INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[racinchickins]

Does the door fit your biggest chickens OK? I was told to make 14" x 18" nesting boxes for the BOs I'm getting. Will these fluffy butts fit through the door?

I have 15 lb turkeys that walk in and out of the door. They have to squat a bit to get through, but don't have any problems. I don't think there will be any problems with any of your chickens.

 

[kabhyper1]

Good morning! I went and checked on the little guys, and they are up and around eating. No wheezing. They are pretty tired. I don't think they slept much last night. I went out to see momma and the other three and they are running all over the place. She seems to be sneezing a bit though. She is on the antibiotics with them, so I will just let it do its job. They rest of the flocks seem to be fine. The large kids came into the barn per usual this morning to check out the babies and I made them leave. A huge hawk flew over, so they are currently confined to the coop.

Momma silkie didn't come off the nest this morning like she usually does every other morning, so I think she must know hatch time is close. I hope the babies stay warm enough in the coop with her. It's not heated, but it's off the ground and there is a good thick layer of hay in there with her. Hopefully with the antibiotics we have this solved. I thought I heard a sneeze in the big coop this morning, but it is really cold and damp out, so it may just have been a chill. I know I sneeze and get a runny nose when I get cold. Maybe chickens are the same. Who knows lol. Thanks again everyone for your help and thoughts. Sorry I have been neglecting the other members on here and their stories. I will get back on track when things settle down.

 

[Leahs Mom]

My broody hatched and raised her first brood in winter.

Hatch day it was 19 degrees out. They hatched the last weekend of December and she raised them throughout Jan, Feb, Mar, April. Temperatures fluctuated between 30 and 7 degrees.

She had no extra heat except the heat that her body gave. No lights at night so they could be on normal night/day sleep patterns.




Sicknesses are often related to high humidity levels rather than low temperatures.

 

[FarkerFarms]

I am going to be attending the Lebanon Show this weekend and was looking for tips from those who have gone before. I may be buying a couple of hens while there. Do I need to bring cash? If so, how much should I bring? I know I need to bring a carrier, but do I need to carry it around the show with me? How does that work? Any recommendations on what time I should get there and things I should see/do? Thanks!

 

[kabhyper1]

Quote:
The little large fowl chicks I have are doing awesome. It's the Silkies that are due to hatch that I am concerned about. After they hatch I may have to bring them and momma into the house. I will see how they do. Maybe if the two little guys I have in here are better I will add them to her brood. I have chickens spread out all over right now lol. When can I put Lavender and her three little guys in the big coop? I was worried about the other chickens. They were really mean to her when she got in with them during her egg sitting. I would like to have everybody in their coops before it gets really cold.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

I am going to be attending the Lebanon Show this weekend and was looking for tips from those who have gone before. I may be buying a couple of hens while there. Do I need to bring cash? If so, how much should I bring? I know I need to bring a carrier, but do I need to carry it around the show with me? How does that work? Any recommendations on what time I should get there and things I should see/do? Thanks!

Bring whatever cash you feel comfortable with. No one will take a check or plastic.
No need to bring in the carrier. You can fetch it if you make a purchase. They will have some method for pass in/out.

Remember, these are chickens of unknown origin. They may have, or have been exposed to, a variety of diseases. You will need to quarantine them from your flock for a month, being careful not to track potential disease to your flock. Tend to your flock, then to the newbies, not the other way around. Consider changing shoes between new flock/old flock.

Even if you don't buy anything, be sure to change shoes and clothes after the show and before tending to your flock. Not likely to be a problem, but a reasonable precaution.

John

 

[racinchickins]

Update on my Brahma hen. When my partner got home last night, he went down to the basement to see her, and watched her both eating and drinking! So we have decided to wait a bit more before making a decision. She still can't see, but if she is at least eating and drinking, she will hopefully have time to heal up. Maybe if the swelling goes down, she will be able to open her eyes.

I'm really hoping she recovers.

 

[exop]

Bring whatever cash you feel comfortable with. No one will take a check or plastic.
No need to bring in the carrier. You can fetch it if you make a purchase. They will have some method for pass in/out.

Remember, these are chickens of unknown origin. They may have, or have been exposed to, a variety of diseases. You will need to quarantine them from your flock for a month, being careful not to track potential disease to your flock. Tend to your flock, then to the newbies, not the other way around. Consider changing shoes between new flock/old flock.

Even if you don't buy anything, be sure to change shoes and clothes after the show and before tending to your flock. Not likely to be a problem, but a reasonable precaution.

John

Yikes, John, a great reminder to hear this from someone else. I am a natural hypochondriac and will need to go into the other room and hyperventilate for awhile now.

I am planning to go to the Lebanon show myself, participating in a poultry show for the first time (please don't laugh) and in dire need of mentoring or at least, supportive suggestions. I may have bitten off more than I can chew with my plans to bring one Narragansett turkey, one silkie and one male Spanish and also have a sale cage.

I believe I have a quarantine plan in place for the silkie (not a difficult breed to care for or contain). I hope to sell both the turkey (I have an overflow of turkeys) and the Spanish, a cockerel who is not APA perfect but is very pretty. Really unprepared to quarantine a turkey; wherever I put him, my free range turkeys are sure to find him, and stand nattering a few inches away on the other side of the fence, catching poultry show diseases. So I am counting on selling him.

If birds are entered in the show, is it permissable to put a sign on them saying that they are for sale? When / how do people do this? After the judge has been through? With sale coops, is it ok to have more than one bird in the coop? ( I wanted to bring a trio of light breed birds, Houdans, and sell them as a unit). With sales coops, do you need to stand there and tend them the whole time? Can you leave your cell # on the coop and have interested people call you if they want you to come over and sell them the birds? Or does the show handle things in some way? If you sell the contents of your sale coop, can you bring out replacement birds stockpiled in your vehicle? Am I being over optimistic in thinking people will be going there to BUY with a capital B and I may be able to count on finding nice homes for a bunch of decent quality rare breed chickens in nice condition? Do sales coop birds need a pullorum blood test? (I am assuming show entries will need to have had the blood test).

If I sound like I'm flailing around, yes, I am. Any input would be appreciated. For the whopping $3 entry fee I paid per bird it's not too late to wuss out on taking the turkey, for example, and I'm still not sure how he'll handle the car ride. Mellow natured bird but he may find the inside of a moving vehicle unbearably weird. Guess I should try a test run of some sort.

Thanks - exop

 

[exop]

PS. I am still looking forward to the show, just want to be sure that things will go semi smoothly and that I know what to do and not do do.

Quote:
Done... and it's not looking good. I used one of his brothers. I foresee a need for a sturdy large container with some air holes, and thick padding on the roof and walls. And probably, a few hours for the turkey to preen himself afterwards. Being in the cab of a stationary vehicle was bad enough: though he clearly knew it was solid, he tried to bunt the windshield several times. I can't imagine that a see-through wire cage would be a good idea for transport. But I wonder if darkness and solid walls would only make things worse. I'll ask about this one in the turkey thread. Maybe one needs to start "car training" turkeys at an early age.

 

[racinchickins]

I don't have any advice for the show, not having any real experience with them. I'm actually looking forward to some replies, as I am wondering the same things.

I am planning to be there, and I believe so are quite a few others on this thread. I'm bringing a carrier (just in case, of course. I don't have any plans for buying anything specific, but you never know when chicken math will strike)