INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Old Salt 1945]

ok boy do i have avlong syory to tell ou guys. I went out to the chicken coop friday and found 3 dead chickens at the door ( pixked clean of all meqt) . then i found 1 outside near some trees dead ( pixked clean of meat) . and two missing without trace. rhe dau before i found feathers from 3 chickens vand they were missing. And today two mauled inside the chicken coop and 1 missing. I have 4 adult chickens left!

My guesses were nebiors dogs that i have called the sheriff on before twice for eating my ducks and chickens and they still continue to not chin them or keep them in house. So they are avpossibility. I was alsi thinking a fox or racoon. I ruled out avhawk because they couldnt pick somethingvthat big clean id meat in a night plus they wouldnt go in the coop. Rule out ground hogs because the are herbivores. I ruled out cyotes because they wouldnt go in the coop because they too skitish ( i constantly have avradio playing outside too) A weasel couldnt eat that many chickens. Do you guys have any guesses? Remember the picked cleanvofvmeatvdownvto the bone. Also whatever it is it must not be too afraid of humans because i have a radio playing( human voice). And it has to be able to fit through a lf sized chicken hole.

Someone suggested a game trail camera. You could use this to find out what it is and the time stamp to determine when it comes around and be waiting for it the next night to discourage it's return.

 

[wheezy50]

Like everyone always says, you miss this thread for a couple days and you have a lot of catching up to do! I'm behind on my pictures but will try to take and post some soon. My new coop build for the bantams is almost done, its been taking a lot of my free time. Also got the kiddie pool out for the peking ducks. They seemed to like spashing in the edge of the pool, but they never ventured completely into the water. Guess it wasn't warm enough for them today.

I also got my cornish cross chickens butchered over the weekend. I decided to try raising some for the first time this spring, and probably won't be doing it again! These birds just seem so big, dumb and slow compared to the layers I have had the last few years. They rarely ever left the side of the feeder. They would scratch around with the other birds for a minute or two and then straight back to lay by the feeder. Some had rubbed their feathers off the breast/belly area from laying down so much. I started with 8, one turned out to be in the wrong bin, it was a light brahma. Two more died of unknown causes before a week old. One more died for no apparent reason last week, could have been a heart attack, I dont know. So I only ended up having 4 to butcher, definitely not worth the trouble for only 4 of them! If I ever try this experiment again I would want to go in with some others and do 40 or 50 of them at a time. I guess these will still be better than store bought since I know what, for the most part, they ate. And I know they had a good comfortable life here.

 

[Too Fast]

Ok there we go!

Nice pictures. I like the roost branch. Do they all try to crowd up on the high end?

I've been trying to catch him, but so far he only wants to crow as I'm getting ready for work. I kept him because he is absolutely enamored with me and will sit on my knee and sing for me. Only now I suppose that his "singing" was him practicing crowing

But he didn't do any identifiable (at least to me) crowing until the day John came and picked up my other roos!

He was holding back since the other boys were around, maybe. Nice that he will sit on your knee. Ours are all too skittish for that, except for the smallest one (Solo) who won't run away when approached.

.this last couple days must have been the new roo time for crowing. My little guy here started yesterday morning. Right on this antenna tower.... outside my bedroom window. My millie roo started 4 days ago. Only one left is my silkie. I think it's a boy by the fluff on it's head. Boy am I glad my only neighbor is hard of hearing!

Ha. On the antenna tower right by your bedroom! What an awesome place to crow. If I were a rooster, and I knew I'd not end up in freezer camp, this is where I would crow also! To let my owner/protector know it's morning, of course.

 

[Too Fast]

Today's additions to Coopocalypse 2013:

Cut and attached the nesting box.

Tomorrow will be figuring out the hatch to get into it and mounting the two roosts.

We're in town, so we have a 5 hen limit. Hopefully, 4x4x3.66 feet is enough space in the coop so that they won't start roosting in a box.

We're going to have a black jersey giant, a salmon faverolle, a barred rock, a buff orpinton, and a silkie! (First timers so we're inordinately excited

)

Should allow 3-4 sq ft per hen coop space, so you got it barely. We are inordinantly eggcited around here also!

Sooo, funny chicken stories!!

I went down to my brooder today, my hens are getting quite big! It was dark, the heat lamp had become unplugged (they are fully feathered, so they don't really need it. But they're in such a big pen I use it as a light.). As I approach the brooder I see a huge, two pronged looking claw. I thought it might be some sort of shovel or gardening tool, but as I look closer, IT MOVES. I promptly freak out, and then realize my two friendliest hens are perched on top of the brooding box. I need to get the coop finished! Or at least get some perches in the brooder until the coop is done! Darn my lazy husband!

Does anyone else's roosters do a funny rooster dance? I thought mine was having convulsions. He puffed up, arched his back and started twitching his head. Then the other one did it. I will have to take my camera down to capture it, it is literally the funniest thing I have ever seen a chicken do.

Doing convulsions lol. And you gotta watch out for those claws! This morning I counted 16 attempts at crowing. Emphasis on attempts! Then a bit later, I heard 2 sounds that were strangly like a crow, almost like a bark! Wonder who did that? Gotta find out. It wasn't a crow.

 

[Too Fast]

A just build it story for too fast:

So I just about finished building a temporary run for the feathered trouble makers. Found out that 25 feet of chicken wire is not as much as I thought it was. I came up about 3 feet short of finishing the top. It was a comedy of scrap using errors out there. I approach carpentry like I do baking, measure? why would I measure it looks right? I had 12 matching 3 foot scraps from menards to make a run out of. Changed my mind and started using some lathe boards that have been sitting out in the garage for years. went searching for screws to do it "right" since my husband was complaining that the nails would split the wood. Ha, only screws I found were not long enough. So I started looking through all the nails in the garage. (My father could fix anything with baling wire so he left me a working knowledge of making it work and a garage full of goodies) Found some that would work. Made a possibly 8 foot long, 3 foot wide 3 foot tall box. Ran chicken wire around the edges and top with the staple gun.
I would have had the whole thing done in about 2 hours but I am just short of the right amount of chicken wire and 1 board to install the slide door I wanted to use. the framing boards I bought before I got the metal sign and they are not long enough on their own.

I will try to post pictures tomorrow when I get it outside.

Too funny. We kinda went the opposite way with our supplies, we still have some that need to be returned. Sometimes you gotta make do with what you have, there are some places on our coop like that but I won't tell anybody. Just Build It, indeed!

We've never had chickens before, so we're looking forward to seeing them grow into adults!

As for the Silkie, seeing as how there would only be one I think we're going to opt out of that one for its health and well being. She was supposed to be a gift from the folks who are raising up our other chicks. I think we'll politely decline as they have four including that one.

All the tips are very much appreciated!

Moving forward, I've taken a stab at laying out the inside of the coop. Anyone feel like having a look and see if I'm doing anything really wrong?

Thanks for the helping hands!

Remember that nobody will want to roost on the lower bar, they don't want to be submissive that way. Looks good tho, but I also wonder what those mysterious grey boxes on the right side are.

 

[hogster160]

Nice pictures. I like the roost branch. Do they all try to crowd up on the high end?

Thanks. Yes they do, in fact, I went out to check on them before i went to bed last night and I only counted 5, was missing one of the white girls, I don't know what kind of bird she is lol, but she was missing. Anyway I went in and found her roosting at the highest point between the studs of the wall. I couldn't see her through the door. Silly birds.

These 6 are from RK, they were marked light brahmas. Being new to chickens, I had no idea lol. Anyway found out through BYC they are either tetratints, rocks, or leghorns. Well the brochure RK gave me about the chicks came from one company out of Michigan. And none of the three options listed do they sell. They did list a California Grey, so I am waiting to see what color egg they lay to decide what they are. Doesn't really matter to me, but I still would kind of like to know. Theyare getting their earlobes in and they appear white, is that of any help to me? Lol not really. As long as they lay eggs, I'm pretty much happy about it.

Deb

 

[vickichicki]

Too funny.  We kinda went the opposite way with our supplies, we still have some that need to be returned.  Sometimes you gotta make do with what you have, there are some places on our coop like that but I won't tell anybody.  Just Build It, indeed!
Remember that nobody will want to roost on the lower bar, they don't want to be submissive that way.  Looks good tho, but I also wonder what those mysterious grey boxes on the right side are.

I am curious of the boxes too... Chicken detainment area? Send them there when they have been bad. Get to watch the others frolicking while they think about what they have done.

 

[vickichicki]

I keep seeing people suggesting cats as a possibility for the chickens, I am sitting here thinking... No.. I just don't see it.. They are private eaters and will drag off whatever they kill and hide it while they eat it.
However...depending on what part of indiana you live in and how rural the location you can not rule out a bobcat.
Not sure why I did not think of that last night.
I keep thinking domestic cats... I guess I was basing that off my location and what would eat my chickens here.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Depending on whether this is an option for you, you could get a single wireless camera for the coop. I found this on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Wireless-Color-Camera-Microphone/dp/B000YM2OIK/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1369019092&sr=8-15&keywords=security+camera.. Although the reviews are crappy for this particluar model, for about 50 bucks you could probably find something basic. Like this http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Game-Inn...&qid=1369019493&sr=8-38&keywords=trail+camera

It will not stop whats happening, but it might give you insights on what it is and how you can go about protectring the birds from ti happening in the future. I tihnk keeping them indoors and locked up is the best thing to do at the moment, With the remaining live chickens I am sure whatever it is will be back to finish the rest off real soon. Keep a good eye out.

thanks for the advice and website links i will definatleu be looking in to those

 

[SkinNFluff]

[COLOR=B22222]Welcome to new members! salt, vodkalady, Skin N Fluff, Zeke, Racinchickens, CCCCCHickens~ I am sorry if I left anyone out. We are glad that you all have joined the Indiana Thread![/COLOR] [COLOR=B22222]Do you want to be listed on the BYC Indiana Members’ List? [/COLOR]
“Being a member of this thread” just means adding your screen name and flock info. It's helpful because the members list is a spreadsheet format that lets you sort the list by breed, county, or other category. It’s an easy way to find other members who have the same breed you have or who live in a nearby county, etc.

Click on the link below my signature to view the list. Just look at the bottom of the list page for sorting options.

If you’d like to be added, send me a PM (personal message) by simply hovering your cursor over my screen name: Mother2Hens, and you will see “Send a PM.” A personal message ensures that your info is added. Please send your screen name, county, and city. Also include the following information about each member of your flock: List each species (chicken, duck, etc.), breed (Barred Rock, etc.), is it a LF (Large Fowl) or Bantam?

[COLOR=800000]Indiana[/COLOR] [COLOR=FF0000]County[/COLOR] [COLOR=800000]Map for instant member location and/or Avatar[/COLOR]
If anyone would like a map of your county and/or for me to make an avatar for you, I am happy to help. Just PM me. The maps and avatars are totally optional. Many members are using the little map icon with their county in red because you can quickly glance to see where another member is from. I personally find that when I read posts from members who just list their city, I still have no idea what part of the state they’re from. The visual of the county has helped me since I can’t remember where every town is located(!)

Just wanted to note. i'm not new. just had a username change to signify the new start in our lives. old username was LowClassCC. i would like to have you make me a new avatar with the state on it. i will message you when i decide on a pic of on of our chickens i would like.