INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Mother2Hens]

Originally Posted by atrueb00
DH cleaned out the duckling brooder yesterday so we let the ducklings out for the first time. It was so funny to watch them move around-they really do move as one flock. Our silkie rooster kept a close eye on them, like he was watching over them for the few minutes they were outside. Can't wait for warmer weather so I can let them free range a little and get out the kiddy pool!



I've been trying to cuddle with each of the chicks daily to get them used to people. My cat happened to be on my lap sleeping so I put the two chicks next to her and they cuddled right up to her. She kept them nice and warm!



My favorite part of having our hen hatch out eggs and take on the 3 silkie chicks is that I see little heads pop up from under her wing. So cute!

atrueb00 ~ Love your photos! I'm hoping to have a mama with chicks like yours.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Minminme ~ Your Silkies sound wonderful. I think you got Earl and Diamond from kabhyper? Rudy the roo who acts like a dog reminds me of my cat Lionel who acts more like a dog than a cat.
Minminme and leslea ~ I have two blue 4 month old Silkies, one male and one female. I got them (and a blue splash) from bradselig when they were a month old and they both looked light to medium gray (photo below). They've been through a lot of interesting color changes. Now at 4 months, they are dark gray. I love any of the gray "blue" ranges. I need to take new photos tomorrow!
They almost look like conjoined twins in this photo! At the beginning, we used a large aquarium for a brooder, which was excellent for Chicken TV viewing.


Originally Posted by Delawaremommy

okay....this is nuts...my mom has decided that the bantys can't be in with the lf so I am putting up a second coop and run this weekend. The coop I'm getting holds 6-8 lf but I am putting only 2 bantys in it....so here's where the math (mostly multiplication) comes in.... I need (BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

) to add at least one more so that the bantys don't look ridiculous in the huge coop. so if anyone out there has a 2-4 week old banty cochin, d'uccle, d'anver any color but must be pullet let me know...I can travel most anywhere in IN to meet or pick up. Hey Racin just a thought...do you have any Fayoumi?? they are little enough to count as banty!
Anyways...just looking...and really what's one more right?

Delawaremommy ~ You certainly wouldn't want your two bantams to look ridiculous in a cage that's not in proportion to their flock size-- and I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate looking ridiculous, either. So, YES, you need more banties!!!

CCCHICKENS~ Way to go with your new breeding coop construction!

Leahs Mom ~ Sorry to hear about your beautiful Miss Gray!

It just goes to show how important having a first aid kit prepared before an emergency happens. I'm sure you knew just how to care for her. Keep us posted on how she is doing!

 

[leslea]

Congratulations leslea and family!! Your exciting day finally came (as your online calendar marked off the days), and your babies arrived sweet and healthy! So happy for you. I remember you saying that at one time your DH wasn't so sure about having chickens . . . has he been watching Chicken TV non-stop?

DH was off for election day, so we went to our favorite garden center, which has chickens and peacocks (we changed clothes/shoes as biosecurity measures when we arrived home). This peacock was up by the check out area. I took a few pictures, but he must've been bashful since he "hid."

A shy peacock? That's funny.

Believe it or not, DH was the only one in the family who didn't hold a chick yesterday. I will make sure he does so today. I can tell he's happy that they're here, but with all the running around yesterday, I think he may have been too tired to peer into the brooder when the couch is right there across the room.

I was going to cut a window in my brooder box so we could do sit-down chicken TV, but I want to make sure that once my dogs realize there are chicks in the living room, they do not change from Woodstock-loving Snoopy dogs into something else. Just a precaution.

I got up at 3:30 to check on everyone. All is well under the warmer. Going to try and catch a few Zzzzzs, myself here in a minute.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

For everyone that asked - my little Miss Gray was very badly injured. Huge wound on the back of her neck and ripped along the shoulder. I didn't see her when I got home and went looking for her. I found her on the roost but she didn't look right to me.

She is the lowest in pecking order here and she is the only bird that comes to me like a puppy as I'm the protector. If I bend down and hold out my arms she'll come just like a little dog. (She is just 7 mos old)

I didn't see the wound at first since it was totally covered with her feathers. I took her out and put her down and she sauntered away but I could tell something wasn't right. Then I saw a clump of her feathers on the ground so I went and got her and parted the neck feathers and sure enough, a huge wound. I assume hawk based on what I see in other folk's photos. None of the other birds appear to have any injuries or be worse for the wear.


Brought her up to the house and flushed as best I could with what I had in the first aid kit (I usually keep saline solution but was out...had purchased vetricyn a long time ago before I learned that it is Dakin's Solution and can be easily made at home....was glad I had it ready to go, however...good reminder to re-stock the saline, dakins, etc.)

I didn't cut many feathers at this point because I could tell it was just too much stress for her. Put on some NuStock and isolated her.

The good things:
She has an appetite. She ate a good bit of raw ground beef (grass fed from a healthy source) and I was able to put a couple drops of Susan Burek's wound formula on a piece of the meat rather than trying to get it down her (This is an herbal tincture). Can be seen here: http://www.moonlightmileherbs.com/poultryherbcart2014.html

Then later she ate her regular feed and drank without having to be coaxed. At first she didn't seem to want to eat or drink so I'm very glad to have seen her avail herself of both..and a few mealworms as dessert.

I'll keep treating the wound and watching. This wound is so bad that it's going to take time. I had considered whether I needed to put her out of her misery when I saw how bad it is. But her eyes are bright, she's eating and drinking. So...I watch.

That's awful, I'm so sorry. I hope she heals. I'll keep you both in prayer.

 

[raisinemright]

We'll I'm off to get X-rays done on my back. Should have done it yesterday but I was busy putting up new pasture fence. I hope it's nothing to bad going on. That's the bad thing about pain meds, you don't feel pain while your working. Boy when they wear off I can tell it. Hopefully I can finish the pasture this afternoon. That would let the goats have another acre to graze. Hope everyone is doing great this morning!!!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

For everyone that asked - my little Miss Gray was very badly injured.  Huge wound on the back of her neck and ripped along the shoulder.  I didn't see her when I got home and went looking for her.  I found her on the roost but she didn't look right to me.

She is the lowest in pecking order here and she is the only bird that comes to me like a puppy as I'm the protector.  If I bend down and hold out my arms she'll come just like a little dog.  (She is just 7 mos old)

I didn't see the wound at first since it was totally covered with her feathers.  I took her out and put her down and she sauntered away but I could tell something wasn't right.  Then I saw a clump of her feathers on the ground so I went and got her and parted the neck feathers and sure enough, a huge wound.  I assume hawk based on what I see in other folk's photos.  None of the other birds appear to have any injuries or be worse for the wear.


Brought her up to the house and flushed as best I could  with what I had in the first aid kit (I usually keep saline solution but was out...had purchased vetricyn a long time ago before I learned that it is Dakin's Solution and can be easily made at home....was glad I had it ready to go, however...good reminder to re-stock the saline, dakins, etc.)

I didn't cut many feathers at this point because I could tell it was just too much stress for her.  Put on some NuStock and isolated her.

The good things:
She has an appetite.  She ate a good bit of raw ground beef (grass fed from a healthy source) and I was able to put a couple drops of Susan Burek's wound formula on a piece of the meat rather than trying to get it down her (This is an herbal tincture).  Can be seen here:  http://www.moonlightmileherbs.com/poultryherbcart2014.html

Then later she ate her regular feed and drank without having to be coaxed.  At first she didn't seem to want to eat or drink so I'm very glad to have seen her avail herself of both..and a few mealworms as dessert.

I'll keep treating the wound and watching.  This wound is so bad that it's going to take time.  I had considered whether I needed to put her out of her misery when I saw how bad it is.  But her eyes are bright, she's eating and drinking.  So...I watch.

I hope miss gray heals fast! She sounds like she has the will

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

We'll I'm off to get X-rays done on my back. Should have done it yesterday but I was busy putting up new pasture fence. I hope it's nothing to bad going on. That's the bad thing about pain meds, you don't feel pain while your working. Boy when they wear off I can tell it. Hopefully I can finish the pasture this afternoon. That would let the goats have another acre to graze. Hope everyone is doing great this morning!!!

Good luck with your back. Sounds like you need to take a break from fencing!

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I want to stop wigging out every time I see something new or different about my flock. I'm just not sure how.

Maybe I should put my panic in the form of a question. Like instead of saying, "MY CHICKENS ARE FLOPPING AROUND LIKE IT'S A REVIVAL AND HAVING CONVULSIONS AND THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!" I could ask, "Um, what does it mean when they flop around scratching and flapping at the ground?"

Then someone could tell me they're just making a waller and having a dirt bath, and come back in off the ledge cause everything's fine.

Being a noob is just so, so much fun. I hope you're all enjoy it as much as I am. ;-)

 

[racinchickins]

I want to stop wigging out every time I see something new or different about my flock. I'm just not sure how.

Maybe I should put my panic in the form of a question. Like instead of saying, "MY CHICKENS ARE FLOPPING AROUND LIKE IT'S A REVIVAL AND HAVING CONVULSIONS AND THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!" I could ask, "Um, what does it mean when they flop around scratching and flapping at the ground?"

Then someone could tell me they're just making a waller and having a dirt bath, and come back in off the ledge cause everything's fine.

Being a noob is just so, so much fun. I hope you're all enjoy it as much as I am. ;-)

I totally understand your panic. When I got my first batch of chicks, I came back to the brooder after being away for a bit. I saw the chicks lying limp all over each other with their eyes closed and thought I had killed them all!!!! I ran over to the box and reached down to touch a chick. It jumped up and stepped on its broodmates and everyone started running around. I felt like an idiot. Of course chicks would nap and fall asleep. You put me in a warm room and that is what I do........

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I want to stop wigging out every time I see something new or different about my flock. I'm just not sure how.

Maybe I should put my panic in the form of a question. Like instead of saying, "MY CHICKENS ARE FLOPPING AROUND LIKE IT'S A REVIVAL AND HAVING CONVULSIONS AND THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!" I could ask, "Um, what does it mean when they flop around scratching and flapping at the ground?"

Then someone could tell me they're just making a waller and having a dirt bath, and come back in off the ledge cause everything's fine.

Being a noob is just so, so much fun. I hope you're all enjoy it as much as I am. ;-)

Just wait they will be dust bathing and decide to take a nap. Then from a kitchen window, it will look like they all just died in their dusting spots.