INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[flyladyrocks]

Looking for juvenile pullets/laying hens @ a fair price. Lost ~38 of my birds in the past 2.5 weeks due to predators.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I was there too. Was anyone else there? I was the vocal lady in the back and my daughter was on the tablet (yep, bribed her with tablet time to get her to go!). We were sitting next to the guy from Agrarian. We left pretty fast when it was over b/c dd had a headache (hadn't had dinner yet, so that may have been part of it!)

I hope at the very least they realize how little thought they really have put into this rezoning draft in regard to how it will drastically affect so many peoples lives. I mean the guy admitted he really didn't know about many of the things people were talking about b/c he is a "city guy" (um -just like the rest of us!). I also thought it was great that there was a lady there who is an avid homesteader AND a lawyer. She is definitely a gem to have on our side. Experience on many levels.

There were so many ramifications/consequences of this rezoning that I had not thought of and as the conversation went on people were listing more, my brain was also tallying up even more I was able to think of, as I am sure were others. .

We have been talking about goats for awhile, even before chickens, and when the lady said she got 1/2 gallon of milk a day from her Nigerian dwarf goats - I was amazed and it made me want goats even more, but we have said they would not be realistic for us to consider until next year. Unless it looks like this thing will pass anywhere near as it is, and then suddenly we may be getting goats!

I think that we will have to have an active grass roots movement if this moves forward, and my guess is it will continue in some form. The Metropolitan Development Commission, and if it gets past them the City County Council are going to have to hear from an overwhelming number of people - enough that it really makes them think hard before passing this thing.

Well, I better be heading to bed. Sleep well!



This is all very interesting and reminds me of the Missouri side of St. Louis.

Some of you know that I am a home cheese maker (and give classes when life isn't hectic!) I had a goal of visiting as many private cheese classes as possible a few years ago to see how people were handling their classes in many various ways and glean some great ideas from others. We went to a class in a city neighborhood in the basement of the home of a family in St. Louis.

St. Louis allowed for livestock in the city. This gal's whole backyard was a goat yard with the exception of a small chicken yard way at the back. The fencing came up to the garage and on the back of the garage was a goat shelter. Her milking stands were inside the garage. She had 4 goats at the time we visited.

She told me a few things:
-She never kept a loud goat. If it was a loudmouth, she would not keep it in her flock for the sake of being a good neighbor.
-Her neighbors never had a complaint. Only time a neighbor made a comment was when they got out of the fences one time; he said, "I like your goats and have no problem with you keeping them - as long as they're in your yard and not mine!"
-She would keep the goat yard "stink-free". She handled manure in such a way that it didn't smell of animals.

I was amazed at this. The yard was relatively small. Certainly less than half an acre back there. Neighbors were right there - in "old city" sized lots.

Maybe someone can check the statutes in St. Louis and find out about their success and use it as a model?

 

[flyladyrocks]

That would be interesting.
Right now, this is a release of the preliminary draft, giving persons opportunity to articulate how the proposed ordinance would/would not meet our needs.
Purportedly, our comments will be incorporated into a revised draft before it gets put in front of the metro development council.

 

[flyladyrocks]

Sleep - highly over rated!

Okay folks, I looked on the Rezone Indy website and comments are due by July 18th - Friday! Here is the page that tells you how to comment:

http://www.indyrezone.org/content/submitting-comments

I will get on sharing my notes tomorrow! Unless I can't sleep. Like I said, Sleep, highly overrated.

 

[Minminme]

So, I have a general question for the group.  Seems I might have asked it before, but I can't remember the answer so that one doesn't count.

State Fair is coming up, and I really really want to go see the chicken exhibit, now that I know more about the different breeds.  But I'm very concerned about bringing home the Chicken Plague of Evil Death and killing my whole flock.

I'd love to hear everyone's opinion about this sort of thing.

Thank you.

Bio security is very important as you well know. If you have a pair of shoes and set of clothes that you would never go around your birds in... Wear them! Lol within reason of course. Be sure you wash up very well after going thru the exhibit especially if you in anyway handle any of the birds or equipment there. Change shoes and clothes before you go near your own birds. Lol have you got any Lysol spray in your car? Lol. Douse yourself with it. Hehehe. Better yet just wear a disposable hazmat suit and shoe covers.
OK OK I'm being ridiculous but just use common sense. Although it is advisable to not wear the same footwear around your birds after going through the exhibit barn.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

Better yet just wear a disposable hazmat suit and shoe covers.

I have access to hazmat suits. It's not a bad idea.

 

[EurekaChic]

So, I have a general question for the group.  Seems I might have asked it before, but I can't remember the answer so that one doesn't count.

State Fair is coming up, and I really really want to go see the chicken exhibit, now that I know more about the different breeds.  But I'm very concerned about bringing home the Chicken Plague of Evil Death and killing my whole flock.

I'd love to hear everyone's opinion about this sort of thing.

Thank you.

I don't have experience with chickens, but I do have experience with lab safety, and if you're really worried about tracking something home with you, you can get disposable shoe covers for about $10 for 50 pairs on Amazon (just search for 'shoe covers'). I think Staples and other office supply stores also sell them (at least, online), as does Walmart.com. If you plan on handling the birds you can also get latex gloves from the same sources (but be aware that some people have latex allergies. If you do, get nitrile gloves instead. If you ever put on a pair of latex gloves and start to get a rash or really itchy, take the gloves off right away and wash your hands/wrists thouroughly, then monitor your breathing as some people even have an anaphylactic response).

Just put a pair of shoe covers on when you get to the fair, and toss them before you get back into your car. Ditto for the gloves. Then follow the advice from other members about washing your clothes rightt away. If you want to be super careful you could buy a pair of scrubs (again, available online, and also at places like Wal-Mart), and wear them over your clothes (or as your clothes). They can generally be washed in hot water.

Again, I'm not a chicken expert, so my advice is based mostly on Lab experience with potential sources of infectious disease. I have no idea how worried you actually need to be about chickens at the fair.

 

[raisinemright]

We brought home a few bantams from the fair! Tell me what you think.
Wheaten Faverolle (beautiful bird)!!

Golden Laced Seabright

There is a few more I'll get pics of tomorrow.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

Here's a great WWII poster we came across as my daughter was researching for her Illustrated talk for fair.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

Here's one more... Notice that both of these were put out by the USDA