INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Just thought I would let you guys know I saw on Meyer hatcheries facebook page that the all pullet rainbow pack went from $2.79 to $1.99

Got an Email from them too!

 

[lilmizscareall]

Sorry for your loss,I have 2 silkie chicks ( know nothing about the breed ) I have heard from locals, that I need to keep them in the house in winter.  I am researching that cause I just don't have a way to do that and I don't want to get rid of them. 
This winter has been hard on everyone, I know I have had real bad luck, frostbite and 3 deaths, and now I got the poopies going around, IDK just want winter over, so I for am feeling your pain. 

One of my friends told me that too, but I did research here on BYC and there's a lot of folks that disagree. I'm chalking it up to the extreme temps and the lack of roosting with the other birds, that and not probably getting all the food she needed. The silkies were at the bottom of the order and roosting in the nesting boxes. I had been moving them to the roost, but if her little buddy had left her on the floor for flock warmth...

 

[racinchickins]

ok another one of my questions, I've wanted to ask several times but just never got around to it, what is the difference between heritage breed and other chickens?

Depending on where you ask, that question can cause a lot of arguments. The precise definition of heritage depends on who you ask and that persons viewpoint on any number of chicken subjects.

Fortunately, this is the Indiana BYC thread. Everyone can have an opinion, and is encouraged to.

My personal view on the subject is that a heritage breed is any breed with an historical context. (Where that history kicks in is usually the cause for 'discussion'). There is usually a tie to some sort of breed standard also. This immediately eliminates hybrids and mixed breed chickens. Nothing wrong with them, they just aren't 'Heritage'. A lot of people also dismiss most hatchery stock also because they don't match this or that breed standard.

On this thread, probably the most common time you will hear about a 'Heritage' breed is with Rhode Island Reds. There has been a pretty clear divergence from 'Hatchery' stock and 'Heritage' stock. I visited SallyinIndiana recently, and saw this first hand. I've seen quite a few RIRs from hatcheries. They tend to be decent sized, but not large chickens, an orangey red color, and prodigious layers of lots of brown eggs. Sally has gotten some Heritage RIRs in her flock and the difference is striking. The birds are much larger, and a deep rich dark mahogany red color. I don't believe they lay as well as the 'production reds', but they still lay quite a few eggs. They also match up in size and body type much closer to the standard established by the APA. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that one or the other can be better for a particular person, depending on their wants and needs.

I have chosen to concentrate on two breeds that meet my definition of 'heritage' and one that is probably not. Mottled Javas, Crested Cream Legbars, and American Bresse.

The Mottled Javas would not be disputed by anybody as a heritage breed. Java's are the second oldest American breed and are listed in the Standards of the APA (American Poultry Association).

Crested Cream Legbars could be disputed by some as not a heritage breed because they are not in the APA standard. But they were developed in the UK in the 1930s and have a good history and a breed standard in the UK. However, they are recent imports to the US, and have a group actively working on a standard to be proposed to the APA.

American Bresse are also recent US imports without an APA standard. Poulet de Bresse are a historical breed of France, but the line from the US back to the original french chickens is a bit less clear than that of the CCLs. This is why they are called 'American' Bresse. This makes their status murky.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Thank you. She was just precious. I think she had internal problems but do not have a clue what happened.
No impaction in her crop. No sign of anything wrong. Just gone

I have kept a lot of geese. She was just unmistakably precious..
She will be remembered and missed horribly.


Paddy passed away the same day. We do not know why but the 2 always stayed together.
I suspect both had got into something bad, a plant? Paddy was our first gosling hatched.
This all happened while I was ill from the cows.
Painful experience for all of us as the 2 were probably the most loved here!
Its taken me this long to even talk about them. My WeeWee was a true pet.
Geese are not nearly as messy as ducks, and definitley eat less.
We are debating the pekin, very high feed volume with them!
They are enjoyable and so funny to watch. But costs need to be compared...
I may not have them much longer.

jchny~ Oh, that's so sad.

When I was looking through my BYC folder the other night, I ran across this photo of Paddy. I kept it because I thought it was the most adorable picture.

You deserve a good 2014 new year!

lilmizcareall ~ Sorry for your loss!

CRSelvey ~ That's too bad that your Bloomington trip didn't work out, but considering how cold and windy it is here, I'm sure you'd enjoy it more in warmer temps! It was so gusty and windy here last night that it sounded like the roof was going to blow off. I guess going from 55 degrees to 7 within a few hours stirred things up.

I can't believe that about the Purdue office! That is ridiculous to put a client through all that waiting and wondering about the rest of the flock. If the bag of shavings was brand new, was it open? If it's one of those bags that's tightly compacted and it was open, you could probably throw the top portion away in a plastic bag, and use the rest.
bradselig~ When you get a moment, you'll have to post pics of your little blue silkie chicks!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

M2H ~ the roof blew off our child's play house in the wind

 

[lilmizscareall]

I'm officially an Indiana BYR'er. I have a new avatar.... Thanks @Mother2Hens!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

anyone have a need for a ronco 5 tray dehydrator?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

For some reason when I searched articles on speckled eggs, I ended up finding an article written by pipd about her girl Frou-Frou. It was a good read in case you haven't seen it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/kristins-chickens-frou-frou

Ah, mon cheri amour, la Frou. Glad you enjoyed her page! I have one for all of my girls (except Marge--gotta work on that!), but Frou'f's is the best. The rest of them need a lot of work before I'll be as happy with them, anyway. For some reason, when it comes to my Big Fuzzy, I can write paragraph after paragraph. It's hard not to pick favorites...

 

[Leahs Mom]

One of my "little kiddos" (who are really "mid-sized" now rather than "little") Laid an egg today!

ETA: 21 weeks old

So small it didn't move the scale but she laid an egg! I noticed there was finally a nest in the "temporary nest box" on the younger kids side and there in the middle was a tiny egg.

I "think" it's this kiddo. (She's a SFH/BA mix...thus the silly crest.) (Photo is from a couple weeks ago and she's a bit larger and much redder in comb and wattles now.)


I still get excited about first eggs! And it's only 1F right now!

 

[lilmizscareall]

anyone have a need for a ronco 5 tray dehydrator?

I've debated getting one! I'm an avid thrifter, so I figured I'd come across one, one day.
I'd gladly take yours.