INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Mother2Hens]

Joining late but I am from NW Indiana (Crawfordsville area) and have had our chicks just under a year now. We are lvoing it and have to say we have learned a lot this winter about chickens and what they need during this time (I know we have had a bit more difficult winter than normal). Glad I found you other IN chickens lovers

Odumchickenfarm ~ Welcome to the Indiana Thread!

It doesn't matter when you join our group ~ we're glad you're here. Please look on page 1895 post 18943 about Indiana Thread information.
Originally Posted by chick rookie
I called my vet he does do chickens and I am taking the last dead one and a stool sample in today. the stool sample will know in 15 minutes and he is going to check the hen for cause of death. he told me it didn't sound like anything but old age and a accident to him. but I will feel better knowing for sure. So thanks for getting me off my butt so to speak. Didn't know vets took chickens, never heard of it, till BYC thanks all.

chick rookie ~ That's great that you are going to the vet. Not knowing what's going on, but imagining what could be is very stressful. I thought about listing possible causes for a chicken's death from my chicken health book, but there are so many possibilities that there's no use worrying about a list when it might not be any of them.

Keep us posted!
Yes, we're all in the same boat-- or nest. It's a hopeless situation-- no chance for rehabilitation, so we might as well accept our lot in life.

 

[Too Fast]

minmin~ What great photos ~ and breakfast! For dinner, I made my hens some warm scrambled eggs (from BonBon's hidden stash) with blueberries, grapes, and bananas on the side since they had a lousy weather day.

goatluver ~ Have you studied the scientific data about global warming causing climate change or are you just repeating what someone else said? Either way, we're not haters here on the Indiana Thread!
Do you know what breed(s) and how many you're getting?
Originally Posted by lilmizscareall
Google & BYC is a fountain of info. I learned that hawks can strike and kill your birds through fence and chicken wire.
Chicken wire=keeping chickens in or out
Hardware cloth=keeping your birds safe from predators
Raccoons can pull out staples and make quick work of any fencing not properly secured. They(and opossums) also climb and dig.
My birds have a back yard surrounded by privacy fence. It is not considered safe or secured from predators.
Their run and coop are. Well... I lie. We haven't put any hardware cloth around the bottom of the run. Technically our coop isn't even finished, we just ran out of time before the bad weather hit. I check my yard everyday for signs of new pests. Nothing yet, but I know they are out there.
lilmizcareall ~
I use carabiner locks on my coop and nesting box doors, but because raccoons are so intelligent and care figure things out, I've wondered if I should use combination locks! My coop/run is like Fort Knox, but I only have 6 chickens. Like you, mine free-range in a fenced area of the backyard, but having a deck with a large area underneath, lots of bushes, trees, outdoor furniture, etc. provides them with a lot of hiding places that they can easily duck into. I think I'm going to plant more bushes in the back where I take them for supervised field trips. There are a lot of huge trees, but not enough hiding spots. It may look a little weird with random bushes. It seems like there would be some kind of fold-out fake bushes that I could move around as I do yard work. Maybe I should go on that show "Shark Tank" and pitch my product. Hahaha

I've wondered about using combination lockes for the nest boxes, we use the carabiners also. So far, so good. Fold out fake bushes, lol.

Morning everyone, cock-a-doodle do!

 

[gunchief25]

Morning all Cockadoodle... brrrrrrr...doooooo!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Today, during my lunch break at work, WHY did I spend the entire hour surfing RED SILKIES and SHOWGIRLS?
I have no room for more birds--aack-- somebody help me!!

 

[leslea]

Okay, so this morning we were watching the chicken cam on Animal Planet Live, and I said to my husband "You know...I think I have been reading about chickens a little too much...I'm pretty sure I can tell you the breed of these chicks. I'm not sure how to say it, but they look like baby Cochins."

So I checked on the website...they are bantam Cochin chicks.

I have gone chicken crazy! And my ticker is not updating so now I have to fix it. This is worse than being pregnant.

Great chicken cam

Good morning, Hoosier BYCers!

 

[leslea]

Yes, we're all in the same boat-- or nest. It's a hopeless situation-- no chance for rehabilitation, so we might as well accept our lot in life.

It's a tree fort! LOL! Something for big boy babies. We don't normally get this much snow!

I knew you all would understand my "OCD."

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: There's always therapy for that

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I would like a few, if you are ever in the area. A variety would be nice, and I have always enjoyed tulip trees.

Quote: a wool dryer ball is a ball of wool yarn. It is wound very tightly and tied into the toe of a very thin sock or hose. Then washed in hot water for at least 30 minutes then dried in the dryer with towels. The washing in a sock procedure takes place everytime the diameter of the ball is increased by 1 inch. So for a average size dryer ball (about the size of a tennis ball) at least 3 times.
Some people go an extra step when they ball is done and needle felt the ball into cute patterns.
The balls are used in place of dryer sheets in the dryer, or as children's / pet toys.
plain wool dryer balls: http://www.sweetandwoodsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2-5-12-121.jpg
needle felted wool dryer balls: http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.136590343.jpg

 

[Leahs Mom]

ATTENTION: STOLEN WATERFOWL


The public is also invited to contact the sheriff's office with any information about the missing birds by calling 219-326-7700.

.
John Vanek said Tuesday he posted the thefts on Facebook, which generated numerous leads that he and friends followed in the northeast part of LaPorte County.

Each time, however, the tips led to Canada geese or mallard ducks, not the species that belonged to him, such as African geese and silver appleyard ducks.

How so many ducks and geese rare to this area were taken is not known, but Vanek speculated grain or bread crumbs were used to lure them off his private pond and hauled away in some type of large cage.
''You're not going to stuff them under your arm and walk away with that number of animals,'' Vanek said.

According to LaPorte County Police, the thefts occurred during the night or early morning on two separate days late last week on his property along Emery Road in Hudson Lake.
The 48 ducks were inside an open ''fenced-in compound,'' said Vanek, who added that a section of the metal fence was pulled up and moved to gain access to his property.

There were also two sets of footprints leading to his private pond and webbed tracks in the snow leading away from his property to, perhaps, a van or some other large vehicle adjacent to his land, he said.
LaPorte County Police chief of detectives Pat Cicero said never before has he come across a case involving the theft of so many waterfowl. He didn't want to speculate how such a caper could be pulled off.
''You can speculate all day as to how this occurred. I would assume that this took awhile,'' Cicero said.

Vanek said the eight- to 10-pound birds could not have simply flown away because they are larger than common waterfowl, limiting them to short flights.
''It was pretty obvious due to the tracks there was human involvement,'' Vanek said.

Vanek said he bought the breeds as goslings and ducklings for about $150 to $200 a pair several years ago.
He started breeding the birds and selling the offspring to buyers such as 4-H participants, who raise and show them at the fair.
His ducks are also used for eggs and meat.

Cicero said the intent is to share the report with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to help generate leads.

The public is also invited to contact the sheriff's office with any information about the missing birds by calling 219-326-7700.

 

[racinchickins]

I would like a few, if you are ever in the area. A variety would be nice, and I have always enjoyed tulip trees.

a wool dryer ball is a ball of wool yarn. It is wound very tightly and tied into the toe of a very thin sock or hose. Then washed in hot water for at least 30 minutes then dried in the dryer with towels. The washing in a sock procedure takes place everytime the diameter of the ball is increased by 1 inch. So for a average size dryer ball (about the size of a tennis ball) at least 3 times.
Some people go an extra step when they ball is done and needle felt the ball into cute patterns.
The balls are used in place of dryer sheets in the dryer, or as children's / pet toys.
plain wool dryer balls: http://www.sweetandwoodsy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2-5-12-121.jpg
needle felted wool dryer balls: http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.136590343.jpg

do they really work as replacements for dryer sheets?....not really sure why I'm asking, as we haven't used a dryer in years. Don't even own one now. We use lines hung on our screen porch to dry clothes.