INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Quinstar]

I realize that I have been lucky not to have had a coyote kill my chickens and that I might have a different outlook if I had. This thread is one where members feel comfortable expressing different points of view, which is beneficial in keeping our minds open. I certainly understand why members defend their livestock by killing coyotes and other wild animals. Before joining this thread I had a closed mind and felt completely against it. The recent discussion of coyotes prompted me to research coyote behavior and I want to share this information-- not to protest against killing them, but to offer insight and perspective.

http://www.predatordefense.org/coyotes.htm

There you go again... .speaking to my I love anything that's fuzzy side. A friends wants to hunt the coyotes in our woods this fall and I haven't decided if I'll let him or not yet. We're eventually going to fence in the entire back yard so I'm hoping that will help with any predator situation. I really think it was a hawk that got Tansy so my rage against the coyotes is dwindling. It's always frustrating trying to find a balance with nature when it's so easy to simply impose our will on it.

 

[bHen]

I am looking for a couple of roosters... hatchery stock is OK! I need 1-2 of buff orpington roosters and a silver laced wyandott. They will be well cared for and have plenty of ladies waiting on them! I am 20min north of Indy and looking for someone close by! Please pm if you have anything!

 

[Quinstar]

Do overly amorous teenage roosters chill out with age? Gus is not buying them dinner first, if you know what I mean! I have been hearing hen screams for a couple of weeks off and on now. My poor new hens haven't layed an egg since we got them from Cluck. I am thinking they are afraid of Gus. He is also taking his job as flock protector a little too seriously and will follow anyone who walks up our drive all the way up and down the fence line. He went after my friend the other day and she picked him up and held him. He walked away after and didn't bother her again. (I think it embarrassed him in front of his girls). He doesn't ever come at me or my husband since we started holding him under our arm while doing coop stuff. He will occasionally wing dance at me but gets scooped up immediately. He is very humiliated by that I think. Any way, I have no plans on re-homing or killing him. I just hope it's hormones and he relaxes with age. If anyone decides to respond to this, please no freezer camp or stew pot etc.. advice. I've definitely heard enough of that. I would love to hear if anyone has had good experiences with their roos though. Thanks!

Carl is hands down the sweetest one in our flock. Granted, he's only 15 weeks old but I'm praying everyday that he doesn't change. As soon as I figured out he was a roo I made sure that he was handled all the time. Every time I'm in the yard with them I scoop him up and tuck him in my arm while we all walk around. I don't know if this contributed to his good personality or if all roos are like them when they are young. I guess the next couple of weeks should tell.

I'm having the same problems with my cockerel, Spurs. He's a BO and about 17-18wks old. He was always the sweetest and friendliest until a couple weeks ago. He decided he didn't like the girls coming over to us anymore and sitting on our laps. He's in "jail" (rabbit pen) right now in the coop with eveyone else. The girls love being able to be around us. Hate seeing him separated but am loving the peace. Trying to figure out what I want to do.

This is not what I wanted to hear! If Carl starts acting poorly I might cry.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

To those with rooster problems, it's been my experience that they do settle down once they've had a chance to mature. If it was me, I would build a bachelor coop / pen for them and just keep them separate until they're over a year old, at which point they should be a bit more mature and better with the ladies. This all depends on the breed, of course, because some are just more aggressive than others, but I've noticed that mine have calmed down significantly once they're around 1 1/2 years old.

 

[Quinstar]

Thunder Chicken~ Good to know. What breed has already started laying for you?

 

[Thunder Chicken]

[COLOR=008000]Thunder Chicken~[/COLOR] Good to know. What breed has already started laying for you?

Red sex-link.

 

[Crafty chick]

anyone near columbus have some fertile eggs? i have an orp girl go broody, andwould like to add new blood to the flock. any LF would be good

 

[DarthLayer]

This is to everyone who is interested in my EEs. They haven't been sold yet. After the eggs in the incubator have hatched ( they are hatching this weekend and I go into lockdown today woohoo!) I plan on putting some EE crosses in there if anyone is interested.

Update on white hen
I have been giving her electrolytes for awhile now and is slowly improving. Nothing seems injured in her legs so I think I might buy a baby pool that's deep enough so she can swim, under my supervision, and rebuild her leg muscles after typically sitting in one place. Also I forgot to mention her name is Lola.

 

[kabhyper1]

Do your hens show any injury or loss of feathers? That is the most important thing. How many hens (ratio) to roos? It will give your girls a break if you confine him, but he will be right back at being a roo once you let him out. If theres no signs of either injury, I would just continue to watch. If you have the ability to separate him, you could let him rejoin them only during range time if you allow free ranging.

I haven't seen much damage, he got Jules (His best girl ) A little on her comb, but she is fine now. He only seems to be interested in her and the new Chocolate Australorp , Godiva. He doesn't mess with our EE or the other two Sl/ wyandottes or the cochin. So there are 6 girls and him in the large fowl coop. I Just took two mix roos back to Cluck and he gave me the two new girls, so Gus is now the lone roo out there. If I confine him alone in the coop or run, he has a fit. I really don't want to make it worse by separating him. We really like him and he is beautiful. When I let them out in the mornings he will come down the ramp dancing but I either pick him up or run my hand down his back and walk through him if he tries to stand in my way. It seems to be working. My main concern is when my nephews and niece come over. They range from a few months old to 10. The older ones want to help feed the chickens, and Gus really tries to test them. Now if he does that I pick Gus up and hand him off to the kids to hold and it has seemed to lessen the pushyness. Also they free range with the alpacas on a 5 ft fenced half acre from morning until evening, but seem to enjoy hanging out on their roosts in the run, and dust bathe in the sand. I have lazy chickens.

To those with rooster problems, it's been my experience that they do settle down once they've had a chance to mature. If it was me, I would build a bachelor coop / pen for them and just keep them separate until they're over a year old, at which point they should be a bit more mature and better with the ladies. This all depends on the breed, of course, because some are just more aggressive than others, but I've noticed that mine have calmed down significantly once they're around 1 1/2 years old.

I really hope that is the case with him. I can't really build a bachelor coop since I now only have one LF Roo. I did that on purpose. I wanted a small amount of hens, so I knew I could only keep one roo with only six hens. I aslo have a silkie coop with 5 girls and Booker my roo. But I don't think it's a good idea to put Gus and Booker back together. They get along fine, but Gus is too big for Booker if they would fight. Should I get another roo? I have the option to get my blue Cochin boy back. Maybe having some competition would chill him out.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Interesting article. They are quite stunning to see, and yes, beautiful. You do a second look "aww a Shepard? WAIT! OMG no!! its a coyote!" But very deadly and overpopulated. They will take toy breed dogs and cats without hesitation, even if on a leash. Our land here has no rabbit, chipmunk or squirrel due to the shortage of food for coyote, and the fox breeds. they are an urban survivor for sure. But my eyes have opened to not rescuing orphans of the predator breeds, knowing now what they can do to farmer's and my livestock. I do still respect their beauty and intelligence, but will protect my animals against them any way I can.

Kinda reminds me of the folks that live-trap feral cats, neuter them, release them, and complain that there just don't seem to be as many songbirds as there used to be. Must be the pesticides. Couldn't be the 200 cats per acre.