INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[LonelyPageTurne]

That's for sure! Marge is sounding like she wants to brood. AGAIN. She's almost a year old and has gone broody about once a month since she started laying 6 months ago. I'd let her brood if she would only promise me a 100% pullet hatch. But at least she's cute even when she's grumping on her nest.
Oh, I didn't think of that! We always run out of eggs about November and I've been meaning to freeze some to prevent that for the past few years. Any suggestions as to how to freeze them? I've read to use ice cube trays and then transfer them to zipper baggies when they're frozen, but then my sister (culinary arts student) said you have to add something or the yolks turn green..? I've also read that it kind of ruins their texture so they are only good for baking. Is that true? Also, how long do they last in the freezer?

And I agree on watching birds, but I wasn't sure what the appeal was to watching bees. I could sit for hours watching my girls, too, but then they'd all be poking and prodding and fighting over who got my lap or my shoulder. Silly girls.
I did find out that my sweet Roha was beating up on poor Rangi, but today she seems to have settled down, so I'm torn as to whether I want to separate her or not. I'm going to keep watching and if she starts up again, I guess she'll have some time to herself to think about what she's done. :/ It's just so strange because Roha is such a sweetheart and she used to get along famously with Rangi.

Lol watching the birds and the bees? I thought this was a family thread!

 

[PeacefulWalls]

Snow is broody. I found nine eggs under her tonight. Silkies breed like rabbits.

I have a rabbit right now that I wish would breed like rabbits. I want to get a litter out of her but she's refusing to cooperate. It's rather surprising, actually, how often rabbits don't breed like rabbits!!

Is there a rural king in goshen?

Nope -- just Tractor Supply. Big R is in Elkhart by Concord mall. The closest Rural King is in Niles, MI, just a few miles north of South Bend.

pipd ~ That reminds me of Bonbon beating up on Adeline the week before last. It was very unsettling since they were best buddies. The next thing I knew, Bonbon became broody. So, maybe Roha is just hormonal!

Broody Bonbon
This is a rabbit hutch that I bought last summer for a quarantine coop (original CL ad photo). I bought it from a guy on CL for $100 who handmade it out of cedar from his uncle's tree. (He watched Rabbit TV). It's so nicely crafted (for a cage) that I had to have it. After I got it, I cleaned and steamed it, painted some interior parts that weren't cedar, and covered the existing wire windows with hardware cloth. It has two pull out poop trays and the top floor had a cut out section where DH added a chicken ladder that he made (I guess rabbits just hopped to the second floor!) Then, it sat empty for a year, but after CCCHICKENS and Sally's suggestion today to move Broody Bonbon, DH and I cleaned it up and made a door with lock. After dark, I relocated Bonbon and the five hatching eggs to her new private coop that sits a few feet away from the big coop. I figured that if she wants, she can watch and listen to the other chickens, but at least not be bothered with them wanting to lay an egg where she's brooding.

Good thinking to move her to this coop. Hope she has a successful hatch!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Thats a lotta eggs

I use the smaller cheap totes from walmart etc.. even a cardboard box sometimes. 5 gallon buckets laid on their side.. laundry baskets...

I built the first coop on almost nothing. It was an old shed, I added perches and a shelf for totes.
I hope to have actual nest boxes with lids when we build breeding coops! But Its most important to be predator proof first..

Quote: Donald is also BROODY! 2 scovy 3 geese and 1 turkey hen!!!

My original 3 scovy have boy names. youngest DD thought they were all drakes

We have 8 out and two more close to zipping there ways into the new world!!!
I think one peeped yesterday morning but didn't make it

we will see if it's just really slow! Kabhyper1 one chick is really blonde color gorgeous chick!! Don't know what the one is either lol


Sorry about the terrible pics, my phone don't like getting a good pic through the bator window!

woohoo!!!!

bradselig & all ~ My Splash Silkie seems fine today!!!!!!!!! After reading your post last night, brad, I went out and observed her in the coop sleeping with her little flock and she seemed okay, but I was very relieved this morning when she came bouncing out as normal. I will be keeping my eye on her closely-- when I get up later. Back to bed for now!

Mr. Roo is getting spoiled, he had a snack of unsalted popcorn with grampa today

Quote: I only saw 2 roos,... wow! Loved the pied! pic #1 left may be, but can't quite see his waddles. Middle is roo, right is hen.
Congrats! I posted my guesses on each pic.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I did find out that my sweet Roha was beating up on poor Rangi, but today she seems to have settled down, so I'm torn as to whether I want to separate her or not. I'm going to keep watching and if she starts up again, I guess she'll have some time to herself to think about what she's done. :/ It's just so strange because Roha is such a sweetheart and she used to get along famously with Rangi.

[COLOR=4B0082]pipd ~[/COLOR] [COLOR=8B4513]That reminds me of Bonbon beating up on Adeline the week before last. It was very unsettling since they were best buddies. The next thing I knew, Bonbon became broody. So, maybe Roha is just hormonal! [/COLOR]

Oh, gosh, no! But Leghorns are supposed to be infrequent / never brooders, so I'm going with the hopes that my girls just had a disagreement or something! I've already got Marge and maybe a Partridge Plymouth Rock thinking about brooding--I'm running out of broody busting pens and the Wyandottes and Sebrights haven't even gotten started yet! They are lucky I adore them enough to tolerate their shenanigans!

But yeah, it's weird. Rangi and Roha have been buddies since they were little. And plus Roha has always been such a doll, I never expected her to be a bully!

Look, Rangi and Roha as babies. Okay, admittedly, I looked it up because I wanted to look at chick pictures. (Technically, 29 days to go until chicks . I mean, because it's past midnight, so it's technically Sunday now. )

And while I'm at it, oh my goodness, look at baby Po!!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Lol watching the birds and the bees? I thought this was a family thread!

I thought the same thing when I typed that out.

Funny story in relation to this topic, my niece helped me out with getting the girls in tonight (which mostly involves her asking to hold the flashlight and trying to shoo the hens into the coop before they're ready, but I digress). Well, there was a LF Easter-egger egg that had a crack in it from hitting the nest box floor because the hens won't leave their shavings in the nest, so I decided to peel back the shell and see if Po had fertilized it. My niece came walking up and asked me what I was doing. Hmmm... So not knowing how much my sister wants her daughter to know on the topic, I told my niece that I was checking to see if Po was 'doing his job'. She seemed satisfied with that answer, anyway.


The egg was fertile, by the way, which means Po (who is a bantam Cochin) has managed to get his little fluffy butt up onto one of the big ol' Easter-egger hens at some point.

 

[LonelyPageTurne]

I thought the same thing when I typed that out.

Funny story in relation to this topic, my niece helped me out with getting the girls in tonight (which mostly involves her asking to hold the flashlight and trying to shoo the hens into the coop before they're ready, but I digress). Well, there was a LF Easter-egger egg that had a crack in it from hitting the nest box floor because the hens won't leave their shavings in the nest, so I decided to peel back the shell and see if Po had fertilized it. My niece came walking up and asked me what I was doing. Hmmm... So not knowing how much my sister wants her daughter to know on the topic, I told my niece that I was checking to see if Po was 'doing his job'. She seemed satisfied with that answer, anyway.


The egg was fertile, by the way, which means Po (who is a bantam Cochin) has managed to get his little fluffy butt up onto one of the big ol' Easter-egger hens at some point.

Hahaha the things men do for love. Guess he's a chubby chaser lol.

My blrw who can't even get a decent crow out is hitting the target on the girls he's in with lol. Silly boy.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Baby moo trusted me, and I blame myself for this. The girls probably only nibbled. My guess is he assumed it was a treat. I would give him a chopped apple , just a few nibbles, along with a lot of neck rubs every day. He was really spoiled! If mom left it, its ok right? Every thing seems fine with Sophie and Sugar. Vet confirmed that's the problem plant. Now to eradicate every last bit of it off this property

I got to show off my ducks and ducklings today. They all look to be the same size now and they travel around the run in a herd. It is great fun to watch or even try to walk up to them.

I also had a great time meeting LonelyPageTurne .

I have 18 pekin hatched so far, its hilarious when I take them out! I gotta get pics

I put them in a hardware cloth corral and they LOVE it. It was great to meet Lonely and see Pginsber today too! And of course, to see racin and to meet his brother too.. I pester him a lot tho

Quote:

You are most welcome. Take your time, measure twice and think how you want your coop to be. Lots of great ideas here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/medium-chicken-coop-designs-pictures-of-chicken-coops

Help Please -- Today's Crisis:

I was outside and heard Bonbon making her Broody Screech sounds. I looked in the coop and my BR Tweedy was sitting in Bonbon's nesting box like Tweedy was planning to lay an egg there. Bonbon was furious and stood outside the box. I saw a broken hatching egg next to her. It was the Silkie one from Janet!!!

At first I thought Tweedy had broken all the eggs on purpose, but I think it just was a casualty of the ruckus when Tweedy took over the box. (There was an empty nesting box right next to Bonbon!). I grabbed Tweedy and made her go to the box in the garage that she usually prefers to lay in. Then I shut the coop door for the meantime until I figure out what to do. Should I move Bonbon and her eggs? If so, where? I don't mind having her inside, but I don't want to stress her out. So far she has been broody in that same box for almost a week without any problems from the other hens. They've all left her alone until today.

I'm sure everyone is outside is the gorgeous day!!! I'm heading out now.

Lots of good advice posted. She needs her own space to brood and hatch for sure. Adeline will be ok. They adjust, and it will help Bonbon focus on her babies. Right now, she doesn't want anyone near her

My Huey is actually nipping, never thought I would see that! Don't stress over the egg, since it was Fluffs first, it was probably not a hard shell.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6517490/default/

can anyone tell me if this is a hen, please? I am having difficulty uploading it to the thread here for some reason, so just linked to my album. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kristi

I would say a very lovely hen! I don't keep them but know someone that does. Japanese or rosecomb possibly. The band makes me think she was part of a breeding program too.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Usually the bands are used for identifying birds in a breeding program.

That is a Rosecomb bantam hen. Is she friendly at all? I would judge by her quality and the fact that she has a legband that she flew the coop, so to speak, so you might want to ask your friend if she knows of anyone in the area with chickens before you take her. I would also suggest you take precautions such as quarantine as Sally suggested, but closer to 4 weeks to be safe.

The unfortunate thing about having such a small flock is that you cannot safely do the 'canary in the mineshaft' method of quarantine where you put one of your birds in quarantine with her. The danger is that she will be an asymptomatic carrier of something and you won't know until you introduce her to your flock. Just be very careful and if you see ANYTHING to be concerned about (sneezing, itching, watery or oozy eyes, etc.), take some time to think about what you're going to do next.

good points.

Is there a rural king in goshen?

http://www.ruralking.com/about/find-store
Hope this helps, just put in your zip code.

Quote: Pefect! Thats an awesome broody house!

 

[Mother2Hens]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6517490/default/

can anyone tell me if this is a hen, please? I am having difficulty uploading it to the thread here for some reason, so just linked to my album. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kristi

kitinwest ~ Consider yourself lucky if you get to keep her. She's a beautiful hen! I bet the owner is looking for her, though.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:

Quote: Oh, gosh, no!

But Leghorns are supposed to be infrequent / never brooders, so I'm going with the hopes that my girls just had a disagreement or something! I've already got Marge and maybe a Partridge Plymouth Rock thinking about brooding--I'm running out of broody busting pens and the Wyandottes and Sebrights haven't even gotten started yet!

They are lucky I adore them enough to tolerate their shenanigans!

But yeah, it's weird. Rangi and Roha have been buddies since they were little. And plus Roha has always been such a doll, I never expected her to be a bully!

Look, Rangi and Roha as babies.

Okay, admittedly, I looked it up because I wanted to look at chick pictures.

(Technically, 29 days to go until chicks . I mean, because it's past midnight, so it's technically Sunday now.

)



And while I'm at it, oh my goodness, look at baby Po!!

They were so adorable as chicks

Quote: Its pretty amazing how the lil guys get the job "done"! My Buff partridge silkie roo is sure the big man, the EEs always run over there to see him dancing

Quote: He will figure it out! wyandottes are very prolific trust me! I have 3 hens and a roo, sold well over a hundred last season. Mine are the plain GLW and were very popular.