INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

A rooster question:
My former roo always let us know his gender. (Crowing & mating hens nonstop)
My current boy crows a lot less (It's wonderful!)  However, I don't see him mate often anymore.  Do they mate less during the winter months or could he have low T?
Around 22 weeks old, he would only go after the girls his own age.  The bigger hens intimidated him!  Eventually, he mated them too - then got pecked & chased away for his attention. I've seen him do the dance recently, but he seems to have stopped chasing the girls around.  He's an 8 month old, giant Lavender Orpington.  Could he have learned manners or will the mating pick up when spring hits?

A lot of my roosters don't breed when I am around. Sort of a respect thing

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Lets hope its not like last winter

Quote:
Other than the snow removal people and maybe the plumbers for frozen pipes, I'm sure many are thankful for the mild winter. I'm sure that there are others whose jobs pick up in the snowy weather but I for one prefer the mild winters compared to last year's North Pole.

DH's work slows down a lot this time if year. Everything is such a muddy mess, no one is building much! So he is stuck at home bored and stir crazy.

Quote: After the cold last year, I bet lots of folks are calling you!

I've bn told I haven't bn on here in a while, guess between being sick with the flu, getting a Sympathetic Nerve Block for Neuropathy in rt leg, and trying to "make" Christmas presents its bn a very busy few weeks! My birds are all doing ok, no major issues, but like many others very few eggs, lol.
Only two days of very light snow so far this season. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself.)
Missed Ya all glad SOME things don't change. Welcome to all the new peeps to the thread!!! Hope this means Chickenfest is going to be an even bigger success in 2015.
Have bn looking forward to getting together again.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
(In case I'm not back in time to wish
It later this week. Lol) take care and
Ttyl

Hope you feel better and they can help your discomfort. You changed names and have me all confused chickie!

Quote: 1, Awesome for you!!!
2. Great news also, closer to family!
3. Goodness, congrats and fantastic he is your best friend too.
4. LOL win/win/win! and I bet your chickies missed you too.
Awesome for you all around, and Merry Christmas too.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Mystery of the new layer.....
Both my CS (5mo) & LavOrp (8mo) have red combs, so I was guessing that one had to be my new layer. Saw my LavOrp in a nest box this morning & thought AhHa! She jumped out & I sadly found the box wet with smooshed eggshell. A few min later I saw my BlkOrp (8mo) AND my LavOrp both tying to fit in the same nest box. Now I know how the egg got smashed. I also have a 3rd candidate.....

Note: We're that strange family that can name the hen who laid the egg just by looking at the egg. My daughter also charts the egg production. She can tally how many eggs each chicken has laid, their 1st egg day, their hatch date, molting & broody dates, etc. After collecting the eggs, we write the date & hen's name. Our family, friends, & neighbors enjoy knowing exactly where their breakfast comes from. We even get requests for a specific hen's eggs. Then of course there's my son who only wants to eat his hen's (Firefighter's) eggs. LOL

These winter low egg numbers barely take care of our own needs, so that's why a new layer is such a big deal.

You betcha it does

Quote:
I usually have my newly hatched babies in my den. They go out to the brooders after the fist week. I want to keep them close that first week, DH is really patient about the chicks.

Something unusual happened today. My SLW pulley was running around in the yard and the other two hens were chasing her. I thought that was strange so I stopped and took a closer look. The SLW had a pair of frog legs hanging out of her mouth and the chase was on. I could not believe they found a frog this time of year and in below freezing temps. Maybe it is another sign of early spring.

Love to watch them when they find something yummy. its like chicken football!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Keep falling asleep, will catch up more tomorrow. Nite everyone!

 

[wheezy50]

I wanted to post here first in case anyone is interested. I have a trio of bantam Brahmas I'd like to sell. I decided to focus on some other breeds for now. They were all hatched around April/May so they are 7-8 months old now. The little roo has crowed a few times but not often. He is a light brahma (white) and the 2 pullets are buff colored.

Please pm me if anyone is interested in them. I will get some pictures today and they will be posted on Craigslist later

 

[kabhyper1]

What do you guys make of yellow urates in normal stools. Sorry gross question.

 

[Faraday40]

A lot of my roosters don't breed when I am around. Sort of a respect thing

Well, that's certainly good news.

 

[Biddiquack]

It is about 46° here, so I covered some of the run fencing with poultry mesh today. My goal is to have it completed by spring so wild birds can't get into the run. So far I've been putting all the treats inside the coop so as not to draw the wild birds into the runs. My two 8 month old hens (a Blk Australorp and a Del) are both laying almost every day. I had lights in the coop till Dec 1st. Now they just have a little "night light" that peeks out of the chiped places in the concrete block their water heater bulb is in. 2 Del roos and 6 pullets (Colum Wyan I think) are 18 weeks old. The roos have been experimenting with their voices, and sound so funny with their little "urrrrr" attempts at crowing!

 

[chickiebaby1]

So I passed my first semester of nursing school.

WHoo Hoo... so glad that is over. Only 2 more semesters to go. For now I can focus on my new chickie babies. I hatched 10 last weekend. 7 white leghorns and 1 jersey giant, along with 2 itty bitty bantam cochins. I also have chicks hatching as I write this. I had ment for them to be Christmas chickies, but I guess I put them in the bator a little to early. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the 'bator room this morning to turn my New Years Eve eggs ( they are in another bator) to see 6 little fuzz balls running around in the hatcher.

And another 5 have hatched during the day today, with almost all the others pipped. I set 22 in lock-down Saturday and I am so excited they are all doing so well. I must have done something right this time around. I'll post some pics once they come out of the hatcher. Gotta wait for the rest to hatch, don't want to shrink wrap the others. I am so excited.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

So I passed my first semester of nursing school.

WHoo Hoo... so glad that is over. Only 2 more semesters to go. For now I can focus on my new chickie babies. I hatched 10 last weekend. 7 white leghorns and 1 jersey giant, along with 2 itty bitty bantam cochins. I also have chicks hatching as I write this. I had ment for them to be Christmas chickies, but I guess I put them in the bator a little to early. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the 'bator room this morning to turn my New Years Eve eggs ( they are in another bator) to see 6 little fuzz balls running around in the hatcher.

And another 5 have hatched during the day today, with almost all the others pipped. I set 22 in lock-down Saturday and I am so excited they are all doing so well. I must have done something right this time around. I'll post some pics once they come out of the hatcher. Gotta wait for the rest to hatch, don't want to shrink wrap the others. I am so excited.

congrats.