INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: I keep a package on hand in a ziplock, but I deal with piglets and other livestock also. Local neighbors and friends know I probably have stuff on hand too if they have an emergency.

Well I am on my way to Michigan......it is going to be a long drive

Have a safe trip!

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I got back a few hours ago. Turns out it hailed while we were gone!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Hello fellow hoosiers .. I am just getting started in chicken... will be a small venture because i only have an acre of land and live in a rural addition, yet thought that fresh eggs would be a good thing and i like taking care of critters . My grandmother always kept chickens on their farm in Bryant , Ind. and so thought I'd try ... .to date we only have 3 hens ...pullets and i am trying to modify a garden shed to a small coop and a run is in the works. Have learned much from this site and found people to be very helpful. My chickens will free range but in a contained manner if that makes sense.. can't let them roam the neighborhood but they can go outside or that is the plan

.I look forward to meeting other folks and exchange ideas etc. Have a great day!

and our thread

I have read the posts about kittens and chickens, but had an additional question. We have a three month old barn kitten and six month old chickens. The kitten stalks and charges at them, and the roosters do nothing but run. Which perpetuates the kittens behavior. I can only chase her off or try spraying with water so much bc i have youngc hildren and a newborn. Will it get better, or should i look for a new home for the kitten?

Also, we got our coop and chickens a few weeks ago from a friend. The poop is really hard to clean off of all the ramps they walk up to roost on since they are hard to shovel and the pine chips font stick on there. And of course, that seems where most of the poop ends up. Any suggestions?

I have appreciated all the advice and information i have gotten from reading your posts. I cant reply as much as i would like, but thank you for all the info!

Keep startling the kitten if he chases, may take several times for him to learn. On the ramps, good question! I only have walk thru doors.

Quote: Lovely coop!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I've seen a few postings here and there from people with roosters they want to rehome. Some of the posting even say it is fine to turn the rooster into soup. What I'm wondering is, how much would one charge to take care of someone else's unwanted rooster or unwanted hens? Not processing them just euthanizing and burying them. The burying might be the more costly part given the labor involved.

 

[Faraday40]

Yes...chickens are "meat eaters". They'll catch anything they can and eat it raw.

I often offer them high quality (grass fed), raw ground beef or venison, chopped raw liver (beef or venison) and any other meat protein I can get for a reasonable price. They get mealworms and any other bugs I can get. I've never tried to raise the black soldier fly larvae because I'm not sure we have them here in the summer. But I know another person that does them and puts all the summer harvest of the larvae in the freezer so they have them for winter.

When I bring out ANY meat or bugs, they go absolutely bonkers. It's like they are totally starving for meat.

You will find that, if given a choice, chickens will NOT eat legumes. Legumes are not one of their natural foods. And many of the legumes (including soy) are toxic to them unless they are roasted. (Soy continues to be toxic even roasted, but the roasting does help reduce some of the toxin.)

It you think in terms of natural, if something is toxic to an animal unless it is roasted, you know for sure it isn't something they should be eating (As I've said before, I've never seen them build a fire and roast anything around here

In days gone by, chicken feeds did NOT contain legumes. If a commercial feed was purchased it contained meat and bone meals, corn, oats, etc. But not legumes. The addition of legumes started with industrial farming. It "cheapens" the feed for the consumer and is a good way to make money on waste products from industrial farming (soy bean meals, oils, etc.) that they have a hard time using anywhere else. One of the bad things about this is that there are many anti-nutrients in legumes that inhibit the absorption of minerals especially...and actually leach them from the body. This is another reason that we have to add a mineral mix into the feed. Even though the minerals are there, they aren't bioavavailable from the legumes and/or seeds so only a very small portion is absorbed - if any at all. This is the same for human ingestion btw.


Okay...off my soapbox.

Interesting. I never thought much about it. I am not a nutritionist & have a hard enough time feeding the humans in my family. I figured that large feed companies have people on staff to make sure the chicken feed has the proper nutrition. Of course I also know they must add preservatives & fillers, but the people who work with the science of animal feed have more experience than I.

I do know that a majority of my hens' diet comes from the yard. I go through about a bag a month in the winter, but it seems to last 2xs as long in the summer. I'm assuming they're finding what they need to eat.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I've seen a few postings here and there from people with roosters they want to rehome. Some of the posting even say it is fine to turn the rooster into soup. What I'm wondering is, how much would one charge to take care of someone else's unwanted rooster or unwanted hens? Not processing them just euthanizing and burying them. The burying might be the more costly part given the labor involved.

If you're talking "processing"...up here I can get meat birds processed for $1.95 each and older birds at $2.25 each all dressed and the bag is an extra .25 I think....

I know you're talking about dispatching...but it would be less labor-intensive to burn the carcass I think than bury. So I'm not sure if it would be a job that would make much, I'm afraid.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I've seen a few postings here and there from people with roosters they want to rehome. Some of the posting even say it is fine to turn the rooster into soup. What I'm wondering is, how much would one charge to take care of someone else's unwanted rooster or unwanted hens? Not processing them just euthanizing and burying them. The burying might be the more costly part given the labor involved.

Good post! I will take them in, case by case if I have room. That's a good point & lots of thoughts to ponder. Where would they be buried for example, there are a lot of pet cemeteries. My guess is there would be limitations on how many could be buried per acre, etc. As far as a charge, If we are clear that once they come here, they are mine to do as needed, I don't charge. I also have people ask about their roosters long after they have came here. Some do well, some get new homes with other families and a new flock. Some stay, and a few have went to the freezer. I rarely have small children here, so its got to be a mean roo to get freezer camp. I have had one terribly mean hen that didn't stay either! I wont buy a rooster, unless he is very important to a line I want to improve. I have cut my breed choices down a lot, so that's a rare instance for me..

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: That is kind of what I was thinking too. After all if given the time a bird can be given away, why pay to put it down. Still I feel for these owners of roosters that for one reason or another can't bring themselves to dispatch of the unneeded rooster or two. I can't see processing many of these birds as most of them are the cute small ones or really old mean roosters. And you are right burning would be a bit easier.


@jchny2000 I have thought of accepting some of the unwanted roosters but for the most part I don't have a good setup for the small roosters or any mean roosters. Then there is the risk of bugs and having to isolate the new bird so more feeders and waters. Turns out that there are not that many people wanting to rehome pretty chickens on the nice as well as large side for free.

 

[Faraday40]

If you're talking "processing"...up here I can get meat birds processed for $1.95 each and older birds at $2.25 each all dressed and the bag is an extra .25 I think....

I know you're talking about dispatching...but it would be less labor-intensive to burn the carcass I think than bury. So I'm not sure if it would be a job that would make much, I'm afraid.

The image of burning a carcass reminds me of a funny, and off topic, story.....(If you may be sensitive, please don't read.)

When we were newly married, I had a 5'5" iguana in my lab. 'Newton" was an unwanted little lizard I had rescued & who stayed with me for 15 years and 2 different schools. My DH was very understanding about my sadness when Newton passed away. I could not simply throw my scaly pet's carcass in the trash. Problem: It was January & the ground was frozen solid. There was no way we could burry my deceased pet. Cremation costs were extremely high & not affordable since we were very strapped after buying our little house in the suburbs. So, DH wrapped up the body & put it in the garage. Problem 2: In late Feb, we got a few cycles of freeze/thaw. We had to do something quickly with the dead body before it completely thawed or attracted critters. Being newlyweds, neither of us had many "life skills." My DH, the problem-solver, researched cremation & the temp needed then calculated the body mass & burn time required. I think you see where this is going...

We went to Walmart & bought a cheap charcoal grill. On a surprisingly warm & sunny day in late Feb, DH grills my dear classroom pet. It took most of the day to burn to ash. Several neighbors out on walks smelled the BBQ & walked back to "talk about the weather" & ask what we were grilling. Seriously, six different people commented on how delicious our "dinner" smelled. There was no way we could say it was Dead Iguana. Afterwards, DH put the ashes into a box for a spring burial. He actually stored the grill in the back of the garage and said my "rabbit was looking a little old." We still laugh about it whenever something reminds us of the time when we were young & grilled an iguana. (Like: we see a little used grill at a garage sale or smell a BBQ while there's still snow on the ground.) From a couple of suburban kids, we've come a long way.

Likewise, I have gotten "gifts" of dead animals from kids. I suppose since I do dissections with the older students, people think that I might enjoy receiving a migratory bird that dropped dead on their porch or an occasional stiff squirrel. Each time I come home with a new story of this, DH says, "Let me fire up the grill!" Life is never boring when you work with people & animals.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: That is kind of what I was thinking too. After all if given the time a bird can be given away, why pay to put it down. Still I feel for these owners of roosters that for one reason or another can't bring themselves to dispatch of the unneeded rooster or two. I can't see processing many of these birds as most of them are the cute small ones or really old mean roosters. And you are right burning would be a bit easier.


@jchny2000 I have thought of accepting some of the unwanted roosters but for the most part I don't have a good setup for the small roosters or any mean roosters. Then there is the risk of bugs and having to isolate the new bird so more feeders and waters. Turns out that there are not that many people wanting to rehome pretty chickens on the nice as well as large side for free.


All the main flock birds free range, so for the most part, space isn't my issue as much as feed. I am working towards more roosting area tho, since winter is coming on fast. I may have to band aid the main coop til spring, and add more roost space inside. If I remove my storage cabinet and the big 55 gallon aquarium that opens another 24 feet of roosts. I am also adding the roosts I had removed since we wont be moving the shed til spring. I do take a lot of misfits. Its also given me a lot of joy finding the home they needed. If any are continually aggressive to people or other birds, they wont stay.