INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[ShawnaScott]

ShawnaScott ~ Good to hear from you! Didn't you get married? Guess that's why you moved . . . anyway, I am sorry you can't have chickens-- did you know that you can in nearby West Lafayette? I sent your post to a recent new member Dex Holla who lives in West Lafayette and is interested in chickens. I would personally suggest packing your bags and moving a stone's thrown away West where you can have chickens!

I do agree, though, that Neighborhood Revitalization areas are a great idea, and are typically very cool places to live.

Haha, thanks. I am moving because my mother in law is pretty suffocating, it's gotten a lot worse since I got married. I also don't have time to keep up with the yard work associated with living on lots of land...I'm starting student teaching in the fall and I won't have a lot of time. I'm not really an outdoorsy person so much as an animal lover. We were looking at a couple "fixer uppers" in West Lafayette, but they were such good deals that they sold in just days. Any house that is an "upgrade" in West Lafayette from the house we currently live in is $200,000+ and if I am taking out a mortgage, it had better be awesome! I was considering sneaking in a couple chickens and having a tractor for them in the garage but I don't think that's fair to them.

Thats pretty good on humidity, I think you will be ok as long as they all perch together.


Some Byc'ers sell them too. I have raised them about a year and a half now, easy but dusty and wear a mask!
Great tool for winning over shy flock members or new birds.

For some reason the top part of this wouldn't repost! Ah, well. I am a little sorry to give up the chickens, they're pretty cool. Especially Henrietta, she's so nice. And spunky. But after all the fiascos with animals this summer, I'm ready to only have my three dogs. I lost chickens twice, took in five litters of kittens and their mamas (from the same person) only to have three litters to die of disease/birth defects, one because the mama cat was feral and ate the kitties once they got old enough to compete with her, and the last one due to stray dogs once they got old enough to romp outside. Oh, and my favorite dog died of loneliness when I left on my honeymoon. So yeah. Not to sound heartless, but the less animals I have, the less can die on me.

 

[FarkerFarms]

Mine have been working at mine! It is definitely slow going at the frozen block which is great because it will last a while and gives them something to do! I figured the $10 was their early Christmas present

 

[kabhyper1]

Good morning!!!!!!!!!

Everyone survived the night, the coop was 14 degrees this morning. Brrrrrr! They all high tailed it to the barn as soon as the coop was opened.

There are warm alpacas and straw in there . I have been throwing scratch in the morning and at night to keep them warmer. The silkies act like its any other normal temp day. Hardy little stinkers they are!

I wasn't happy having to carry water to the alpacas this morning because our outside pump froze for the first time ever. Grrr.

The chickens water had a thin crust of ice on it, even with the tin heaters under them. It's getting stupid how cold it is.

 

[Leahs Mom]

7 degrees here right now; wind chill -11 F.

I can remember winters where it stayed in the negative numbers (regular temp, not wind chill) for 2 weeks at a time. I hope it isn't like that this year.

How in the world do birds keep their feet from freezing?

 

[kabhyper1]

7 degrees here right now; wind chill -11 F.

I can remember winters where it stayed in the negative numbers (regular temp, not wind chill) for 2 weeks at a time. I hope it isn't like that this year.

How in the world do birds keep their feet from freezing?

It's about the same here. I went into the barn and the chickens were sitting in the straw on their feet. So They do get cold lol! Except for the cochins and silkies. They have pants on.



Edit.... I just risked life and limb and put plastic all over the run instead of just the back and side. I put the chickens in and they are completely out of the wind, scratching in the leaves I put in there before it got really cold. The coop temp is 27 (sun shining in windows) and humidity is still 16 %.... I laugh at you winter!!!!! I WIN! lol

 

[Delawaremommy]

They have been cast out from "chicken heaven". You are their way station for a possible reprieve from descending lower. Do all you can to save their little chicken souls from damnation.

Or, less likely, they could have been dumped by someone who tried the chicken thing and got tired of it.

John

How could anyone not like chickens? Of course I say the same thing about dogs too!!!!

Oh and then there's this little beauty... She is one of the three that just showed up outta nowhere.

I think it is a Cali White. Which is a Leghorn type...I am jealous as that is one of the breeds I would like to try and they are hard to find!!! TSC in Plainfield had one lot of fifty last year which someone bought all of at once before I could snag some!!

 

[minmin1258]

If I were closer I'd gift her to you. I named her Dazzle. She has a wonderful personality now that she has calmed down some and isn't so skittish. I have some leghorn chicks coming in a couple weeks (that I purchased as a Christmas gift for a friend). I may keep a couple or bribe my friend into giving me back a roo if there are some (which I'm sure there will be) so I can at least breed her with a white roo. I have t wait til Spring to "thin my herd" then will see what happens. I so want a mating pair of Brads Silkies! So I'm going to have to really do some thinning. At any rate if you wouldn't mind that cross (Cali White/ White Leghorn) I will give you chicks if breeding is a success.

 

[animallover2202]

oh i want more chickens lol i miss my chickens its just not the same at my house with out them i miss selling eggs i miss holding my chickens.....but maybe next year when i get my own house ill get more chickens..... how is everyones chickens doing????

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
X2 Leahsmom, poor little feet.. I know the wind makes my bones hurt.
WTG kab

I am going out to hang tarps this afternoon too. My ducks and geese seem fine, my chickens and guinea act too cold.
While i was sick, I lost 3 younger keets that didn't perch with the rest of the main flock..
They are all at least 4 months old, really thought all were old enough to handle the winter.

Still don't understand what happened, but found them in the corner on the floor, froze solid

 

[kabhyper1]

X2 Leahsmom, poor little feet.. I know the wind makes my bones hurt.
WTG kab

I am going out to hang tarps this afternoon too. My ducks and geese seem fine, my chickens and guinea act too cold.
While i was sick, I lost 3 younger keets that didn't perch with the rest of the main flock..
They are all at least 4 months old, really thought all were old enough to handle the winter.

Still don't understand what happened, but found them in the corner on the floor, froze solid

I hope bringing them inside will ease your mind. I just went out to check on everyone. The silkies still act like they don't know it is winter. Their coop is on the north side of the barn with a tarp over the side of the roofed run. So they are pretty much out of the wind. They have deep sand and leaves in the run, thick straw in the coop. The alpacas arent leaving the barn. Chewing cud and laying in their straw. The big chickens are doing good. The plastic I put halfway up the front of the coop have had a green house effect, as do the windows on the front of the coop. we have a wind chill of about 8 right now, but the inside of the coop is 35 at the middle and 46 at the top with 30 percent humidity. The littles are running around and scratching with momma like they dont have a clue how cold it is outside. The rest of the flock is hanging out in the run. It is probably 30 degrees in the run with no wind. I hope the coop retains some of that warmth when they put themselves to bed this evening. (I have lazy chickens, they go to bed at 5.)