INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pginsber]

Temps in the 30's and the chicks are fine. THey are out in the coop unseperated from the flock of 33 adults being raised by two Jersey Giants. All goes well and HappyHappyHappy, Here is a videoI took this morning of them.. I caught them getting piggyback rides on the mommas..

HappyHappy-
Cute video! It looks as though your pop door is elevated from the floor, is that correct? Our 2 week old chicks figured out how to fly 18 inches up to the pop door yesterday, when their mother left the coop. YIKES! All 3 were standing on the top of the pop door ramp screaming for their mother. Have yours done that yet?
I'm concerned that they will again follow her outside today - while I'm at work - and unable to corral them and keep them inside.

CCCCCCCCChickens-
So sorry to hear about your hen. I hope your roo gets better quickly.
Your bird pictures were great! Thanks for sharing!

 

[amwchickin]

Oh I'm not ready for this cold. I don't think my birds are either. There has been a lot of brotherly-fowl love going on. I am seeing everyone in pairs, even chicken to turkey, using body heat and the sun. About half of them are still sick and I'm doing a second round of Corrid on everybody. Most aren't laying, which is good - less I have to throw away. I have been working diligently on moving things around in the chicken yard and cleaning things. Most of the birds are improving, save one poor Brahma. She is just not good. I think I will give her a couple more days on this round of meds and if by Sunday she's not doing better, I may have to let her go. She's so lethargic and gurgly. One eye is matted shut and full of puss. Yesterday when I was giving her the medicine and putting stuff on her eye, puss just drained out. It was probably the nastiest thing I have seen in awhile.

All my puppies are running around in the yard with them now and - oh this makes me laugh - the two adult turkeys are so calm and good natured that they have been sitting in the yard and have let the pups crawl all over them. I need to take my camera out with me!!

 

[amwchickin]

Question: since my chickens have all been sick, their weights have gone down. The food I use is regular layer feed and they get plenty of treats. What is the easiest way to get weight back up in a quick way before it gets real cold?

Thanks in advance for any ideas/suggestions!

Stay warm out there!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Question: since my chickens have all been sick, their weights have gone down. The food I use is regular layer feed and they get plenty of treats. What is the easiest way to get weight back up in a quick way before it gets real cold?

Thanks in advance for any ideas/suggestions!

Stay warm out there!

two schools of thought out there.
first says to increase corn during the winter to help the birds stay warmer and increase weight. Corn happens to be on sale at RK this week.
second says to increase protein and healthy food. Liver is a great way to give them lots of protein and other good stuff. Then there is the meatbird feed that is high in protein. Currently I feed chicken meatbird feed to all of my older chickens and offer calcium on the side.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I hear ya, My last few chicks I am being very careful when they move to the next brooder.
I have 8 misc breeds under 4 weeks, and a few more OEGB due to hatch


Rant all you need to. It really stinks!
My youngest DD was not at fault in her accident, and we finally got the report from the ins co.
She just got a newer pontiac V6. We are still pretty far out of pocket on the whole mess.
The kid that caused the accident is still driving his truck.
Its very upsetting.

Welcome, glad you have joined us! I am so sorry to hear about your loss.
Raccoon are an easy problem to deal with compared to others. The link below:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/13/predators-and-pests
Has several helpful ideas. Hope it helps you prepare for your new additions.

I am so sorry about your hen. The birds are just beautiful

Thanks. I hadnt had a chance to get attached to her. But the other day she was pecking me while I was trying to open the cage she and her buddy were staying in. Then come in the next day and she is practically dead. I felt bad for the poor little hen, but their wasnt anything I could do, she was to far gone. What makes me angry is I'm suspecting that the guy I bought them from knew something was wrong with them and didnt have the decency to tell me. I am not 100% sure so i am just leaving it at she randomly fell over dead. Thank goodness the only one in with her was the rooster, he started acting better but then was acting how he was before. So he is quarientined for quarientine. All the others are doing great. I love my white rock rooster! I know their isnt anything wrong with him as I bought him from someone I trust, (well I did some other too), but I put them in quarientine to be safe, since all those people were arounding them passing germs. His quarientiene pen is 5 ft from the brooder that has 8 chicks in it. he paces back and forth watching them. i took one to him for him to see. He picked something up off the ground and tried to give it to it. I hope after he is out of quaritene I have a broody i the same pen as him, because I think he would be a great dad. He follows. Literally wags his tail and lets me pet him. I normally dont cuddle my rooster, but he is just so sweet, II know he wont turn on me. He is fully mature. And I know, since he has his hormones already, it is highly unlikley that he isnt going to turn on me. So he is my baby. The cochin bantams are from matt or mark, mcammon or macannon (i cant remeber eactly what his first or last name is lol), the polish is from joel henning, the white rock is from doug Akers, the barred rock is from sallyinindiana, the ameraucana pair is from littleameraucanamom and the others are from random people at the show and I have no idea who they were. So far (besides the pair of OEGBs) I am pretty happy with them.

And I have been meaning to ask you-will FF freeze?

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Question: since my chickens have all been sick, their weights have gone down. The food I use is regular layer feed and they get plenty of treats. What is the easiest way to get weight back up in a quick way before it gets real cold?

Thanks in advance for any ideas/suggestions!

Stay warm out there!

I would either use cracked corn or crush up crackers. Not that crackers are a great source of nutrients or anything, but I know somebody that has a petting zoo and their chickens constantly get crackers feed to them by visitors and they are fat! I'm not saying feeds this to them a lot, but I think it will work to get their weight up some. but dont feed them to much of it.

HappyHappy-
Cute video! It looks as though your pop door is elevated from the floor, is that correct? Our 2 week old chicks figured out how to fly 18 inches up to the pop door yesterday, when their mother left the coop. YIKES! All 3 were standing on the top of the pop door ramp screaming for their mother. Have yours done that yet?
I'm concerned that they will again follow her outside today - while I'm at work - and unable to corral them and keep them inside.

CCCCCCCCChickens-
So sorry to hear about your hen. I hope your roo gets better quickly.
Your bird pictures were great! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, I am not sure what is wrong with him but right now he is getting vetrx and savchick. I am going to try and get better pics of everybody once they get settled in better!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Soaked food will freeze so I'm thinking fermented will freeze too.

 

[pginsber]

two schools of thought out there.
first says to increase corn during the winter to help the birds stay warmer and increase weight. Corn happens to be on sale at RK this week.
second says to increase protein and healthy food. Liver is a great way to give them lots of protein and other good stuff. Then there is the meatbird feed that is high in protein. Currently I feed chicken meatbird feed to all of my older chickens and offer calcium on the side.

SallyinIndiana-Is the liver recommended to be raw or cooked?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: From what I have read in the natural chicken keeping thread, it is to be raw for the chickens and cut into tiny pieces if there are young chicks. Something was mentioned there about cooking destroying some of the good stuff in the liver and the chickens being able to digest raw meat with no issues.

Leah's Mom feeds liver more often than I do. for me it is only a witner treat as I froze the livers from the chickens I processed. But Leah's mom is nicer and buys her chickens beef liver.

 

[julie0477]

Thanks. I hadnt had a chance to get attached to her. But the other day she was pecking me while I was trying to open the cage she and her buddy were staying in. Then come in the next day and she is practically dead. I felt bad for the poor little hen, but their wasnt anything I could do, she was to far gone. What makes me angry is I'm suspecting that the guy I bought them from knew something was wrong with them and didnt have the decency to tell me. I am not 100% sure so i am just leaving it at she randomly fell over dead. Thank goodness the only one in with her was the rooster, he started acting better but then was acting how he was before. So he is quarientined for quarientine. All the others are doing great. I love my white rock rooster! I know their isnt anything wrong with him as I bought him from someone I trust, (well I did some other too), but I put them in quarientine to be safe, since all those people were arounding them passing germs. His quarientiene pen is 5 ft from the brooder that has 8 chicks in it. he paces back and forth watching them. i took one to him for him to see. He picked something up off the ground and tried to give it to it. I hope after he is out of quaritene I have a broody i the same pen as him, because I think he would be a great dad. He follows. Literally wags his tail and lets me pet him. I normally dont cuddle my rooster, but he is just so sweet, II know he wont turn on me. He is fully mature. And I know, since he has his hormones already, it is highly unlikley that he isnt going to turn on me. So he is my baby. The cochin bantams are from matt or mark, mcammon or macannon (i cant remeber eactly what his first or last name is lol), the polish is from joel henning, the white rock is from doug Akers, the barred rock is from sallyinindiana, the ameraucana pair is from littleameraucanamom and the others are from random people at the show and I have no idea who they were. So far (besides the pair of OEGBs) I am pretty happy with them. 

And I have been meaning to ask you-will FF freeze?

awe your rooster sounds amazing