INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Oh my, 24 hours

I love doing it too, but I can't seem to find the time anymore!
Sally, try offering a free carton of eggs for like 6 undamaged empty cartons.
I am only doing friends and family right now, but it sure worked with them!
I offer it like once a month and it really builds them up fast.

Quote: The thread sure does, I went camping overnite and fell way behind!

We are at 35 chickens and firmly holding. Our oldest girls have beautiful red faces but no eggs yet :-/ Playing the waiting game is NOT something I'm good at!

Before you know it you will be eating a LOT of eggs!

Wow, am I behind on reading posts! Have had family in all week and trying to get birds ready for the state fair. I think that they're checking in today but hope that they're still taking them Monday AM--catalog said all cooped by noon Monday.

Yeah, M2H--way to go, girl!

Good luck at the fair

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Forgot to mention that I ordered some peepers on Ebay. 10 with the pliers for about $14. Seems like a good deal compared to others I saw online.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321182213224&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

Yesterday I spent the whole day making a poop box and filling in the run with pea gravel. I literally lifted more than a ton. Twelve 50lb. bags(wet) of pea gravel onto the cart, again into the car, again out of the car into a wheelbarrow. Eight went straight to the coop from there. Four went to the back porch while I completed the poop box. Then 3 went into it. That is a lot of lifting for this old man.

Be sure to draw eyeballs on them with a Sharpie pen.

John

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Can I feed raw fish parts to my girls and guys? Going fishing and was just wondering if my chickens can benefit from anything besides my leftover worms! They are LOVING the zucchini and apple leftovers from the back yard!

I bring the catches home that we don't process too. Some species have no size or catch limits due to overpopulation. (bluegill, yummm!) and give my birds the whole fish.

Well I got rid of all my chickens:'(

I am so sorry. Hope things change for the better, and please don't forget about us. You have learned a lot and helped others learn too!
I know you will have a more chickens in your future.

Well its been a busy weekend. I was supposed to take three roosters to Old Salt on Friday night but my kids told me we were going to a movie instead. Both ideas got hijacked because we needed a bridal shower gift for Saturday afternoon. So, I sent John a message that I would come on Saturday morning. I got up, got ready, got the roosters in the truck (with the help of my DH) and my girls weren't finished getting ready no matter how I mothered them until an hour after we were due to leave, so out of the truck the roosters went and off to the bridal shower we went. My husband kept them in the chicken tractor all day because I had already let the beautiful Cochins and Wyandotte that I got last time at Old Salt's house out into the chicken yard.

First, I can not say enough about those Cochins. They are the sweetest and softest birds ever. Everyone knows the Wyandottes are lovely but the cochins are just beauties that I did not fully appreciate until I brought them home. Having said that, these are pretty gentle and timid. I thought it might be a good idea to let the roosters out because it was almost their bed time and boy what a mistake. My roosters took one look at them and it was just horrible. I could not believe how fast three roosters could gang up on one bird since they don't do that to the two girls I already had. I could not get the girls out fast enough. It made me sick to my stomach that they were that aggressive in just the couple minutes it took me to collect the new girls. I was so mad last night I could almost have done them in myself (if the kids weren't there). I told my friend about it and she said they were processing all of their chickens today and that I could bring them over to their house. I'm going to miss one of them for the chick that he was, but not for the adult he became. Is it wrong to leave his pic on my avatar as a memorial? So now we are down to two roosters, six hens, and three undetermined chicks (I think two pullets and a cockerel but I'm obviously bad at this).

So, long story short, my kids don't know the roosters are dead (cause I'm the chicken) and Old Salt, I will not be stopping by with chickens, but I'd still love to show my kids your birds when we make it to the feed store. What a nice place you have. And finally, I really wasn't flakey before I had kids and while they aren't the only factors here, they are my major reasons for being untimely. Is that even a word? Oh, and my MIL thinks I need to toughen up and think of the birds as food instead of pets

Ugh, take your time, It is morally hard to face. It upsets me to process any of the birds but I remind myself why mine are here. I have a rooster day this week, and some of my boys were first hatches for me in February. I am seeing too much rooster fighting and hens with picked necks so its time to sort them out.

you will know when you are ready to face it. Its hard for young children to understand, I started at the grocery store with my oldest DD, now 31 years old. We bought whole chickens and roasted for dinner. She was really happy to help cook and loved the meal. I had CX meat chickens then, and I explained that those birds are the same we just ate for supper. And how much better it was for the birds because we loved them, and let them live a fun life instead of living in a tiny cage.She understood, and only was worried about 1, Popeye (1 eye never developed) Popeye was around a few more years but stopped laying around 6 years old. She lived her life out at grampa's house.
Oldest DD was maybe 6 years old at the most. She now helps me process,and has no fear of any of the birds here and understands its part of life in general. If you want safe healthy food for your family you raise and process yourself. My youngest DD, nearly 21, is appalled by it all but she sure eats dinner when its ready!

We lived in town while she was growing up and didn't have the same experiences.

Quote: LOL another addict is born, and has chicken math disease already!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Our chickens seem to have enjoyed the grass clippings (chemical-free, of course) and they got their first taste of tomatoes last night. They didn't take an interest when we first set them out, but this morning they were all gone. Tomorrow I plan to give them some zucchini that we got from the same FOAF who gave us the tomatoes.

I really must get some new pictures taken, the girls are getting so big and I want y'all's opinion on one of our BA's being a rooster or not.

Oh please do share, love the pics!

It was 26 ...don't have a compute to update it....but the insurance say there a pest

UGH thats just wrong.

We have a miniature doe that will be available in a few weeks. Born July 18th. She is so cute! Can not put her out with her Daddy.

Adorable baby

We have a roof! Well, mostly.

We didn't get a whole lot done today, but we did pick up some siding to start getting the walls together!


ETA:



Oh, and here is the inside, too!

Love all the windows and light, looks awesome!

 

[Too Fast]

We are at 35 chickens and firmly holding. Our oldest girls have beautiful red faces but no eggs yet :-/ Playing the waiting game is NOT something I'm good at!

''...and firmly holding.'' lol. You will have so many eggs you won't know what to do with them! How old are your girls?

You Posted pictures and I missed them !!!

I just don' t get on here enough to keep up with you guys. I do have a little black Frizzled rooster for sale if anyone is interested $5.

Thanks. We had one that had so much white it looked mottled, but as it got older it lost the white, My daughter was hoping it would keep the white , She now wants a mottled frizzled bantam ameraucana !!!! No pleasing this child !!

''They get what they want, and they never want it again!'' That's actually a Courtney Love lyric, if anybody knows who that is. That's what my daughter is doing to me, wanting a frizzle. Are they timid chickens?

We are looking for frizzled, but NOT A ROOSTER! I sure like the peace around here since both our roosters are gone, but I do wonder if having one would protect the flock from the Cooper's hawk that's taken an interest in our coop/run.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

We went to the State Fair today. Saw our daughter Irish Dance with her troupe, Celtic Motion. She did a mean treble jig solo!

Also saw the CHICKENS!! My loving DH helped me find the ones I am interested in getting and took a real interest in the info I've gleaned on BYC, then he saw the Polish chickens and, from his expression, I think I may have a real chicken man on my hands! He wants to come back Tuesday night to see the results of the judging. Hurrah!

Oh I bet that was so fun for DD! Bet she was pretty excited too i am sure. SOOOOO awesome when the DH gets interested, mine is loving the whole egg and free range difference.

So every egg our EE has layed so far has been double yolked. 4 now. I guess twins are in her genes. lol Does anyone know how a hen lays a large egg ad hen the next day lays two soft shells?

WOW i have yet to get one! New pullets tend to lay soft eggs, increase the protein and free choice calcium until their bodies adjust.

Got another egg today with some blood smears on it. Waited until everyone was cooped up for the night and went in and checked all the girls to see if I had a prolapsed vent. I saw no sign of one at this point. So hopefully it's just a 'new layer' thing and it will get better. On the brighter side, didn't see any mites, and it allowed me to confirm who was laying and who has not started yet. I also got the chance to get a real close look at my Welsummers, and it was fascinating to see all the new feathers coming in on the one who is molting.

Really think it is new layers, my BAs did the same. They didn't do pullet eggs, just started laying normal eggs. I love the "ugly" stage, its just amazing to watch the chicks grow and change.

 

[Too Fast]

We have a roof! Well, mostly.

We didn't get a whole lot done today, but we did pick up some siding to start getting the walls together!


ETA:



Oh, and here is the inside, too!

Coming along nicely!

We have a miniature doe that will be available in a few weeks. Born July 18th. She is so cute! Can not put her out with her Daddy.

We've talked about getting a couple goats. She is very cute indeed.

 

[Too Fast]

Originally Posted by jchny2000
M2H that's very exciting, chocolate Orps are just beeeautiful!! Everyone still has Bantam so far but for a bantam, they are as big as a small LF, like a polish.

I read your post and thought Bantams-- whaaat? For some reason I did not notice that word on chickenscratchpoultry.com's description of Chocolate Orpingtons even though the information was in 18 pt. type (apparently for potential clients with vision problems). They need to think of people like me who apparently have brain synapse problems. My only concern about a Bantam is being picked on, but as you said, they are large sized small birds. Do you know what size eggs they lay? My RIR and SLW lay small eggs, my BR and EE lay nice large eggs. Lauren and I are driving over tomorrow, so we'll see what the pullet looks like. They have some other breeds, too, in case I change my mind.

DH and I worked on converting the custom rabbit cage into a custom chicken coop. Our big coop is bolted into the back of our garage, then there's a walk coming out of the garage, then the grill, then the deck with a back door to our house. When he asked where I wanted to put it, I said sweetly, "Where the gas grill is." So, DH moved it so we could set up the small coop. Then I read this post:
Originally Posted by jchny2000 We have a 2 car garage that's all storage. What a huge waste of space! Time to utilize that building

What a great idea! We'd have the big coop that's bolted into the back of our garage, then there's the walk coming out of the garage that could be filled with lots of chickens!, then the small coop, then the deck with a back door to our house.
Originally Posted by Thunder Chicken
I recently added two EE's to my flock of six. The EE's are outcasts and cannot touch the ground without being mauled.
My EE is the lowest in the pecking order of my five hens, so maybe when I integrate my younger, docile and maybe a bantam-- orps in with the hens, my EE will have better self-esteem. She also suffers from being made fun of on those BYC purebred ameraucana threads.
Originally Posted by Thunder Chicken I saw the same coop on TSC's website. They are advertised for $150 new. The Craigslist ad says 4-6 capacity and TSC says 2-4 capacity. Just a heads up.
Yes, by the looks of the coop, it might hold two chickens! But it would be a handy size for a back-up cage.
vickichicki~ Did your sister come from across the pond or is she a mail-order bride, too? haha just kidding you! Hope you had a nice visit. Does she think you're weird for having chickens?
Too Fast~ I think that hawk is the prison warden and the finishing touch for your fortress should be some razor wire:


CRSelvey~ So let's see, you had a truck load of construction sand delivered, but you use a kitty litter scoop to clean the sand.
Loved your story about too many plans for one weekend-- especially when you said: " . . . so out of the truck the roosters went and off to the bridal shower we went." You missed the perfect opportunity for a unique bridal shower gift-- you could have started a trend-- Bring a rooster to a hen party!
In lamenting about your good boy turned bad, you said: I'm going to miss one of them for the chick that he was, but not for the adult he became. Is it wrong to leave his pic on my avatar as a memorial? Well, I remember when I made your avatar you said he was your favorite. You can remember him from his innocent days or I'll be happy to update your avatar with one of your Cochins.
Originally Posted by Kiniska
We have a miniature doe that will be available in a few weeks. Born July 18th. She is so cute! Can not put her out with her Daddy.

How sweet! Sounds like a similar situation jchny has with keeping the male away from mom and baby. It would be hard to give her up!

toodlesmom~ Sounds like the State Fair was successful for your daughter and for conditioning your husband toward the path of chicken enlightenment.
Originally Posted by HouseKat
Our chickens seem to have enjoyed the grass clippings (chemical-free, of course) and they got their first taste of tomatoes last night. They didn't take an interest when we first set them out, but this morning they were all gone. Tomorrow I plan to give them some zucchini that we got from the same FOAF who gave us the tomatoes.
I've never given tomatoes to my chickens after reading that they're toxic (another debatable chicken topic!), but from other things I've read, I believe that leaves and stems of the plant are toxic and not the actual tomato. I have noticed that like most creatures, chickens seem to know what to eat and what to avoid. Thank goodness! I can't keep track of everything!

That razor wire looks pretty good. I'm afraid our birds would kill themselves, tho, since we have to get them off the top sometimes. That'd be easy for the hawk, right? Sliced up and layed out chicken, right on the top of the run!

So true! My Dad had one German Shepard that was just so sweet. He got her as an adult, and Brandy HATED small animals. She got one of his geese, and a barn cat. After that day, he confined her to a tie out cable anytime she was out of the fenced area. All his other GS were raised from pups and never touched any of the animals.

Good info, thanks for sharing!

Ugh it really stinks getting old. I will be 50 this year, and there are some things I just cannot do anymore.


Yikes! You are a super chicken dad! we mostly see redtails here, We are fortunate none have attempted to take one of our birds yet.

good to see you on! I hear ya about crazy busy. Last few weeks I barely get time to post!
I wonder if your roo was testing the water since the RP Tom is gone. He found out you are the boss!
Most of my girls are way off on laying, i am only getting half a dozen or so daily this last week.

Oh my, and a whole lotta poo!

Seeing this hawk around makes me re-think letting them free range in the backyard.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Free ranging is a hard choice. You will eventually have losses. I can't bear not letting them have the option, but I have lost some birds because I let them.
Its a personal decision. you have to make.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Oh my, 24 hours I love doing it too, but I can't seem to find the time anymore!
Sally, try offering a free carton of eggs for like 6 undamaged empty cartons.
I am only doing friends and family right now, but it sure worked with them!
I offer it like once a month and it really builds them up fast.

 
The thread sure does, I went camping overnite and fell way behind!

Before you know it you will be eating a LOT of eggs!

Good luck at the fair

after about 20 hours you really start questioning why you decided to scrap that lomg lol!