INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[leslea]

Okay, sorry for adding so many posts this morning. Next time I will go through the missed posts and do a "multi."

I have a question. Does anyone use a rain barrel for watering your flock? I found a lovely video of an automatic barrel system here on BYC and I wonder if the barrel will freeze in the winter. I guess it depends on the size? I was thinking I could get by cheap with a recycled, smaller barrel, but if it freezes then I'm stuck.

Thoughts and experiences are welcome!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Okay, sorry for adding so many posts this morning.  Next time I will go through the missed posts and do a "multi."


I have a question.  Does anyone use a rain barrel for watering your flock?  I found a lovely video of an automatic barrel system here on BYC and I wonder if the barrel will freeze in the winter.  I guess it depends on the size?  I was thinking I could get by cheap with a recycled, smaller barrel, but if it freezes then I'm stuck.


Thoughts and experiences are welcome! 

i dont but know people who have. It could very well freeze especially with the weather we are having. Some rig theres up with like a littlw aquarium water heater. Maybe look into that? I have not tried it before

 

[leslea]

i dont but know people who have. It could very well freeze especially with the weather we are having. Some rig theres up with like a littlw aquarium water heater. Maybe look into that? I have not tried it before

I thought about that. I think I'm going solar-powered for the indoor coop lights, but I don't think they may solar-heaters strong enough to keep a barrel from freezing (I've looked into them for my wild birds before). If it gets to the point of having to run elec to the coop, I think I'll just use the hose!

 

[PeacefulWalls]

CRSelvey ~ When you said "Then we went to the store . . ." I pictured this scene:

HappyHappyHappy ~ There are no birds/eggs left in the world that aren't related to Brad's! Haha! jk

Thanks for the great humor to start the day!!

I looked up Mottled Java chickens and they are stunning. I ran across these EE chicken photos online the other day and thought its pattern was pretty-- would it be called mottled? (I'm still on Chicken 101 level!)

very pretty!

Since woodpeckers are the only wild bird that I know anything about, here is a Woodpecker Lesson for this evening - lol!

The amazing one that leslea photographed is a Pileated Woodpecker (It can be pronounced both ways-- like Pile-eated or like Pill-eated). And it's the one that inspired Woody Woodpecker's look. There are many varieties, but these are the ones that I see the most often, especially the red-bellied (it's hard to see their red bellies when they are always against a tree!) and the Downy (smaller and fluffier). You're lucky if you ever get to see a Pileated one because I've read that many bird-watcher people have never had the luck to see one in person. We were so lucky to have one live in our far backyard for several years.

Btw, you are absolutely right, jchny, that we shouldn't have our bird feeder near the chickens-- especially after we've dealt with scaly leg mites.

The feeder is in such an otherwise perfect place.

Wow -- I'd love to see a pileated sometime. Whenever we go down to Brown County State Park we walk the trail where they have been seen. But of course we never see them! I have heard of some sightings even up north here in Goshen. When we lived in town we would get downy, red-bellied & flickers. We're treeless now except for a few small trees (3'-4' tall) we planted. I wish we would have the spare change to plant a few bigger trees -- that's one thing I miss from our old house.

So far here at the new house (which we call The Treehouse!) we've had Pileated, Downy, Red-bellied, and Northern Flickers. I love wild birds! I am actually writing a novel about two birders who fall in love...although now I am sure in one of the sequels they will have to start keeping chickens...

 

[chick rookie]

Sorry to hear that. I am a total newb so I have no idea. How old were they?

the leghorn was old! and the Buff was not even 1 yet.
and BTW

Welcome to BYC

 

[leslea]

the leghorn was old! and the Buff was not even 1 yet.
and BTW

Welcome to BYC

Thank you.

Someone posted a thread on BYC elsewhere about what it could be if there are no clues...it was a chart. I would google it for you but the kids are yanking on me.

 

[browncow15]

Okay, sorry for adding so many posts this morning.  Next time I will go through the missed posts and do a "multi."


I have a question.  Does anyone use a rain barrel for watering your flock?  I found a lovely video of an automatic barrel system here on BYC and I wonder if the barrel will freeze in the winter.  I guess it depends on the size?  I was thinking I could get by cheap with a recycled, smaller barrel, but if it freezes then I'm stuck.


Thoughts and experiences are welcome! 

We have a 1500 gal tank in the barn that's rain water filled for the cows. It gets quite a bit of ice in it. Something smaller would be more likely to freeze solid I would think.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Okay, sorry for adding so many posts this morning. Next time I will go through the missed posts and do a "multi."

I have a question. Does anyone use a rain barrel for watering your flock? I found a lovely video of an automatic barrel system here on BYC and I wonder if the barrel will freeze in the winter. I guess it depends on the size? I was thinking I could get by cheap with a recycled, smaller barrel, but if it freezes then I'm stuck.

Thoughts and experiences are welcome!

Personally, I think too many multi posts together can be confusing keeping track of who said what. But I'm a little confused to begin with!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I was able to get a not too bad picture this morning of the chicken I got from Brad. I'm thinking it is 1 rooster and 1 hen for sure but there are 2 that are much smaller than the roo and might be hens so gender guesses are welcome. The coop is going to be repainted this spring, sorry for the messy walls and roosting bars.


The one under the roosting bars is female. The dark one closet to her is the roo. It is the spacl chick in center and the dark one on the right that I'm not sure of.
Sorry about the picture quality. I'm not the best with a camera and it was really really cold this morning too.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I was able to get a not too bad picture this morning of the chicken I got from Brad. I'm thinking it is 1 rooster and 1 hen for sure but there are 2 that are much smaller than the roo and might be hens so gender guesses are welcome. The coop is going to be repainted this spring, sorry for the messy walls and roosting bars.


The one under the roosting bars is female. The dark one closet to her is the roo. It is the spacl chick in center and the dark one on the right that I'm not sure of.
Sorry about the picture quality. I'm not the best with a camera and it was really really cold this morning too.

looks like your have 2 of each, The two splashes being pullets and the darker ones being cockerels. not 100% sure though