INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[hoosiercheetah]

I think that you are being over cautious about space. That's plenty of space if I'm picturing it right. 2x8 is 16 sq feet so that's enough for 4 birds.

You've got it right; I have 16 sq ft with the two crates together. I think you're right; I'm being too cautious. It is the way of my people.

 

[Minminme]

I wanted t share some pics of my little littles that got to go out in the yard today for the first time. The Red Comets are about 7 wks old the white Silkies are approx 8 wks and the gray (blue) Im hoping is a pullet she's my little crippled baby named Ellie. I think she's like 12-14 wks. They r in a VERY temporary pen so they can get some fresh air and sunshine.
Kab- this Blue is one from the first eggs I got from you. Just love her soooo much she's sweet and gentle! She let's the babies crawl all over her and treats them like she is their mommy.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: That is one large price hike.

 

[kabhyper1]

I've never heard that theory before. Thank you for sharing!
Ok, here is another thought on the subject (I almost edited for your benefit

). I have lost one hen that tested positive for MD. If I had not had her tested, I could just go on thinking that she had a random illness (stay with me) and since the rest of my flock is currently asymptomatic, continue to assume the rest of my flock is fine. I have a gorgeous little Welsummer roo that would need to be rehomed because I have too many roos. So, I give him to you without realizing that my entire flock is a carrier. Now your flock is infected and we both have to be overly cautious ALL THE TIME. See how this can go? Some things can be treated, but some can't. As it happens I do have a gorgeous Welsummer roo, but I will probably end up eating him at some point. As a firm pet chicken owner that kind of freaks me out, but its better than having his life sacrificed for nothing since I can't give him to anyone else.

Kab, Thank you. I will check out the link! She is actually still sitting on the eggs and doing so with purpose and moving them every so often. I have put the food and water right next to her so that she and Chicklet don't have to leave the eggs to get what they need. She won't let me near the eggs without a fight and I've never candled anything before. Chicklet is all over the place though. That is one adventurous little bird. The last two times I went to check on them Chicklet was sitting on her back just hanging out.

Aww, well I would wait until dark, when she cant see you. Pull one egg out at a time. Get a super bright flashlight and sort of hold it like this...

You will need to be in a very dark, pitch black area to see the best.
Since they are so far along, it will look very dark inside. You should see the air cell on the fat end and the rest will be dark. If the chick has internally pipped, you will see shadow in the air cell. Since yo have never candled? Are you sure there are chicks in those eggs?

Also I'm just thinking,
Since the eggs are so close to hatching, I would maybe give her some more time before candling since you said she is still sitting on them. She will get up when she is done, chicks or not. If it comes down to having to float test or candle them later, that link and the candling instructions should help. Good luck!! This is my most nerve wracking time with broodies too. Some chicks are slower than others at getting with the hatching program. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...g-candling-pics-progression-though-incubation

 

[kabhyper1]

I wanted t share some pics of my little littles that got to go out in the yard today for the first time. The Red Comets are about 7 wks old the white Silkies are approx 8 wks and the gray (blue) Im hoping is a pullet she's my little crippled baby named Ellie. I think she's like 12-14 wks. They r in a VERY temporary pen so they can get some fresh air and sunshine.
Kab- this Blue is one from the first eggs I got from you. Just love her soooo much she's sweet and gentle! She let's the babies crawl all over her and treats them like she is their mommy.

They are cute! She has a nice crest!!

 

[Minminme]

They are cute! She has a nice crest!!

Other than her broken leg she's perfect! She's such a little sweetheart too! She has "Mothered" two batches of chicks in my brooder. Lol she was 4wks old when the next batch hatched and even at that age she was a great mommy. I was wanting to use her for Rudy's mate but I'm afraid he will hurt her because of her limp. If he tries t mount her would she b able t handle his weight? Would she be able to "Squat"?

 

[goodb]

@ Mother2hens,
Thank you for the suggestion on privacy. It is something I didn't consider. 3 out of 5 have hatched already, the 4th has pipped and there are internal peeps for the 5th egg. I think I'll be moving them this weekend.

 

[raisinemright]

Let my little ones out for some free range time today! They lived it. These are my BR's and RIR's from Fredhen's! They are very friendly!

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Chicken drama today.

So I decided to go ahead and put an established chicken from my flock in with the three newbies. We'll call her Ariel. Cause that's her name. She's a 12 wk old golden comet. I chose her because she's a few weeks older than the reds, and about the same size, and has a pretty middle-of-the-road disposition. She's not too shy around the dominant birds but she gets out of the way when she needs to.

Since I was a little concerned about space in Solitary for the four of them, I thought I'd go ahead and put them all together, and keep an eye for a while to see how they did. They did not do well. The largest and bossiest of the RIRs, Chrysanthemum, stood over Ariel, eyeing her for a good two minutes, both of them perfectly still. Finally Ariel started walking away. The three reds went about their business, occasionally stopping to stare at Ariel, who would either freeze in a crouch or run to the back of the crate.

After about 15 min, Ariel started to relax a little and have a go at the food dish. Chrys was right there, staring at her again... and then grabbed her comb and started to drag her around by it. There was a lot of squawking and flapping and squealing bloody murder. For about two seconds. I have cat-like reflexes, and I like Ariel a lot more than Chrysanthemum. Before I really knew what I was doing, I had Ariel locked by herself in one crate and was holding Chrys off the floor by her neck. Gently. For a good three to five seconds I thought about choking the life out of her. Instead I set her gently down and pushed her back with her sisters into the other crate. Then I went outside to pull up thistle and cool off and think things through.

Clearly some look-no-touch time was in order. But I reconsidered whether Ariel was the bird for the job. Ultimately I decided that she was too young and too meek, and a firmer touch was needed. So, I fetched Ariel from Solitary and set her, to her great relief, back in the coop with the others. I almost forgot to say, she was not injured, just shaken up. I did consider the possibility that I had just contaminated the whole flock and utterly defeated the purpose of the quarantine, but I had to put Ariel back, and I figured she wasn't with them long enough to pick up anything. I had just cleaned out the crates, so there was no foreign poop for her to walk on.

Then I looked around and considered who to send to Solitary. I have an odd number in the flock, and most of them are pairs - my two EEs are inseperable. There are the two GCs, and that already didn't work. The two black Orps are massive buzzard-like creatures that wouldn't be able to turn around in the crates. But I do have one solo act. And it occurred to me that she was the perfect chicken to get the new recruits in line.

Queen Penelope, the Great and Terrible.

Honestly, I really wanted to throw her in with the three RIRs and let her beat the crap out of them. Penny is serious business and I have no doubt she could take them all at once. However, having learned my lesson, and not wanting to have to nurse another one-eyed chicken, I decided to keep the two crates side-by-side but with doors closed. I figure she can stare them down through the bars. Based on my initial observations, that is exactly what she's doing.

I also made another decision, and maybe I'm right about this, and maybe I'm wrong, but I'm standing on it. Before today, when I've handled the reds, Chrys or sometimes Lily (the third is Peone. It's a flower thing.) would have a little peck at my hand. I just let it go and didn't think much of it. After today, I'm taking a different tack. When I was reshuffling birds after having put Ariel back in her coop, sure enough Chrys went after my hand again. Fast as I could, which is pretty fast, I tapped her on top of her head, took a deep breath to broaden my shoulders, and gave her my most intense Teacher Stare, radiating as much Top Rooster energy as I could muster. It may sound silly, but animals can read that sort of thing loud and clear. It's how I handle dogs - energy is everything. She tried to get me again, but with much less enthusiasm. I tapped her again and said some choice but unrepeatable phrases that I learned in the military, in a low growly voice. She backed up all the way to the back of the crate. Come what may, this bird is going to learn that I am the big boss. Even Penny knows it, but she was smart enough not to need a tap on the head to get it.

If Chrys can't get it, she'll make a small but satisfying fricassee.

So that's where things stand. I'll leave the three reds and Penny in a look-no-touch holding pattern for a week, and then let them out in the yard together to see what happens. At that point I may try to put the two crates openly together again, under close observation. If they can all get along okay, I'll proceed with the integration plan. If not, I'll bbq.

 

[CountryHen19]

Chicken drama today.

So I decided to go ahead and put an established chicken from my flock in with the three newbies. We'll call her Ariel. Cause that's her name. She's a 12 wk old golden comet. I chose her because she's a few weeks older than the reds, and about the same size, and has a pretty middle-of-the-road disposition. She's not too shy around the dominant birds but she gets out of the way when she needs to.

Since I was a little concerned about space in Solitary for the four of them, I thought I'd go ahead and put them all together, and keep an eye for a while to see how they did. They did not do well. The largest and bossiest of the RIRs, Chrysanthemum, stood over Ariel, eyeing her for a good two minutes, both of them perfectly still. Finally Ariel started walking away. The three reds went about their business, occasionally stopping to stare at Ariel, who would either freeze in a crouch or run to the back of the crate.

After about 15 min, Ariel started to relax a little and have a go at the food dish. Chrys was right there, staring at her again... and then grabbed her comb and started to drag her around by it. There was a lot of squawking and flapping and squealing bloody murder. For about two seconds. I have cat-like reflexes, and I like Ariel a lot more than Chrysanthemum. Before I really knew what I was doing, I had Ariel locked by herself in one crate and was holding Chrys off the floor by her neck. Gently. For a good three to five seconds I thought about choking the life out of her. Instead I set her gently down and pushed her back with her sisters into the other crate. Then I went outside to pull up thistle and cool off and think things through.

Clearly some look-no-touch time was in order. But I reconsidered whether Ariel was the bird for the job. Ultimately I decided that she was too young and too meek, and a firmer touch was needed. So, I fetched Ariel from Solitary and set her, to her great relief, back in the coop with the others. I almost forgot to say, she was not injured, just shaken up. I did consider the possibility that I had just contaminated the whole flock and utterly defeated the purpose of the quarantine, but I had to put Ariel back, and I figured she wasn't with them long enough to pick up anything. I had just cleaned out the crates, so there was no foreign poop for her to walk on.

Then I looked around and considered who to send to Solitary. I have an odd number in the flock, and most of them are pairs - my two EEs are inseperable. There are the two GCs, and that already didn't work. The two black Orps are massive buzzard-like creatures that wouldn't be able to turn around in the crates. But I do have one solo act. And it occurred to me that she was the perfect chicken to get the new recruits in line.

Queen Penelope, the Great and Terrible.

Honestly, I really wanted to throw her in with the three RIRs and let her beat the crap out of them. Penny is serious business and I have no doubt she could take them all at once. However, having learned my lesson, and not wanting to have to nurse another one-eyed chicken, I decided to keep the two crates side-by-side but with doors closed. I figure she can stare them down through the bars. Based on my initial observations, that is exactly what she's doing.

I also made another decision, and maybe I'm right about this, and maybe I'm wrong, but I'm standing on it. Before today, when I've handled the reds, Chrys or sometimes Lily (the third is Peone. It's a flower thing.) would have a little peck at my hand. I just let it go and didn't think much of it. After today, I'm taking a different tack. When I was reshuffling birds after having put Ariel back in her coop, sure enough Chrys went after my hand again. Fast as I could, which is pretty fast, I tapped her on top of her head, took a deep breath to broaden my shoulders, and gave her my most intense Teacher Stare, radiating as much Top Rooster energy as I could muster. It may sound silly, but animals can read that sort of thing loud and clear. It's how I handle dogs - energy is everything. She tried to get me again, but with much less enthusiasm. I tapped her again and said some choice but unrepeatable phrases that I learned in the military, in a low growly voice. She backed up all the way to the back of the crate. Come what may, this bird is going to learn that I am the big boss. Even Penny knows it, but she was smart enough not to need a tap on the head to get it.

If Chrys can't get it, she'll make a small but satisfying fricassee.

So that's where things stand. I'll leave the three reds and Penny in a look-no-touch holding pattern for a week, and then let them out in the yard together to see what happens. At that point I may try to put the two crates openly together again, under close observation. If they can all get along okay, I'll proceed with the integration plan. If not, I'll bbq.

I just read your narrative with great intensity...I'm so glad you decided to put Ariel back and let Penny be the "canary" . Sounds like you like Ariel even more than Penny! We know that you will keep us updated in this series. Perhaps you can call it something in line with "The Henpecked Redemption" (My DH usually can come up with clever versions like this but he won't this time pout)