INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[me me me]

Thank you for the info Vickichicki if the birds good now maybe it'll stay that way. Ill make it a private coop and run so it has better odds and can't breed.

 

[vickichicki]

Well, we bought 4 'pullets' from TSC, 2 amber-links and 2 NHs, turns out they were 75% accurate. Here is an amber 'pullet' at 9.5 weeks old. The four amber birds we purchased were supposed to be girls. Obviously, by the comb (thing on the head) and wattles (things below the mouth) he is a boy. The other four were straight runs, so we knew we had a 50/50 chance. 2 white leghorns (turned out to be pullets) and 2 SLW. You can see the cockerel SLW in this picture also:


If their combs are large and red at an early age, I've found out, they are most likely boys. We are not sure what to do with our boys, but if they are well behaved they can stay. Othewise, off to freezer camp they go.
I've learned that optimum space for inside the coop is 3-4 square feet per large chicken. The more the better. Our coop is almost 4.5'x8.5' interior, so a bit bigger than 32 sq ft for our 8 birds, or a smidge larger then 4 sq ft/bird. The run should be at least 10 sq ft per bird, to keep them happy and not pecking on each other so much. We were thinking to keep our coop/run around $350, and ended up with about $1100. Oh well. At least if someone built it for us it'd be probably $2k.

Probably should have added...

I guess the recipets got added up evenutally huh.. So much for the 'free eggs'

People thought owning a dog was expensive...

 

[Too Fast]

Guess which SLW is the boy ha ha.



Couple pictures from yesterday and today. Turned out to be a nice afternoon, no rain!


^^^above, all 8 are in the picture.


Our 2 WL, enjoying some wheel time:





^^^aahhh, free ranging, looking for bugs etc.

The coop is done, the run is mostly done. Now for the clean-up and making it look better and like it's been there for more than a few weeks.
Going to do some planting, sunflowers and other things.

 

[vickichicki]

Thank you for the info Vickichicki if the birds good now maybe it'll stay that way. Ill make it a private coop and run so it has better odds and can't breed.

Hey, hope he works out ok. Tis sad to see problems like that, but it does not mean he can't be a good chicken.
Sorry to hear about him

 

[Too Fast]

I think the 'real' ratio is supposed to be 90% for sexed. Although I have been reading about people with their 0%

My original 10 girls, I ended up with 1 boy. I like those odds. I think with all my new chicks right now I have 1 definate rooster (heard him crow, he sounds like a broken alarm clock). I beleive the other 14 are all girls, although I may have to wait a while to sex my silkie.
Need to stop temping fate. I have not decided about the 5 that I got from Brad. Either all girls or all boys... I do not see any difference in comb.. Ugh...
Need a rooster??

Ha. NO rooster needed over here, already have 2. They better behave! Freezer camp has a lot of room. I've heard about the 90% accuracy rate for sexed pullets also. Kinda of waiting to hear some 'broken alarm clock' attempts at crowing at our coop. Will be funny/exciting at first, I'm sure. Later, not so much.

Good luck with the 5.

 

[vickichicki]

Ha. NO rooster needed over here, already have 2. They better behave! Freezer camp has a lot of room. I've heard about the 90% accuracy rate for sexed pullets also. Kinda of waiting to hear some 'broken alarm clock' attempts at crowing at our coop. Will be funny/exciting at first, I'm sure. Later, not so much.

Good luck with the 5.

Thanks!

I have a few pullets you can move to freezer camp for me if you like. Kinda scared to take the first plunge. Let me know if you are interested

 

[Too Fast]

Thanks!

I have a few pullets you can move to freezer camp for me if you like. Kinda scared to take the first plunge. Let me know if you are interested

Never done it either (moved any to freezer camp). Our neighbor has. I've heard of other options, like the Amish who would process them for $2/bird. Never checked that out anywhere, tho.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Its still a VERY good idea! You can do both actually, will give time for the grape vine to mature

Cluck~ pole beans! They grow crazy, but not too hard to take out when summers done. I made a fort for the kids with them and bamboo sticks last summer. They grow as high as whatever they climb. Just protect the bottoms so they don't peck them before they get a chance to climb.

Ooooo I love that idea!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Sorry for the double post, but I have what is probably a silly question. I keep seeing roosting poles set up like an angled ladder. I understand that it's so the chickens above don't poo on the ones below, but what if the chicken decides to face the wall? Wouldn't it poo on the one below it anyway? Or do they just naturally want to face away from the wall?

Not silly at all. My girls and the rooster in the main coop do face the wall usually. I put "poop boards" in under the roost, and totes under the roost/poop board for nests. My muscovy duck even lays in the nest boxes

On the ladder, I am not sure, most of my birds can jump 4 feet or more.

Bradselig- Let me think on it. I've gone from 4 chicks to 10 in a week. I think DH might murder me if I added another. Do you know if it's a pullet or a cockerel?

Busy weekend! Made it to the Wolf Lake Animal Swap for the first time and wow, was that an experience. So many interesting things and people. I wanted to bring home a couple of these Pygmy's in the worst way. Does anyone know of any other swaps or flea markets in the Michiana area?



Also, we're hoping to move to our new house this weekend and then we'll start building our coop! Any tips or tricks or words of wisdom from those of you who have built your own coops? I've gotten a lot of the materials for free, so we're hoping to do a 6X6 raised coop with an enclosed run and come in around 300-400. I think we can do it, but I know they always end up more expensive than you'd think. Do you think 6x6 will work for my 10 girls or should it be a little bit bigger? We are planning to let them free range when we get home after work and they will have a large enclosed run for the rest of the day. I was also thinking of doing some PVC chicken feeders. Has anyone tried these?

We have some listed on our member page, and there are several here in the state. Connersville has one monthly I do know for sure, and Indy, Greencastle I think also. Poultryshow.com i think is the website.

well i checked my nesting boxes yesterday and my polish layed a big egg for her size and i found a bantam egg but i have no bantams in with my LF so someone must be a new egg layer but im getting like 13-15 eggs a day now glad my dogs likes eggs lol

Wonderful news! AL, have you considered selling eggs

that's all part of the fun!

Guys, I am so worried! I am a noob with chickens, hopefully much less so than when I bought them, but when I bought them, I was assured that they were all female. I did buy a couple straight runs, but just a couple. Now I fear, in addition to the one Roo I bought, that I have FOUR supposedly "female" Roos. One of my gold wyandottes has a very red (I always forget what that is called, on top of their heads) thing, and the only Roo I bought is a Silver Wyandotte, and his is very red, but the other two are more of a pale pink/peach color. Then my two D'uccles have a very red, very large one, and one of my leghorns has a bigger and redder thing than the other two! I am now looking at the straight runs, and I am just like, Oh God.......I can't even bring myself to take pictures, because I don't know what I'll do if they are boys! They are all very tame, sit on my lap, get petted, etc.

You are spot on and that's their comb on top, waddles under their beak/chin, I see some roos too

It is hard to let them go! Are you limited on your total chicken count? I have tons of roos now too but am hatching every week.

 

[me me me]

I just sent a full cow and half a hog to freezer camp so ill just have to let the Roos live awhile. For their sake I hope the freezer stays full awhile because I got the # to a freezer camp preparedness technician and he's cheaper than feed for a non layer.