INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Mother2Hens]

Hello everyone!! I have missed you all very much! I hope everyone's holidays were great! I think of everyone on here as my "extended" chicken family, and I am always referencing something from this website at least everyday!

The past several weeks has been really busy. Our family has been having a rough time lately and against my wishes, I had to re-home my hens to my sister, hopefully just for a while. I really love my girls and I miss them everyday. With everything that has been going on it was just getting a little much to take care of. Things are starting to look good again though. My DBF is getting layed off from his job at Rolls Royce, but fingers crossed

he might have just secured a nicer, more paying job! So.....hopefully that means that maybe we might be able to really look for a house this year and move to somewhere that is a little more in the country mabye! I miss my red sexlink Big Red everyday and i miss her eggs even more! So now that things are starting to look up here, I'm thinking about getting back in the game, possibly with a different and bigger coop as well. I am scouring sites for BLRW and I have missed a couple of opportunities from here as well, but it seems that they are very,very popular breed!!!!! So keeping my eyes open.

All these pictures of all these silkies is really making me want to get some!! The only problem is that I can't really have any roos. But they look so cute and friendly!!!

I am very sorry to hear about everyone's losses this winter. I hope that you are able to find happiness again! I am still behind by one week in posts but I am gaining. I am glad that I am going through because I have gained some knowledge and I love reading everyone's stories and seeing pictures!!!

Miss you guys and talk to you soon!!!

Backyard Bitten ~ It's so nice to hear from you again! I bet you miss your hens, but at least they're at their auntie's. I wish good things for you and your family in 2014.

Chicken Coop Floor Opinions ~ In our coop/run, the base layer is dirt from the ground with small rocks they seem to endlessly dig up, then there's a mix of mulch from the neighbor's tree that had to be taken down, coarse construction sand from Lowe's, occasional chicken poop (I get most of it up for my compost), and to occasionally freshen it up, I mix in some fresh pine shavings and Sweet PDZ. And the kitchen sink!

I have wondered as far as biosecurity if it matters getting ground up tree/dirt mulch from another location. I'm not worried about mine from across the street, but I am just curious because of discussions before about different areas of dirt containing different bacteria.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I don't have a great method yet. I am trying toe punching but even that I have to wait until the webbing is a few days old or wide enough. I have wing bands ordered but they won't be here for 3 weeks. I used the numbered bands last year in varying sizes. It was a pain to keep changing them and pricy too. Plus they fall off if they are slightly too big. And they snap in half if they get too cold.
I'm really really hoping the wing bands work for my breeding hatched chicks that only leaves me to find a way to mark my layers in the laying flock that I want to keep and not sell. I was planning on using a colored spiral band but the ebay seller messed up and sent an assortment instead of all red spirals.

 

[bradselig]

I don't have a great method yet.  I am trying toe punching but even that I have to wait until the webbing is a few days old or wide enough.  I have wing bands ordered but they won't be here for 3 weeks.  I used the numbered bands last year in varying sizes.  It was a pain to keep changing them and pricy too.  Plus they fall off if they are slightly too big.  And they snap in half if they get too cold.

I'm really really hoping the wing bands work for my breeding hatched chicks that only leaves me to find a way to mark my layers in the laying flock that I want to keep and not sell.  I was planning on using a colored spiral band but the ebay seller messed up and sent an assortment instead of all red spirals. 

ohh that's right. Mother wing bands! Let me know how that goes. I guessing want a way to quickly look at them and figure out which is which. I think toe punching would be too confusing. Sorta like ear notching on pigs lol. I guess if you do it everyday it wouldn't be too bad.

 

[leslea]

Those birds are so adorable. I am dying to see what mine will be like.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
If I just break even and keep a steady flow of food going to the freezers I am happy!
My best sellers last year were the guinea, wish they laid for a longer period!

 

[leslea]

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.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

so far I'm not a big fan off toe punching. It is permanent but I had to clean the foot for almost a week to keep it well clean. And If I'm not right with the chick so far I can't really see the holes. And there are only so many combos of toe punching. I'm using the toe punching to mark the sire and hen. But the wing bands to give the chick a individual number for record keeping.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Thanks. I added myself to the map.

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

No problem! What kind of bantams are you getting? If someone doesn't have a photo of their chicken or whatever, I try to find a royalty-free one online. I only had a problem one time-- I had to change Delawaremommy's Delaware chicken photo that I found online to one of her own photos since a guy contacted me and complained.
Anyway, if you would like a bantam picture with a map featuring your county or if you'd just like a map, just PM me by hovering the cursor over my avatar and a menu will pop up and click on Send PM (Personal Message).

 

[pginsber]

I was trying to hand milk but ran into problems, 1. Arthritis 2. Sugar had very low milk supply, and Sophie really drained her!
I am purchasing one of these 2 by spring...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161076844221?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200949480777?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Hoping Sugar will produce better his year, it was her first freshening.

Here's the ignorant question of the day--what is needed to keep the does lactating? Do you keep them pregnant and nursing or do they always have milk? I feel stupid just asking but what the hey, right?

 

[leslea]

No problem! What kind of bantams are you getting? If someone doesn't have a photo of their chicken or whatever, I try to find a royalty-free one online. I only had a problem one time-- I had to change Delawaremommy's Delaware chicken photo that I found online to one of her own photos since a guy contacted me and complained.
Anyway, if you would like a bantam picture with a map featuring your county or if you'd just like a map, just PM me by hovering the cursor over my avatar and a menu will pop up and click on Send PM (Personal Message).

Thank you!

A small bantam mixed flock for me:
2 silkies
2 Barred Rocks
2 Easter Eggers!

TONS of excited kids here. Even hubby is coming around. I think I am most excited about the silkies, which is funny bc they were my last choice...but once I picked them I fell in love.