INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[SallyinIndiana]

This rain is going on too long! My oldest girls are demanding to be fed inside their coop and are expecting lots of treats. They have been getting fruit and vegetable leftovers the last week. Too many trays being brought in by drug reps to our office. I'm the crazy lady after a week of things sitting in the fridge....NO! Don't throw that away! My chickens will eat that! I get a lot of shaking heads.

I lost 4 young birds to a neighbor cat last week. She just killed them and let them lay. At least a raccoon or other wild animals wouldn't waste the meat. I was so mad. My favorite EE out this new flock was killed. I named her Cadbury, because well, she looked like the inside of a Cadbury egg, my favorite Easter treat. My neighbor denies that her 6 outside cats would do such a thing, but was real quick to come to.me crying saying my dog tried to kill her way overpriced chickens the other week. I had her come to my backyard where the chickens were free ranging and 8 had 3 dogs sitting in the yard with the chickens. One of the chickens was nearly ob top of a dog. I said I didn't think my dogs would do such a thing either. They may have chased them a little because well, chasing a bird is kind of what Aussies do. They herd. The neighbor and. I are at an impass. My dad set out a trap....He hates cats.

On the upside, I.met with ellymayRans on Monday and took a couple Roos and a few young ins off her hands. We had a wonderful chicken talk and some adult human talk. 4 boys and a ton of chickens! I could do chickens, but no don't think I could raise 4 boys. Wow. I took my pup along and we stopped by a forest and she swam. Monday was at least halfway nice. The rest of this week has been crap. I'm constantly wanting to check on my new additions to make sure they don't drown. I kind of had to make a quick setup since I came home with more than I planned. You all know how that happens!

Chick crazed - if you still have the two roos and anyone is going up that way from So In or coming down from there to my way (French Lick area), I would take them off your hands. Oddly enough, my DF likes roos more.

Now...I am on the hunt for an EE that is light colored.

Stay dry out there!

I have a few EE that have white with tan feathers. They are not laying yet as they are not quite 16 weeks old yet. I have EE roosters too.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

My dad set out a trap....

If you have reason to believe that an uncontrolled animal is damaging your property, you are well within your rights to destroy it.

If any animal is on your property for any reason, you are well within your rights to capture it and take it to the nearest animal control pound.

If you choose to trap and turn in the cats instead of shooting them on sight, you're a much more lenient person than I am.

In Illinois pets are required to be contained and controlled. If your neighbor isn't doing that, they can be cited and fined. Just make sure you're doing it too, before you rat them out to The Man.

I don't hate cats, but I do hate strays. In my experience there's no such thing as an "outdoor pet" cat. Just strays who found someone gullible enough to keep feeding them.

That's all I have to say that's suitable for mixed company.

 

[number9]

This rain is going on too long! My oldest girls are demanding to be fed inside their coop and are expecting lots of treats. They have been getting fruit and vegetable leftovers the last week. Too many trays being brought in by drug reps to our office. I'm the crazy lady after a week of things sitting in the fridge....NO! Don't throw that away! My chickens will eat that! I get a lot of shaking heads.

I lost 4 young birds to a neighbor cat last week. She just killed them and let them lay. At least a raccoon or other wild animals wouldn't waste the meat. I was so mad. My favorite EE out this new flock was killed. I named her Cadbury, because well, she looked like the inside of a Cadbury egg, my favorite Easter treat. My neighbor denies that her 6 outside cats would do such a thing, but was real quick to come to.me crying saying my dog tried to kill her way overpriced chickens the other week. I had her come to my backyard where the chickens were free ranging and 8 had 3 dogs sitting in the yard with the chickens. One of the chickens was nearly ob top of a dog. I said I didn't think my dogs would do such a thing either. They may have chased them a little because well, chasing a bird is kind of what Aussies do. They herd. The neighbor and. I are at an impass. My dad set out a trap....He hates cats.

On the upside, I.met with ellymayRans on Monday and took a couple Roos and a few young ins off her hands. We had a wonderful chicken talk and some adult human talk. 4 boys and a ton of chickens! I could do chickens, but no don't think I could raise 4 boys. Wow. I took my pup along and we stopped by a forest and she swam. Monday was at least halfway nice. The rest of this week has been crap. I'm constantly wanting to check on my new additions to make sure they don't drown. I kind of had to make a quick setup since I came home with more than I planned. You all know how that happens!

Chick crazed - if you still have the two roos and anyone is going up that way from So In or coming down from there to my way (French Lick area), I would take them off your hands. Oddly enough, my DF likes roos more.

Now...I am on the hunt for an EE that is light colored.

Stay dry out there!

It sounds a little unusual that a cat would do this sounds more like a weasel. Weasel though would not stop at 4 unless they were scared away. A friend was having a young bird disappear every once in awhile. Her DH noticed claw marks on one of the post and set a steel trap and found a neighbors cat hanging there next morning. It was funny how that cat magically disappeared. No feuding between neighbors that way.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
I have to say I disagree with most of this relating to cats. Our barn cat is great and yet there is no containing him. He does have a job here and he is good at it. Not all cats living outside are strays.

 

[raisinemright]

I'll put my two pennies in this also. I have a cat (fuzzy wuzzy) my daughters cat. He stays outside in our barn or on our deck and sometimes in my bass boat! He is not a stray he does free range where he likes. Is a great mouser and I like to think he keeps our barn from being over run by vermin. Does not bother the chickens. Not even the smallest chicks! This surprises me I figured he would have some chicken nugget snacks but he don't mess with them. I'm not much if a cat person, I don't mind them just like to see'em outside more than inside. Not all outside cats are strays. But there are a lot of farrel cats roaming the country (and city) side! I say get rid of them how you choose.

 

[alliejean]

I am beyond sick of this rain already. I miss those few days of beautiful weather when my kids talked me into doing this: I mean, who doesnt want to picnic near their chickens? haha
P.S. No one make fun of our clearly redneck rigged chicken run or my coop that still doesnt have any siding We will get that stuff done one of these days!

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I admit I wasn't thinking about barn cats out in the country. I guess it was presumptuous of me, but I was thinking of a crazy cat lady who puts dishes of cat food on her back porch to feed all the mongrel strays in the neighborhood, and then calls them her pets and gets offended if you suggest they're pooping in your garden.

My rapidity in taking this perspective probably stems from my own current situation - I have just such a crazy cat lady across the street - so I'm admittedly biased. Also, I don't think the op's description sounded rural, but again I admit I presumed.

I agree that there's a big difference between having a couple of useful barn cats around a farm, and feeding a herd of mangy, diseased strays in the city or suburbs. My comments were directed toward the latter situation, not the former.

 

[raisinemright]

I admit I wasn't thinking about barn cats out in the country.  I guess it was presumptuous of me, but I was thinking of a crazy cat lady who puts dishes of cat food on her back porch to feed all the mongrel strays in the neighborhood, and then calls them her pets and gets offended if you suggest they're pooping in your garden.

My rapidity in taking this perspective probably stems from my own current situation - I have just such a crazy cat lady across the street - so I'm admittedly biased.  Also, I don't think the op's description sounded rural, but again I admit I presumed.

I agree that there's a big difference between having a couple of useful barn cats around a farm, and feeding a herd of mangy, diseased strays in the city or suburbs.  My comments were directed toward the latter situation, not the former.

 

Oh trust me there are "crazy cat lady's" in the rural areas too lol. My mother in law is one! She has to feed every critter that walks in her yard!! Drives me nutts. She means well but you just can talk get out of it! But yes barn cats are very useful in their own way.

 

[goodb]

I may be missing something but the chickens in that video are red chickens I didn't see a buff Orpington in it.... buff Orpingtons are a golden yellowish color

That would explain why they don't match the standards for a buff orpington. Hmmmmm

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

Well, actually White Leghorns can't be used in a sexlink cross. 'White' birds in general can't be. Leghorns are dominant white, which would cover everything else and produce all white offspring in the example you gave. Recessive white (which is in Cochins I think? and others, of course, but I can't think of any more) would produce all solidly colored birds that are split to recessive white.

What must be used for a sexlink cross to produce red sexlinks (which, as you say, are also known as ISA browns, cinnamon queens, red stars, and the like, each name typically given to a particular hybrid) is a red rooster and silver hens. This includes silver-laced varieties like Wyandottes, certain birds that appear white like Delawares and other Columbian patterned breeds, and your good old classic silver Duckwing varieties like Silver Ameraucanas. If it has 'silver' in the name, with few exceptions, it can be a candidate for sexlinked crossing.

Fun fact! Since the Salmon color (as in Salmon Faverolles) is genetically silver Wheaten, it, too, can be used for a red sexlink cross!

It should be noted as well, to those interested in breeding these guys, that sexlinked crosses do not work the opposite way! The reason is because the hen can carry one copy of silver and only one, but the rooster can carry up to two! Because of this, the female offspring inherit only from the father for this allele, while the male offspring inherit one from the the father and one from the mother. If the father carries two copies of silver, then both his male and female offspring will inherit it, thereby creating all white chicks. On the flip side, if he carries no copies of silver (as is the case for red birds) and the mother has her one and only possible copy of silver, then only the males will inherit a copy of silver.

And that's your genetics lesson for the day. (And for more info, check out this awesome thread on sexlinks: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information It explains a few things that I didn't, but it's a long read, so beware!)



When I viewed the video in question, I saw red sexlinks and hatchery New Hampshires. Their legs were pale, but still yellow, possibly as a result of laying. My sexlink girls' legs go quite pale when they are laying for the season. Those eggs take a lot out of a bird! Anyway, if you're having a hard time telling which are sexlinks, look for white in their colorations. Sexlinks usually have white in their feathers, especially their wings, tails, or hackles, and their down should be white as well. New Hampshires, Rhode Island reds, and production reds (hatchery Rhodies) should have black rather than white in those specified areas, and reddish down.

I'm sorry Delaware, not a white leghorn. You could creat some using a RIR rooster and Delaware hen I believe.(rir carrying gold and Delaware carrying silver). The brain does not work very well when you have only been up 30 mins and it is 7 am