INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

Very Cute. I must remember to do this next spring when I have chicks.

 

[Faraday40]

I lost my tom turkey today. He jumped into our swimming pool. I'm not sure why. He was all good and happy at 5 pm but we found him a few minutes ago when We went to lock up the birds for the night. Even with our ducks, this is the first time a free ranging bird has gotten in our pool.

I'm now looking for a blue palm heritage turkey tom.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I will keep my eyes open for you. he was a royal palm you said ?

It was a blue palm, similar to the royals but a bit different. the lines are poultry blue. To me poultry blue in the feathers looks gray and poultry blue eggs sure look green to me and my children. But my blue palm tom could turn his face a pretty baby blue. He would walk with me and yesterday he let me pet him much like a puppy would just so long as we were walking around at the same time.

@jchny2000 I don't know if I want to add to the order if it would move us to the end of the list and delay shipping. I'm thinking of putting in my own order for a few blue palms and the rest would be the 30% off assorted breeds.

I think I could cross a royal palm with my hens but I'm going to keep looking for another week.
My turkeys are not laying yet so I have time. Do you or Racin keep the royal palms?

 

[pbirdhaven]

@SallyinIndiana
I'm so sorry about your tom--what an awful thing to happen.

On the subject of crowing roosters: yes, the bantams are the most vocal, and a bantam cochin will try to be the big kahuna in a flock mixed with LF. I've heard that in areas where farmers trap coyotes, they bait with bantam roos because they crow all night.

 

[chisNchickens]

Anyone in Indiana raise mille fleur d'uccle?

 

[birdman55]

well everyone the day is going good...just got the plastic up around the walls and putting up the tarp on top..then plastic poly over the tarp

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Had a great day with the children today. Took them to see the Indy Children's museum again. Mrs Lilly (from the early to mid 1900's) really understood a lot about children. The theater they named after her has live plays. These live plays retain the attention span of all of my high energy toddlers. My toddlers that can't get through any standard 30 programs do great for their live plays. The planetarium is wonderful too. And since my youngest is in kindergarten now, I took him to the Ruby Bridges area. Here my children again got to see a live play (a wonderful actress who plays the part of a teacher at the white school).
Still missing my tom and the 3 turkey hens looked lost this morning without him.

 

[twoboystwogirls]

I'm not sure who has decided to lay but for the past three days I have gotten two eggs a day. My one silkie hen lays every day but the others stopped laying about a month ago. Then all of a sudden a brown egg showed up next to the white silkie egg. I wish I knew who is leaving me these presents. She deserves a big kiss.

 

[Faraday40]

Any Advice?
None of my blue eggers are laying. My 2 adult EEs went into molt in Oct & are still taking a break. My Cream Crested Legbar pullets both started laying in early Sept but stopped when it got cold near the end of Oct. I didn't add supplemental light b/c I thought I'd get a few eggs from at least the pullets. My Orpingtons (hatched in April) still don't have bright red combs, so no eggs from them. Out of 13 chickens, I only have 3 laying. (OK 12 since one is a roo.) That's why I'm wondering if some breeds (like the blue & green layers, which is most of my flock) just stop producing in winter while other breeds (or mutts in my case) simply slow down to an egg every 2-3 days.

Is this normal? If so, what month do they return to laying?

If it's not normal, could some of my young pullets be going through a mild molt? ( like the ones who stared to lay in Sept then stopped.) Their combs are now pale but they're not bald & prickly like when my hens molted.. I don't see mites. Is there some symptom I should be on the look-out for or a winter vitamin I should add? They have multiple feeders. I have layer feed in some & feather fixer in others. Grit & oyster shell are also available. Kitchen veggie scraps (1-3 cups daily) & scratch grains (1/4 - 1 cup) daily. These things are just thrown around. They get a little grass time (20 min to 4 hours per day) but it's been severely limited due to a Coopers hawk.

 

[Faraday40]

By "grass time" I mean free range. They have a contained coop & run for safety.