INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Guys, I am still thinking on peafowl this spring but want to go with chicks, or eggs even. Is anyone else still considering them? DH wants me to hatch eggs, but is ok with chicks too. He flat nixed the whole idea of adults, he wants us to be able to imprint on them. Sooo now I am looking again. I told him I want a flight pen, so when they cannot be out the have plenty of room. We are also looking into pheasant and the permit involved in keeping them..

Well, as a matter of fact, I was just thinking about them and doing some research the other day... I don't know if I've mentioned here, but my parents gave me the okay to put a barn up in a few years (it's their property) and so I've been daydreaming not only about it but what I can put in it. So if you do get Peafowl, you may have a future customer for hatching eggs or chicks.

While researching, I found this thread most helpful: Peafowl 101

 

[racinchickins]

I just got a phone call about a meet and greet in mooresville tomorrow.  I did not catch all the details as my child was very loud.  Anyone here know anything about it?

I bet they are talking about the "Poultryfest", that I am hosting. They got the day right, but the month wrong. It's July 28th. When I get home tonight, I'll post the invite again. It's about time for a reminder anyway. Actually I believe you are the only one who has sent a pm to me on that so far. So this will bump the procrastinators.... Lol

 

[vickichicki]

I bet they are talking about the "Poultryfest", that I am hosting. They got the day right, but the month wrong. It's July 28th. When I get home tonight, I'll post the invite again. It's about time for a reminder anyway. Actually I believe you are the only one who has sent a pm to me on that so far. So this will bump the procrastinators.... Lol

See, why does someone have to mention procrastination? Sending you a PM.. Now

 

[PeacefulWalls]

Brad was hatching chicks for me in the hopes of getting a few lavender. Unfortunately only one turned out to be a lavender, but the others were so pretty I had to get one of each color! My 4 new babies came home Wednesday & I love them!

lavender orpington







chick from lavender orpington roo over speckled Sussex hen





chick from lavender orp roo over lavender orp hen




chick from buff orp roo over lemon cuckoo hen


Hope I got all the roo/hen cross/colors right Brad! Can't wait to see how they all turn out -- and hopefully they're not all roos! He also finished hatching quail for my daughter & I took home another 19 chicks for her. Thanks for the hatches!!

 

[kabhyper1]

People are so strange now a days. It is clear from the road that we have chickens. Well about an hour a go this unknown car pulls in stops like they are just going to turn around but then drives all the way to my back garage barn. Thankfully my children hear cars in the driveway and run to the windows expecting Grandpa. When it was not who they wanted they come and tell me mom there is someone here for YOU. When I look out there is a teenage boy and girl maybe old enough for a driving permit just walking around my yard looking at my chickens. They were nicely dressed and the car was a newer one. I did not see any boxes or crates so I don't know if they were planning on taking the chickens but I think not. I went out and asked if they were lost or needed directions. They said they just wanted to see my chickens. I nicely tried to explain an extreme bio safety approach to chicken keeping and asked them to leave since my chickens had never been exposed to their germs.
I have to wonder what the police would do if I called in and said I think someone is trying to steal a chicken from me. Maybe they were just hoping for eggs, either way I did not like it. I would have gladly showed them the chickens if they would have knocked and asked.

That is so weird! We live up a long drive also, and I have been apprehensive about putting a sign at the end with our farm name on it. We call it Harmony Lane Alpacas. I just know as soon as I do that we will have all kinds of unwelcome guests. You can see the coop and the barn from the road, but so far we haven't had any trouble. The family we got our alpacas from have black tire marks on the road in front of their house from people slamming the brakes, and reversing right into their driveway to see the animals, as if they run a public zoo. I love showing off my feathered and fluffy kids, but with an appointment lol!

 

[kabhyper1]

Man its only been two days, and I was 101 posts behind!! You guys have been chatty this week lol .

I was wondering how you all interact with your roosters? My sl/ wyandotte "Gus" is becoming a hormonal teenager. He isn't mounting hens yet, (Booker, my silkie just started, it's pretty comical. It looks like a chihuahua trying to mate a great dane) Anyway Gus is starting to assert himself a bit more in the flock. No fights at all, but he does push the hens a bit and is following people around at a distance. I initially thought he was just curious about what we were doing, but he did the little wing dance at me the other day, and I walked toward him and made him move out of my way so he wouldn't think he won the dominant post over me. Now when I go out I make him move away from me. I love him a lot and do not want to end up having to rehome a pushy rooster. He is 4 months old. Am I challenging him, walking at him when I go to the pasture? Or is that what I am supposed to do to show him who is boss?
He is very sweet, especially considering his buddy is a 5 month old silkie rooster. They even crow at the same time.

 

[vickichicki]

Man its only been two days, and I was 101 posts behind!! You guys have been chatty this week lol .

I was wondering how you all interact with your roosters? My sl/ wyandotte "Gus" is becoming a hormonal teenager. He isn't mounting hens yet, (Booker, my silkie just started, it's pretty comical. It looks like a chihuahua trying to mate a great dane) Anyway Gus is starting to assert himself a bit more in the flock. No fights at all, but he does push the hens a bit and is following people around at a distance. I initially thought he was just curious about what we were doing, but he did the little wing dance at me the other day, and I walked toward him and made him move out of my way so he wouldn't think he won the dominant post over me. Now when I go out I make him move away from me. I love him a lot and do not want to end up having to rehome a pushy rooster. He is 4 months old. Am I challenging him, walking at him when I go to the pasture? Or is that what I am supposed to do to show him who is boss?
He is very sweet, especially considering his buddy is a 5 month old silkie rooster. They even crow at the same time.

Never back away if he puffs up at you, in fact you should head towards him, show him you are not scared. My roos do not go for me, just give me a wide berth. They will come close if I am doing things but stay just out of reach.
I have an issue with my Tom turkey. He hates me and he knows I know it. He rushes the fence at me. Does not do it to DH. That's what I get for not being more assertive to my role in the pen. If I had the guts I would head in there, pin him to the ground to show him I am in charge. It would take a few goes, but eventually he would learn I was top dog and he would stop being such an idiot.

 

[kabhyper1]

Never back away if he puffs up at you, in fact you should head towards him, show him you are not scared. My roos do not go for me, just give me a wide berth. They will come close if I am doing things but stay just out of reach.
I have an issue with my Tom turkey. He hates me and he knows I know it. He rushes the fence at me. Does not do it to DH. That's what I get for not being more assertive to my role in the pen. If I had the guts I would head in there, pin him to the ground to show him I am in charge. It would take a few goes, but eventually he would learn I was top dog and he would stop being such an idiot.

He hasn't rushed me so far, so I hope I'm nipping it in the bud before it would ever get to that point. He likes me fine, he is just testing the waters. I just didn't want to be challenging him by mistake by making him move out of my way walking at him. I do have to turn around and walk the other way at some point though lol! I didn't know he he would take that as me backing down. He stops walking away from me when I stop walking towards him, if that makes sense.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Well major update

Momma turkey took the chicks like her own. I am dead excited about this.

All I have to worry about now is whether they get enough food and water in the pen.

I did sneak a picture of the chicks under, however it is on DH's phone. Hope to post it soon.

Really had some reservations about it working... Who knew!

I'm so happy it worked.

Good and bad news good news I mowed the lawn for the first time and I found and caught 4 kitten there wild so it was a bit of a challenge hand caught 3 and caught 1 in a live trap bad news is I cant keep them but they will go to an animal shelter where they'll get tamed there shots and fixed

good news about that is that they wont kill my chickens

I'm looking for a couple of girl kittens or cats. If you have not taken them to the shelter yet, I would love to see them.

Quote: I sprayed mine with a hose a few times and they got real scared of me. but without the hose head in my hand or pocket they were not as scared. We still ended up rehoming some of our full grown roosters for various reasons. Then the owl attack now I'm down to too many teenager and younger roos and no mating roos yet.

About the peafowl, I googles some images and found one that looks like a bride in a flowing wedding dress. For no other reason than that I recommend these. http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/images/Peafowl/Peafowl Home/Silverpiedmale.jpg They are lovely and not the standard ones found in coloring books. I don't have the right set up or enough space for both chickens and peafowl, but having miniature brides in my backyard would be cool.

I now have 3 ducklings. And I have to say my production RIR chicks were cuter than the khaki ducklings when they first hatched. The ducklings don't look ugly now. But when they first hatched my son asked me why I got the ugly duckling when it turns out to be a swan.

 

[pbirdhaven]

Greg Hopkins has beautiful peafowl; that's where I got my breeding stock, except for 2 hens that I bought locally last year. His are expensive, but you know what you're getting. I only bought the locals because I had more cocks than hens.
Now a note on eggs and chicks: peachicks are more delicate than chickens. I don't sell any before they're 3 months old, and I have lost them beyond that age as well. Once I bought a couple of 3 month olds, and they were fine, but other than that time I only buy yearlings. Mine don't free range, as a neighbor about a quarter of a mile away as the crow flies also has them, and they hear the others. I just found one of his peahens in my yard a few weeks ago trying to get in with mine. She had escaped when he was going into the pen. He has also captured escapees from my pens over there--they even had a wing clipped and walked to his place through the woods.
The only time that I sell eggs is if I am going to a show or swap and have a few extras, which is rare. My hatch rate is terrible--chicks develop and then die before hatching. I had my best luck with a Brower Top Hatch incubator--7 healthy peachicks out of 9 fertile eggs the first year and 22 chicks the second. Then that incubator gave up the ghost and I bought a Sportsman; haven't had good hatches since. Think I need to get the Brower repaired.
In my experience the mutated varieties, such as the silver pieds, seem to be less hardy than the traditional ones; my whites and silver pieds only lived 3-4 years. My opal pair has been hardy but don't produce fertile eggs often. Somebody needs to show him what he's supposed to be doing!
Others with peafowl may have a different experience; that's just what has happened here.