday, because I really don't want him to turn into a mean roo. Since I've never had one I have no idea what to expect from him as he grows.

Sometime theirpesonalities change sometimes they dont. I have a cockerel who gets nicer as he gets older.He is seperated and when I grab the feed bowl He hops on my hand. He is such a good boy, he is a mutt. Your EE is very pretty, quite a looker lol.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

It is raining like crazy here. And the wind is really strong. I locked all the chickens up. I think they are getting tired of all this rain lol. Because I usually dont let them out when it is raining, even though they like to run in the rain, like little goofballs. But usually when it rains it storms and I am not letting them go out when it lightnings. My power has went out twice already and I have eggs in the incubator that are supposed to go into lockdown tomorrow

. But It only went out for a minute each time. So I'm not really worried but It is kind on nerve racking when it does. because you dont know when it is going to come back on.

 

[Indiana Dave]

Where did you get your ccl eggs from? I picked up 4 pullets and a cockerel about a week old from a lady in Illinois last week as well as some eggs to hatch. Hopefully better luck hatching this time around.

Was she in Ashkum,IL? I am going to pick up a dozen ccl eggs from her on Monday. Sounds like might be the same lady.....I hope they hatch well for you!