INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I don't have a lot of "egg customers" yet but I do offer a mixed assortment to those that buy. Colors seem to be a big thing right now with most that are buying.
I have a lot of requests for wyandottes! Selling a lot of adult birds.

Ya I was thinking of some white eggs, that might be in my flock this spring yet. About the necked necks... We will see lol

NN are just sweet birds. I have 2 from Brad that are just adorable, jump on your shoulder and want petted birds! Just love them.

M2H - We got napoleon dynamite from the library today and are probably going to watch it tonight. I have not seen it in a few years but it is so funny! "Yes I love technology not as much as you, you see. Always and forever"

LMAO its a fun movie!

I know! It's really hard to think of them out there. But the mammas are amazing and know how to take care of them well.

Every once in awhile folks get a broody that is not a good mamma. I don't hear that very often but it does happen. Especially when it's cold it's good to observe them the first few days or so to be sure they're doing their job. If they aren't then of course you would want to intervene. But I think that's the exception rather than the rule.

That batch was my first broody-raised chicks and I kept wavering. I had a good "broody mentor" to ask questions and he was very reassuring.

My same girl hatched 3 in September this year and did another excellent job as well.

I am going to let my broodies hatch this year. I had 4 hens and 2 ducks wanting to last season, and several of my geese. Its time I let them do things naturally.

I thought we was suppose to get snow but all we are getting is freezing rain. Roads are slick.

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UGH hope it misses all of us, be safe

This week was hatching week! Have 20 silkies, 1 showgirl, a blue modern, and a silver laced Wyandotte from kabhyper! Just put another dozen or so eggs into lockdown yesterday. If I remember correctly there are Marans, silkies, showgirls, and moderns in that batch. Then I have a week off and it starts all over again! I love hatching lol.

Now if I can only figure out why my cabinet bator is all of a sudden having very inconsistent temps through out the incubator. It was built like a sportsman but 1 am getting a 10F temp difference from the front to back! I'm going to keep the next hatch in the little giants so I can tear the cabinet incubator down and try to get more even temps. If I add a fan on the bottom, it helps a lot but makes it have too much air flow and the chicks get stuck during hatch. I just need to buy a true sportsman!

I am sold 100% on the sportsman, its flat awesome. no worries, no adjusting, no problems. Ya it was $$$ expensive but WOW.
I already see a big difference in hatching. If the egg is fertile it is gonna hatch! that alone made it worth it!

MIL babies are starting to internally pip!!!! I went over there and took Ashes out to potty and eat and looked at the eggs. It is day 19. One is pipped inside!! So no more going off the nest for her. She was exceptionally perturbed at me tonight, so I knew something was up. I will go back over in the morning and check on her. They live right in front of us. lol. BTW we watched Gravity in 3D tonight. It was really neat! If you all haven't seen it, you should.

So exciting ashes is saying let me do my job

DH loves movies so will tell him!

 

[HappyHappyHappy]

While reading some of the last few days post I saw where someone is having trouble with Raccoons.. I have trapped and hunted them for their fur for years. I will tell you a secret.. Get a live trap, Run a trail of Nacho Cheese Doritos into the trap with a pile in the back of the trap close to dark and check it in the morning.. Within a couple weeks you will catch every coon and opossum within a mile. The Smell of those things Drives them nuts. once trapped you can either drive 10 miles away and drop them out or simply shoot them in the head and sell them to a fur buyer.. You may also catch a few stray cats by mistake but you can simply let them go..

I also saw where someone had 40 hens and was only getting one or two eggs a day.. When it is cold if you feed your chickens a nice ration of cracked corn and scratch grains just before they roost in the Eve it will keep them warmer at night while they digest them and they will lay more eggs..

 

[Mother2Hens]

So my hens and I spent five hours doing yard work and when it was getting dark and the hens started going in the coop, I noticed that Bonbon, my little 6 month old Chocolate English Orp hen (bantam) was missing. I found her in the garage sitting in the rubbermaid box that the hens adopted as their laying box. She was sitting very intently on Nene's egg. I picked her up and put her in the coop next to Adeline, and she tried to get out twice while the others were getting settled. After I locked the coop, I could hear her fussing and I felt bad. She's the one who has had a couple of broody moments before, but this time she seemed serious. Since she's going to wake up to snow and ice in the morning, maybe she'll delay her plans.

My chicks are growing, especially the English Orps from Kiniska. (They're the two surviving chicks because two chicks died even though their good mother was with them. Kiniska thinks that they probably needed a drink or food and froze to death during the severe cold). They've always slept on the floor with the three Silkies from bradselig and they still do, but recently at bedtime, they've acted anxious about perching-- and perching higher than the perches I had set up. So I made them higher perches, but they seem torn about whether they should perch there together or sleep with the Silkies. The little Silkies look up at them like, "What are you doing up there so high when it's time for bed?" So they all end up together on the floor.
Backyard Bitten & brown cow~ Sweet chicks from SallyinIndiana!
raisinemright ~ Love the mustache on your little chick, too!

M2H - We got napoleon dynamite from the library today and are probably going to watch it tonight. I have not seen it in a few years but it is so funny! "Yes I love technology not as much as you, you see. Always and forever"
goatluver~ Haha I usually don't like to watch movies more than once, but I have "Napoleon Dynamite" movie many times and never get tired of it. I've also seen the PBS chicken documentary, "The Natural History of the Chicken" many times as well as Christopher Guest movies like "Best in Show."

 

[Mother2Hens]

I knew this day would come. Our neighbor asked if we could muzzle our rooster. He said it was waking him up. Which I'm sure it is. I have no idea what his sleep schedule is, but let's face it buddy. I'm not getting rid of him, because of you...
He has knocked on our door twice to ask who was parked in his parking spot, on a public street. Cleaned his gutters out into our yard and on top of our car. Complained about our car that was not running(public health cited us, yes we were at fault) buried my driveway while digging his car out from the snow.
He rents, I own. If he wants a battle... not that I'm going to actively participate, he can have it.
Ugh it's just so frustrating. He is obviously not normal and looking for trouble...
I just want some backyard birds.
lilmizscareall ~ I feel for you having to deal with someone like that. I'd think about getting a security camera because he sounds like he is up to no good. He needs to rent in another area of Indy that prohibits poultry. Hopefully your rooster will urge him to move!

 

[PimentoPlymouth]

So is anyone getting any of this bad weather they have been predicting for us yet. I have not gotten any and hoping it isnt quite what they predicted it to be.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

My first broody hatched her eggs and raised her chicks out in the hen house. First batch were hatched New Year's eve 2012.

Never brought her in. Chicks thrived. I have a friend who has a broody that broods 4 x/year. His takes them out at day 2 or 3 even when there is snow. If she's a good mamma she'll know what to do to take care of them.

My vote is to let your chickens be chickens



It was in the teens when they were hatched. Temps fluctuated between teens, single digits, and 20's.



Kids out to eat in the teens.


Learning to dust bathe in the 20's.


Ah...this is more like it. Temps in the 30's.

So now that I'm thinking I may just leave her in the barn to hatch the eggs, I just realized I'll probably need to go out & buy another heated water dish so they'll have constant water available & not just when we make trips to the barn to swap out frozen waterers...hate having to purchase yet another thing..ugh!

 

[raisinemright]

Man yall were chittychatty last night lol, I woke up to a few pages to catch up on

Still no peeps on the last 6 eggs in lock down. I almost fell like pulling them out and concentrating on the RIR and BPR's! I dont know if I should just yet or still hold out on the marans. I am blessed that the two that hatched are doing wonderful. And we up here in Whitley have gotten at least 3" by 8:30am so far, looks like ill be firing up the garden tractor with the blower and doing some work this morning. Hope everyone stays warm today.

 

[Leahs Mom]

once trapped you can either drive 10 miles away and drop them out or simply shoot them in the head and sell them to a fur buyer.. You may also catch a few stray cats by mistake but you can simply let them go..

@HappyHappyHappy

-WHERE DO I FIND A FUR BUYER?
-Do they want it skinned and fur only or will they "do the deed"?

 

[Leahs Mom]

I've about given up on ever seeing grass again.



New Headline:

GLOBAL WARMING PREDICTIONS PROVEN WRONG AS NEW ICE AGE THREATENS TO OBLITERATE THE WORLD

People everywhere are being advised to turn on their car engines, purchase and spray aerosol cans, burn as much as possible, and feed livestock gas-producing feeds to help prevent this new threat to life as we know it.....Get the whole story here: www.whatso-calledscientiststhinktheyknowtoday.com

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote: I got the best price on a heated quart dog bowl at BigR in Dunlap. I use it to keep the canning jar waterer from freezing. Be sure they can't step into it in these cold temps. marbles in there for sure!

This is what I'm using for all ages this winter. So far it's worked the best to keep the water thawed. I have been bringing it in at night and putting a new jar of water on them in the morning and they stay open all day long with no problem.

The dog bowl is filled with grit then water in the grit to conduct the heat up to the waterer above.
Jar nestles down onto the grit/water in the base; grit provides as a sturdy base.
The jar is a 5 lb. honey jar...holds about 1/2 gal.

If you use that with little ones there would have to be something for them to climb up on to reach it.



This is what I used with that first brooding batch. The base it's sitting on has a heater from the 5 quart dog bowl under it. This is how I made it here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631861/diy-thread-lets-see-your-inventions/1240#post_12201747

And there WERE marbles in there.