INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[bradselig]

If you need bigger ones, the dollar places sell some for young girls hair.  They are larger than the tiny ebay ones and they stretch a bit more.  They are not as sturdy as the ebay ones though.  Still I had issues with the ebay ones.  If you like them (ebay ones) and want more, I'll mail you mine.  They are tiny though maybe good for quail but the large fowl chicks grow out of them too fast for me.

So with out going back and trying to find the posts again, what do you recommend for growing chicks? I may just have to go back to zip ties. But I just hate those things!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hello everyone!!!! Long time no see. I have around 100 pages to read so probably won't get to all of them.

Happy New Year to all and hope that everyone survived the weird weather of last weekend.

Update on my girls.

Petrie is doing great. Thank you everyone for your input. She spent two nights inside and then was put back outside as there didn't seem to be anything really wrong physically, although I think she could easily become a house chicken as she even learned how to eat Cheerios off of a spoon and the dogs and I all enjoyed her little chicken chatter! She even talks in her sleep. Even with only two days gone the others weren't sure if they wanted her to be their friend any more but they are just a big happy group again now. I have yet to get four eggs again but she is back to her old self and the gang is all together.

The weather caused some boredom and Petrie, Gertrude and Nuggett decided that Esthers comb looked tasty so she was a bloody mess one morning but I got it cleaned up and now she is fine too.

To battle the windchill I put out a heat lamp (clear not red) at one end and covered the entire pen with tarps (it has a solid roof and is about 6 1/2' by 9' and has plenty of ventilation as the roofing is that wavy corrugated stuff). Only minimal frostbite on one comb but I have a question for everyone. I happened to have used blue tarps to cover two sides of the pen and grey has been on the other two walls (west and north) since November, but do you all think if I had used clear plastic that the boredom could have been staved off? It would have made it brighter and maybe they wouldn't have gone postal on poor Esther?

Well I am off to see how many of these posts I can get through today. Hope everyone is happy well and warm and that all birds are safe and happy. Hello to all the new folks and just know you have come to the right place with all the crazy chicken people!!!

Delawaremommy ~ There were several of us who kept asking about Petrie, so I'm glad to hear she is well! Your post reminded me of my dearly departed Jersey who I had inside with me her last few days. I loved hearing her conversational voice and having her inside.

As I've mentioned before (and people are sick of hearing), I am a big fan of my clear corrugated roof that allows natural light in. I also used clear plastic to winterize the coop/run. I left a few inches open at the top (I used to have more space open at the top, but I closed it up more during the below freezing temps and had no ventilation issues. Clear plastic isn't like a clear window, but it allows light in. In Fall 2012, we started winterizing the coop for the first time by using tarps until it dawned on us that it was too dark inside-- this was after I measured and cut all the pieces.

As far as boredom when mine were cooped up during bad weather, I'd check on them every couple of hours (I realize many of you can't do that), and I offered different healthful treats each time-- moved bowls around, had a hanging bird toy thingy that I could put food in, did some cleaning and chatting-- all the things that crazy chicken people do.

In my "opinion," I like using two ceramic heat emitters, which only raise the temps 10 - 15 degrees ---although they can move closer if they choose. I feel like with my particular coop and set-up, it's as safe as any other of my electrical devices used daily. I like that a little heat keeps the coop dry, the chickens dry, and takes the edge off of severe cold.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hello All!

I was just wondering if anyone else is having normal egg production? My kids and I have been keeping track of which chickens are laying eggs each day (all lay slightly different eggs) and its been really fun. In the last two months, we've had two more chickens starting to lay and that brings us to five with three left to start (two Cochins and one Appenzeller Spitzhauben). The week before the latest one started, I had 16 eggs. Since then its been 17, 25, and 18. That seems pretty good to me. They eat organic grower with oyster available to anyone who needs it and whatever they find in the garden and we do not use any extra light in the coop.

Fiona checking the nesting box with me. She loves the snow.

That was a lot of snow!

My DS helped me dig paths out to the car, the coop, and the nesting box.

It was so pretty until the power went out. Then it just got very real and very cold.

We went to town to warm up. What a great view.

One of our neighbors has a great barn.

CRSelvey ~ What gorgeous photos!
My hens had stopped laying for a month or so in the fall while molting, but they suddenly kicked into laying mode and it's great having eggs again. I don't use artificial light, but I assume that having a clear roof and clear plastic covering the sides helps the egg laying.

 

[toodlesmom]

The big snow and bigger freeze was tough on us. The girls were fine, but DW fell at work and now requires surgery. We're going this afternoon, so I'll catch up reading the posts while I'm in the waiting room. Wish us luck!

Ouch! I hope your DW's surgery goes well, and she is soon back up and frisking about as a happy DW should!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Evening. Totally new to chickens, but have been reading up on them for years. Pretty excited...we are "expecting" six bantam babies in May!

leslea ~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread! Please read the thread info on page 1979, post 19785 for more info.

kabhyper ~ I'm very sorry to hear about your cousin!

 

[pginsber]

I'd like to bring my own eggs in to the restaurant where we sometimes go for breakfast (Charlie Browns, in Speedway) when they make an omelet
for me, but don't want to insult them lol.  Now I usually skip the omelets and get  pancakes.  We love that place.

We love Charlie Browns, too! Haven't been there in several months--now I'm in the mood for their pancakes!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

My egg numbers are way down. I got 2 eggs today total! I'm blaming it on the stresses of moving them all around due to the weather and the weather it's self. They were actually laying pretty good when it was colder. Now it's warming up, they stop! Lol

Mine are giving me 2-3 a day, not so good for at least 25 birds of laying age.
My GLW leave tomorrow except a few original birds, finally!
Very pleased to focus more on my LO and BA.

My silkies went outside today for the first time in awhile. They got to stretch their wings a little. I think it needs to warm up soon. They got acclimated to our house and were sneezing when I took them outside. So in they stay for awhile.

They look very happy! I am so done with winter too.

 

[pginsber]

Strangely enough there is such a thing as mouth-to-beak resuscitation: 

We had to perform the Heimlich maneuver last spring on a three day old chick who was choking on a mealworm. If you've ever helped birth puppies that aren't breathing it was a lot like that. Cupped her little body in my hands and swung her upside down 2-3 times until the worm dislodged. Not something I recommend doing due to danger of crop aspiration, but it worked that time.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
oh I love the idea!
So will you be doing tilapia again?

 

[leslea]

Thanks. I added myself to the map.

I love the icons with the county in red, but I don't have any chickens yet!