INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Mother2Hens]

Oh no, bradselig will see my post!

Yes, that looks like the poop link -- I recognized the stock photo of the woman who appears on tons of chicken-related sites. Thanks for poo, I mean posting the link. I will ask jchny about adding another helpful link to the members' page.

OK, it's someone else's turn to post too much . . .

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Oh no, bradselig will see my post!

Yes, that looks like the poop link -- I recognized the stock photo of the woman who appears on tons of chicken-related sites. Thanks for poo, I mean posting the link. I will ask jchny about adding another helpful link to the members' page.

OK, it's someone else's turn to post too much . . .

LOL! I really wish I was still sleeping but....oh well.
M2H I need to learn how to edit a link so it says what it is. CluckAcres is so super busy I know he hasn't had the time to do it. The older I get the harder it seems to figure this stuff out!
If I have missed any new members, WELCOME!

I try to read every single post, but I know I miss some.
The gnats are super bad here and am using a whole lot of vanilla. Sure glad we learned about this early on, and thanks to the original poster! My hog pasture is right next to a creek, so they are getting sprayed a couple times a day. Porky my Hereford boar loves it, I swear he is smiling with his new Cologne

Roxy and Widow run from it and play the catch me game, stinkers!
The biting flies are terrible too. I bought my goats the Bronco spray, Sugar has a bare spot from scratching with her one horn, poor baby.
Bocephus is tail waggin and stompin so I know he is uncomfortable too.
Good news is hay and alfalfa prices are WAY lower this year, super happy to see the roadside signs going up! Hope everyone is seeing the same..
I am anxious to see the next hatch, have 18 bourbon red turkey in the incubator due on Monday! My turkeys seem to hatch early and the guinea are too. Just set 60 more coturnix quail, and have 8 more hatched so far!

Looks like I will have to purchase hatchery geese if I want more this year, my girls have stopped laying. I have 4 white Chinese gosling I am keeping, a few eggs left in the incubator. Anyone have brown Chinese? I am sure looking for hatching eggs.
OOOh forgot to add, I love my pekins! have had 2 hatch so far (thank you, jsummers!!!!) they are just precious lil babies! They have such cheerful lil personalities, and wow they grow fast! I am nearing the end of the eggs since the brave drake was taken by the fox, but will sure have a handful of babies maturing this spring.
Will try to post pics this weekend if one of my daughters are home.

 

[Too Fast]

Bummer-- they had taken the coop post down before I had a chance to see it.

This part is purely in jest:
You may have noticed that some of us on this thread have pet chickens that we anthropomorphize as though they're our babies. Others on this thread, like bradselig for example, have issues forming bonds as they hatch eggs and hatch more eggs and subsequently rid themselves of undesirables. Others, like Too Fast for example, lack the ability to empathize when their chickens' knees are knocking as they shiver in the freezing cold while their feet turn black. : - )

This is really how I winterize the coop:
Since I have a disorder in which I view my chickens as humans, I used two heat lamps over the winter, depending on the temps. I used the standard clip light fixtures with aluminum reflectors and attached them to beams in the sleeping/laying box area. HOWEVER I wrapped wire around all sections of the fixture that could potentially come apart and wrapped all the wire around the beams. I made sure the fixtures were in safe positions and ran the plugs out a section of hardware cloth where I cut a notch out. Our coop is bolted to the garage and an outlet is right inside. There is plenty of ventilation, and the hens had the option of moving close or away from the heat. I used a ceramic heat emitter bulb that we had from our former bearded dragon. It was nice because it produced heat, but not light. The other fixture held a red heat lamp. I remember seeing a link on here about colored lights, but I forgot to write it down. I also wrapped some winterizing sheets of plastic over many areas to keep wind out, but I had plenty of open areas for ventilation. Plus, since I have a small flock, I keep the coop clean daily.

SUMMER
From what I've read, summer heat is more dangerous for chickens that winter cold. Our first summer with chickens was last summer's heatwave and drought. For warmer temps like they've been lately, I've used two small clip-on fans that attach on the outside top of the coop where they blow into the sleeping/laying box area, and I sometimes use a large metal fan that sits on the ground outside of the coop. During the severe weather last summer, we set up a large market umbrella on a stand right next to the coop. We clipped a misting line around the umbrella and to a nearby tree. Having a fan blowing upward near the misters cooled the entire area. Every afternoon I set out some cold watermelon slices for them (and I put paper umbrellas around their water bowl-- kidding). I did set out extra water bowls during the day besides having their fountain thingy in the coop. Note: Last summer we had to order a mister online because they were sold out everywhere locally. The one we ended up with wasn't the greatest, so we recently bought at new one while it was available. Misty Mate 32' system $35 at Sam's Club.

Ha. I love my chickens too, 'sprecially now since they have started with egg production.

However, there are 2 roosters crowing in my back yard right now, and that was not part of our plans. Maybe I should record them so later if they commence to crowing for hours I can play it for my hens when the roosters disappear.

 

[bloonskiller911]

Quote:
welcome to the thread!! i'm sure you will find some one close to you with some chickens for sale. good luck!!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I will say again--heat lamps are an unnecessary fire hazard in your chicken coop! It doesn't matter if they are bolted to the ceiling, they can set fire to the dust that accumulates on them or even that floats through the air! Dust can get in outlets or where a cord is plugged into an extension cord and pose a fire hazard! And improperly employed extension cords, such as ones meant for indoor use that are used outside, can be a fire hazard! Chickens really don't need the help in winter--really! Don't take the risk!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

On a lighter note, anyone want to compare Hika Ma's earlier crows with this morning's crow? I don't know if this is an improvement or not.

June 7, at 26 days old:


[VIDEO]

This morning, at 40 days old:


[VIDEO]

 

[ldymelissande]

just walked outside today and all 8 are on the perch snoozing.

I stopped leaving a light on for them at night and they seem to have figured out its time to sleep. yay!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I will say again--heat lamps are an unnecessary fire hazard in your chicken coop! It doesn't matter if they are bolted to the ceiling, they can set fire to the dust that accumulates on them or even that floats through the air! Dust can get in outlets or where a cord is plugged into an extension cord and pose a fire hazard! And improperly employed extension cords, such as ones meant for indoor use that are used outside, can be a fire hazard! Chickens really don't need the help in winter--really! Don't take the risk!

We used a heat lamp last year to keep our water from freezing. The light was aimed at the water not the roosting area at all. The chickens were fine with the cold but they did need water. To each their own. This year I plan to look into a water heater but I make no promises.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Bummer-- they had taken the coop post down before I had a chance to see it.

This part is purely in jest:
You may have noticed that some of us on this thread have pet chickens that we anthropomorphize as though they're our babies. Others on this thread, like bradselig for example, have issues forming bonds as they hatch eggs and hatch more eggs and subsequently rid themselves of undesirables. Others, like Too Fast for example, lack the ability to empathize when their chickens' knees are knocking as they shiver in the freezing cold while their feet turn black. : - )

This is really how I winterize the coop:
Since I have a disorder in which I view my chickens as humans, I used two heat lamps over the winter, depending on the temps. I used the standard clip light fixtures with aluminum reflectors and attached them to beams in the sleeping/laying box area. HOWEVER I wrapped wire around all sections of the fixture that could potentially come apart and wrapped all the wire around the beams. I made sure the fixtures were in safe positions and ran the plugs out a section of hardware cloth where I cut a notch out. Our coop is bolted to the garage and an outlet is right inside. There is plenty of ventilation, and the hens had the option of moving close or away from the heat. I used a ceramic heat emitter bulb that we had from our former bearded dragon. It was nice because it produced heat, but not light. The other fixture held a red heat lamp. I remember seeing a link on here about colored lights, but I forgot to write it down. I also wrapped some winterizing sheets of plastic over many areas to keep wind out, but I had plenty of open areas for ventilation. Plus, since I have a small flock, I keep the coop clean daily.

SUMMER
From what I've read, summer heat is more dangerous for chickens that winter cold. Our first summer with chickens was last summer's heatwave and drought. For warmer temps like they've been lately, I've used two small clip-on fans that attach on the outside top of the coop where they blow into the sleeping/laying box area, and I sometimes use a large metal fan that sits on the ground outside of the coop. During the severe weather last summer, we set up a large market umbrella on a stand right next to the coop. We clipped a misting line around the umbrella and to a nearby tree. Having a fan blowing upward near the misters cooled the entire area. Every afternoon I set out some cold watermelon slices for them (and I put paper umbrellas around their water bowl-- kidding). I did set out extra water bowls during the day besides having their fountain thingy in the coop. Note: Last summer we had to order a mister online because they were sold out everywhere locally. The one we ended up with wasn't the greatest, so we recently bought at new one while it was available. Misty Mate 32' system $35 at Sam's Club.

What? Don't you care about you chickens' comfort? No air conditioner for the coop? I'm ashamed for you. I won't even broach the subject of central heating. Some people are just uncaring tightwads.

John

 

[Quinstar]

What? Don't you care about you chickens' comfort? No air conditioner for the coop? I'm ashamed for you. I won't even broach the subject of central heating. Some people are just uncaring tightwads.

John

We just started installing indoor plumbing for ours last night. Unfortunately the cable guy can't get out till next week so they are stuck with basic until then.

Bradselig is picking up my guineas from Little Ameraucana Mom today and I can't wait to pick them up tonight! Thank you so much to both of you!

We have 4 more upright panels of hardware cloth to get up on the run before it will be ready for the chickens. Hoping to have it all functional by the end of the weekend. I've been letting the chicks free range when we get home after work since we are outside working on the coop anyway. Last night I decided to test their intelligence and didn't return them to the coop before going inside. My kids all got straight A's last night! I was watching my neighbors chickens to see when mine should start heading in for the night and sure enough, all my kids hopped right up into the coop for bed. I was so proud! I know that this is just what chickens do, but I really thought mine would be confused on where to go and what to do. Instincts amaze me sometimes. I wish the puppy would pick up on things this fast. Bonus for me, no more chasing chickens that want to stay outside!