INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Old Salt 1945]

Love my guineas and I don't think I will ever be without a flock of them. We live in the woods and they are great at controlling the tick population.

Between them and the peacock, nobody arrives unannounced here.

I'm trying to figure out how to keep the guineas here and not flying off to Galveston. I was thinking of cutting flight feathers on one wing on each bird and then letting them loose in the chicken yard. An alternative is to pinion them like I did the pheasants 30 years back, but my heart is a good deal softer nowadays (along with my head).

I have neighbors about 180' on either side on the barn. 4 acres, but 180 x 1000 feet; long and skinny.

Suggestions?

John

 

[Quinstar]

How old is ''she''?

A little over 5 weeks I think

 

[EmSteele]

Wellll, if you insist.

Rangi

What breed is black with white tips in 4th picture?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

That is Rangi, my little Ancona. She's the one in the last picture as well.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Thanks for the advice about the bad eggs. I went ahead and threw them in the incubator a few hours ago. And after letting them set for aomewhere around 24 hours the air sacs son't look the best. I dont rember who said something about hoping I didnt pay too muchfor them, I paid $36. Not a huge amount, but it is still like throwing money out the window lol. But on the plus side I got my other eggs I ordered today. In perfect condition. And they are only somewhere between 4-6 days old. And no broken ones. I wish I would of say the post that I got this oder from before I order the duds. Because I spent $1 less and got 3 more eggs! If I wouldn't of bought the dud eggs Iwould of justbought 30 eggs for $55. Live and learn lol. Yesterday I went and got 2 salmon favorelles and 2 russian orloffs. They are doing great.I named the SFs salmon and tuna. And the ROs hawk and sparrow. So far my favorite is tuna. She is such a sweet heart. She constiently sits on my shoulder. while i feed and water them too. She never hopes off. When i want to leave i have to make her get off my shoulder. The orloffs are a little skitish, but are starting to warm up.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Cheap Ideas.

Plastic buckets can be had for little or nothing if you go to a doughnut shop and ask them. The bakery in Lebanon throws their buckets in the dumpster and the owner said I could have all I wanted, but he wouldn't save them for me. I drilled a 45 degree hole in the end of a broom handle, drove a long screw in it to make a hook and use that to hook and retrieve the buckets. The lids are usually with or near the buckets. The buckets will range in size from 1 to 5 gallons, usually 3.5 gallons. The chickens have told me that they are particularly fond of the raspberry flavored buckets. I have a friend who is a prepper who eagerly scoops up all buckets I don't use. I make him clean the icing from his own buckets......usually.

Door latch. Chickens are not usually very impressed with fancy door latches. Try this:




See the white 1x2 just above the door handle? It is held to the door frame by a deck screw with a washer on each side. 1 for a bearing, 1 to keep the screw head from working it's way through the 1x2. Even an enthusiastic coyote likely won't break it. Now that I think on it, I probably should have used some of the oak I salvaged from pallets.

As you can see, I built the henhouse under the stairs. It was kind of wasted space. Now it's unwasted..... and full of bird poop.

The door is made of some scrap MDF board I had in a pile of boards. If I had 3/4 plywood, I would have used it. The opening is covered with 1/2x1" hardware cloth. There is a plywood insert that can be placed in the door to block too much airflow. It is there in the picture. Note the keeper latches that hold it in place. No sense in enriching Menards unnecessarily.


Note also, above, the $10 Walmart fan for circulation. I drilled a couple of holes along the top of it and screwed it to the door with some long construction screws. Probably won't fall off until the wood rots. By then, I probably will have, too -- rotted, not fallen off, although that may also be a possibility.


The roost doesn't have to be particularly strong. Chickens don't weigh much. My uprights could have been 2x2's but I didn't have any and was too lazy to rip them down. I did rip some 2x2's for the roost poles. Then I notched them at 45 degrees with a bunch of close together cuts and knocked out the chips. That made them set more or less flat so a not to be uncomfortable for birdie feet. As you can see from the photo, I could have used some help getting them parallel. I intend to hit the sharp edges with a sander, but the sander is in the house and I am in the barn. It's nearly 150 feet and I won't undertake such a trip for just one thing and I can never remember it when I'm in the house.



It is a poor posting indeed when baby bird pictures are not included, so here ya go.


Do count your chickens before they have hatched. After they have hatched, they won't hold still long enough.
Pictured are about 5 each of GLW, SLW, Blue Cochin, Buff Cochin, and Black Jersey Giants. At this stage, rather like Jumbo Shrimp.
Note the icing buckets made into feeder and waterer.

Blue Cochin and Old Coot.












Indian Runners.


Guineas.


Dog wanting Guinea dinner. I inherited this chicken tractor from someone who no longer needed it. Free, I can afford that! Heavy as a stone. I use the tractor to pull it around.


Maybe I can get Piped to come to Lebanon and take some good pictures.

John

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

you can also use 5 gallon buckets for nesting boxes. and i saw this video on you tube. You can get 18 gallon totes and cute a chicken sized square out. Then you can stack the totes on top of eeach other or bolt them to a peaice of wood and sit that on cemet block so that it isnt on the ground. Then when you go to collect eggs you just openthe tote and reach in and grab the eggs. I was like wow that was so simple and the sad thing is I know I wouldn't ever of thought of it lol.

 

[BackyardBitten]

I have been thinking lately on maybe making my own scratch and was wondering if anybody had any advice. Is it cheaper to make your own scratch? Where can I buy the ingredients to make a fair amount of scratch? Any advice would be appreciated!!!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Catching up... can u tell?
Quote:

Just a quick share to the group before I make a tea and start ranting about stuff...

My beloved porcelain D'Uccle

My newly vocal rooster... No denying this is a guy.

My smushy Silkie. Do you think he knows he has poop in his hair?

Not convinced this one is a chicken. My favourite.... 'The Crow'

Why not share an EE'er too right....

Enjoy!

what cutie pies, and yep, I see that glowing red comb!

Yay! I just came in from spending some time with the girls and I found my very first egg!!!! Boy, what a feeling! It's perfect nag green!




Next to a store bought large egg

Than a photo bomb!


Valentino just had to see what I was making a huge fuss over.....he approves!

So darn exciting!

congrats!

I have chickens hatching and hatched. A touch later than expected most likey from the power going out. Still I woke up to 25 little chicks and 7 eggs still left to go.
if anyone on here wants them they are $1 each I have them listed on CL for $2 each. Who knows maybe greenwood will change their laws and there will be a jump in demand for chicks. Either way, I'm learning more about this incubating. I'm hoping to sell enough chicks this summer to pay for my 1588 incubator to use come January.


Happy Holiday to every one out there. Thank you to those of you that serve or have a family member serving.

greenwood needs to get with the times, Indy allows chickens! ugh. Good luck on the sales, I keep calling farm stores to see if they still sell chicks

be glad when they all stop, competition!

Quote: Haha! gave me images of my banty rooster Butters tying my feet in duct tape, and letting all the birds out to escape! Na, butters hates the turkeys

Theres several different opinions and theories on the length of time to hold eggs before they are not viable. It even varies between county extensions!
I think the seller is going off what they believe but I would ask the questions too.
Any eggs i sell for hatching I keep under 7 days.. but I do know it can go out longer on fowl with a longer hatch time.

sending good hatch vibes!

Quote: X2 but its geese and guinea here! I would LOVE to get peafowl, Looking into it this year yet.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

I have been thinking lately on maybe making my own scratch and was wondering if anybody had any advice. Is it cheaper to make your own scratch? Where can I buy the ingredients to make a fair amount of scratch? Any advice would be appreciated!!!

www.backyardchickens.com/t/775176/alternative-to-scratch-feed/

11 pages of discussion on the subject.

Best place for buying ingredients would likely be a local feed mill.

John