INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[ChickCrazed]

I it was me, I would leave the door to the walkway open on that right pen just for winter.  The turkeys have never ever tried to come at me and I'm not nervous to walk in their pen at all.  Nothing compared to when I had a hatchery RIR pair of roosters on the lot.  Still if you are wanting a poo free area to be able to walk into for gathering eggs, the turkeys in the walkway area would mess that up.

That is true. I'd really have to de clutter to minimize what got pooped on. Hmmmmmm

 

[Leahs Mom]

@SallyinIndiana

Wondering how your barn experience has been so far this winter. Do you still have birds in the new chicken house that y'all build last year too?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

@SallyinIndiana

Wondering how your barn experience has been so far this winter. Do you still have birds in the new chicken house that y'all build last year too?

My greenhouse styled homemade coop from the fall of 2013 is holding up very well. There are a few warped roofing pieces and tiny leaks. Last 2013-2014 winter was too cold with too much snow for some of the plastic roofing. For now my 4 turkeys are in there with the remainder of my non breeding laying hens and often the female cat I got from EllieMay... The cat enjoys the nesting boxes.

My breeding tractors are in the pole barn. Once my non breeding layers are sold, I'll move everyone around just in time for the younger chicks to take over a pen or two. For the most part the breeders have been doing good at scratching and digging in the deep litter. We have turned it once for them ~ last Saturday as they took a week or so off because the bedding froze. Venting has been great except on the extreme 4 or 5 days of cold we had. I had one rooster out of 6 that got a bit of frost bite on his wattles not comb. He must have put them in the water dish. The others did not get it and like last year I'm watching it.
The true test of this barn and chicken experiment will be the spring clean out.

 

[Faraday40]

What a wonderfully warm couple of days! My flock actually walked around OUTSIDE the coop/run this weekend. There's still a lot of snow but also a lot of MUD. This is new to me because last year's flock stayed inside the run area until late March.
Questions:
Why were my chickens eating the snow? For weeks they've been afraid of it. Never set a foot into it. All of a sudden on Sat, they started eating it like cracked corn.
Is there any way to prevent chickens from drinking muddy puddles? Should I even worry about it?

 

[pbirdhaven]

Question for those of you with Turkeys. How much space do they need? Are there any special housing requirements? I am interested in Palms and the smaller breeds.

My pair said forget the pen and shelter--they roost on top of the pens. One or two of the really cold nights, Wishbone went inside but Giblets toughed it out on the pen. Otherwise they're out--rain, snow, whatever.

 

[pbirdhaven]

What a wonderfully warm couple of days! My flock actually walked around OUTSIDE the coop/run this weekend. There's still a lot of snow but also a lot of MUD. This is new to me because last year's flock stayed inside the run area until late March.
Questions:
Why were my chickens eating the snow? For weeks they've been afraid of it. Never set a foot into it. All of a sudden on Sat, they started eating it like cracked corn.
Is there any way to prevent chickens from drinking muddy puddles? Should I even worry about it?

Think about all the stuff chickens eat out of the dirt --muddy puddles probably won't hurt them as long as there is no oil or anything in them.

Don't know how that smilie got in there, but I took it out. gremlins!

 

[wabashchickens]

What a wonderfully warm couple of days!  My flock actually walked around OUTSIDE the coop/run this weekend.  There's still a lot of snow but also a lot of MUD.  This is new to me because last year's flock stayed inside the run area until late March.
Questions:
Why were my chickens eating the snow? For weeks they've been afraid of it.  Never set a foot into it.  All of a sudden on Sat, they started eating it like cracked corn.
Is there any way to prevent chickens from drinking muddy puddles?  Should I even worry about it?

my chickens lock the mud puddles one of them my easter egger named eagle stomps and splashes the water and my buff orp. Named penny tries to eat the bubbles

 

[birdman55]

VERY SWEET!
Do you know what breed(s) the golden one in back right is? (The one with a dark stripe down back of head).


Quote:

no clue....I have about 35 hens and three roosters...one barred rock, one white americauna, and one brown ee....so your guess is as good as mine....I have hens: sumatras, barred rock, isa browns, ee, leghorns, and im sure im missing some more but the birds would be whatever would come from this mix

Is the black with white spot a sex link? They are so cute!!!

not sure...sex link from my understanding is that when they produce offspring they take the mother or father gene of the original parents...so who knows...not me....lol...I just grow and keep the nice ones....the ones I don't like after four months go to freezer camp

barred rocks are black with a dot too. But a dot on a black sex link means supper in 5 months around here.

lol....so true...the birds I don't like visually they make freezer camp

 

[ellymayRans]

Anyone placing a chick order not too far from me? Really would like to add a few if you wouldn't mind. I want a SamFav roo and a few more hens.

 

[chknbrdr]

I'm not sure if anyone here can help me, but I am teaching a Poultry Production class at Ivy Tech in Columbus this semester and I would like to take a field trip to a farm where someone is raising a large number of broilers on pasture late Spring. I know a few people that raise 400-500 per year, but I would like to find a larger farm. Any suggestions within an hour or so of Columbus would be appreciated!
Post, Email, PM, call or text,

Matt John
812 603-7722
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