INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

poor @pipdzipdnreadytogo she wants more chickens so much and doesn't have the room! Everyone is providing a subtle form a torture for her!

It's true!!

Since this little guy has been a regular in my backyard lately, I decided to get a photo. We also had a much bigger hawk stop by once. That one didn't camp out & lust for chicken all day. This smaller hawk is determined & still here. I've been keeping my flock locked up for the past 3 weeks, but this hawk's not getting the hint! It's also fearless & allows me to walk pretty close before moving. I've been guessing it's a Cooper's hawk. Does anyone know?

I agree with the others, looks like a juvenile Cooper's. Handsome little thing! I know it's very anti-chicken-lady of me to say, but I have a soft spot for raptors.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

hope everyone is having a great day...just got a load of wood delivered been busy moving it...and also cleaning the chicken coop...

lol...cut down a money tree today...lol

its funny when i worked landscaping with a friend of mine that started his own business we would plant like 5000 trees a year...i asked him what is the point...he goes in five to ten years...all the trees that we just planted in the last five years will be close to a million bucks....i was like gees i think i should buy some land and plant trees..

on a different note i think i will be doing some aquaponics this season...not sure as you all no i have tons to keep up with...and im falling behind...thats for sure...but aquaponics is when you use fish to grow veggies...i was thinking about using either perch or talapia...anyone have experience with aquaponics...would love some tips...and pros and cons for this...

Oh darn birdman, not the money tree......LOL but we're talking aquaponics now so must be you cut down only one money tree out of a forest of them... LOL

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Last year when we bought a hog to have processed I had the butcher save the fat for me to render into lard. It was my first time and it was very successful. I ran the fat through my kitchenaid mixer grinder attachment and then melted it with the lowest heat setting in my electric roaster. It worked really well and had plenty of space for all the ground fat. The lard turned out pure white and I froze it in canning jars -- still have quite a bit left yet. What will you use your tallow for? Cooking, homemade candles?? The last time we had half a beef processed the butcher asked if I wanted the fat, but I didn't know what to do with it, so I didn't take it either. The butcher said typically beef fat isn't used in cooking...????

I actually have a cheap meat grinder but it did not occur to me to use it for fat as fat was a big problem when grinding a turkey. But after reading a few more how to render fat to tallow / lard websites, I'll almost freeze and grind first next time. I'll also be better prepared for the size of fat. Fat is a space hog. pound per pound, fat is much larger than a roast.
What will I use it for? Originally my thoughts were to try it in soap. But the finished tallow smells remind me of so many good comfort foods. I'll slice some potatoes and onions for frying in it. I spoonful for greenbeans and onions. French fries would be great too. I even read online that it has a higher temp threshold before splattering so cleanup will be easier on fried food nights. Somewhere on the sites there was at least one that said the tallow was healthier than the veggie soy oils we buy in the grocery store. It would be fresher in my house right now. I still have the very last bit in a crock pot that hopefully will be ready for straining before 11 pm tonight.
I gave candles a 10 second thought and its not worth it just now to me. Maybe one or two for an emergency but with the children all being little bit too curious about fire, I limit candles. And candlemaking is an are much like soap making. I'm sticking to one art at a time for now. Art is expensive. Color, scents, additives, molds, I'm dreaming of learning all about soap already and I have not even tried my first batch yet. It is still curing.
The tallow can also be used in making homemade chapstick and lotions, I might try that before candles.
Some strange uses I found when reading online as I ended up with a lot of tallow were hunting and gun cleaning related. http://readynutrition.com/resources/rendering-tallow-for-cooking-and-12-other-uses_21082013/

And while I won't make any kind of practice of rubbing the tallow on my hands like a lotion, the tallow I did end up getting on my hands as I put the cooled white stuff away was amazingly similar to lotion. Here is a site that talks of tallow and its traditional uses.
http://ecologyskincare.com/traditional-uses-of-tallow-and-other-animal-fats-oils/

ATTENTION ATTENTION

There is one week left to get you vote to me on a date for Chickenfest 2015. I will be posting the date next Sunday.


Also the deadline for ordering T-shirts is 2 weeks from today. So get your t-shirt orders in. We are a long way from our goal.



Just thought everyone might also like to know the 1st day of spring is 1 month from yesterday.


Have a great day.

My family wore our 2014 chicken fest shirts today and I got recognized. Dh got asked if we owned chickens or just liked them. Later in the day I was asked if I thought it was wrong to eat a chicken. It took me a minute before I realized it was the shirt. But I got to have a nice talk about raising chickens in the backyard and eating a few of them with a lady. Turns out she used to live on a farm many years ago, a nice grandmotherly type.


We made it to the museum today. We got to meet an Indiana Astronaut ~ Dr. Wolf. It was a great day and a very wonderful way to introduce the children to how space helps the medical research field. But the cheese making lab got changed to another day.
Once I decide where to buy the citric acid and rennet, I might just try to make mozzarella without seeing it done in person first.

 

[ChickenLady2014]

wish I would have known to grind my pig fat that I made into suet blocks for my wild birds last winter. It took me forever to render it down from a big frozen klump. Will store that little tidbit on the back burner of my brain. Let's just hope I don't misplace it

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

So I have been going through my seeds. This is going to be my first year purposely starting tomatoes by seed, peppers, broccoli ..etc.

I bought a seed heat mat..and my bubble was busted when I broke out the calendar! It's (spring) so far away!!!

I did get peppers and tomatoes to start from seed, Gonna get it going! I refuse to buy any more chicks (unless they are really really special!) so seeds it is for me this year LOL!

Quote: Thanks.
Thats a shame, sounds like a pecking injury. One of my WL hens lost here eye as a chick, but does just fine. Hope she recovers well.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

hope everyone is having a great day...just got a load of wood delivered been busy moving it...and also cleaning the chicken coop...

lol...cut down a money tree today...lol

its funny when i worked landscaping with a friend of mine that started his own business we would plant like 5000 trees a year...i asked him what is the point...he goes in five to ten years...all the trees that we just planted in the last five years will be close to a million bucks....i was like gees i think i should buy some land and plant trees..

on a different note i think i will be doing some aquaponics this season...not sure as you all no i have tons to keep up with...and im falling behind...thats for sure...but aquaponics is when you use fish to grow veggies...i was thinking about using either perch or talapia...anyone have experience with aquaponics...would love some tips...and pros and cons for this...

@racinchickins has in the past. I am raising tilapia now and its going very well. If it continues to go this well, I am going to do aquaponics. I started with 1/4 to 1/2 inch fingerlings in Dec and they are 4-5 inches each already! All 30 are thriving and doing very well. They are very much like an oscar. Moved them to a 75 gallon tank, and will pick breeders to go into a 55 gallon soon. Come summer, they will finish out in a 500 gallon "swimming pool" tank outside lol. My breeders will then go into the 75 gallon.

Isn't that what tax checks are for ? To spend on chickens?
Quote:
Hope all is well with him.

Well, when it rains, it pours! I have a third refugee to the house. This time, it's my baby, Frou-frou!

I went out to take pictures of the girls and found a big, nasty wound on the back of her neck. I have no idea how it got there or how long it's been there! It doesn't look like feather-picking or cannibalism, so I'm thinking she may have been scratched by something and kept itching it and making it worse. I just feel wretched for not noticing sooner, my poor baby!

We've dressed the wound and she's sitting in a laundry basket on the couch beside me. (Yes, I'm making sure she can transition to the warmth this time.) She's acting fine thus far, save for being a bit stiff in her neck, and she's honking at me like she's not sure why I'm so upset. I just would be devastated if something happened to her.

My beloved Frou-frou.



Edit: Sorry, y'all. I lost it a bit there. I think I've calmed down now.

Oh my, hope she is ok. I have had 2 girls with neck wounds that recovered very well, both I suspected were from roosters!
We are having a rough few days here too. have 2 roosters completely missing, no feathers nothing. Lost 2 more that I found dead friday morning, part of my free range egg flock. They were under the roosts. And my beloved sweet beilie rooster passed away saturday morning. So I was throwing my hands in the air at this point! This cold is really taking a toll on my flock.
I had brought him in, he was acting off. After looking him over he was much too thin, so I started him on chick feed, electrolytes etc. Didn't catch it in time

I am just sick over it.

Definitely a Coopers Hawk. We have multiple birds nesting on our property. They have lured young birds to the edge of the fencing, reached in and tore the chicken's head off. I have aviary netting to deter air attacks but they would still come and sit on the support posts and harass my chickens. The addition of guineas seem to have deterred their daily visits.

They are very bold, but my guinea attack them if they come around. I had a smaller version, sharp shinned hawk squeeze into a large wire dog kennel, no kidding and kill one of my birds. I open that shed so my bantams have fresh air. They have the jumbo wire dog crates as a "coop" inside the building. I had to actually open the kennel to get the hen out, and this thing kept coming back for her! My guineas took care of it when they heard it, but too late for the lil rooster.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: Loved this post! I have learned to grind a lotta stuff to make it more workable. We do homemade summer sausage with the hogs, and DH is building a smoker so we don't have to borrow his buddy's lol. Its so very much better in flavor, you can adjust seasoning and spices.. regrind for firmer sausage etc. So many things to try! I am dying to try mozzarella with the goat milk this year, so far, looks like both does are expecting too!

wish I would have known to grind my pig fat that I made into suet blocks for my wild birds last winter. It took me forever to render it down from a big frozen klump. Will store that little tidbit on the back burner of my brain. Let's just hope I don't misplace it

LOL I will remind you when we do our next hog this spring! I hope he will be ready around April but this cold is slowing him down on growth. We are hoping to get to the point of 2-3 a year, we usually use up a 300 lb hog in about 4 months.

 

[Mother2Hens]

My girls have faces. They aren't fluffy around their eyes like the photos I always see of Silkies online. I guess this is the cost of them being able to see, then, right?

Are yours bearded or non-bearded? I like both. Mine are bearded and have the area around their eyes trimmed so they can see. Ditzy and Smalty are bored while housed in my daughter's bedroom. I had them in there because of Ditzy's head pecked injury, but when I checked on them yesterday morning, Smalty was limping! Geez! I can't imagine how she could have hurt her foot. It's not bad, and at least she can rest it. A couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready to walk out the door to go to Louisville to help my ailing sister. I checked on the chickens one last time and noticed that Ditzy was limping. I knew that my DH had his hands full taking care of the flock during bad weather during my trips to Lville, so I packed up Ditzy and Smalty and brought them to Lville! I stayed at my sister's while she was in the hospital, so I used a spare bedroom there to house the silkies. I was gone that time almost a week, so Ditzy's leg was fine by the time we headed home. Luckily, my sister thought it was funny that the silkies were staying at her house.
As far as transitioning my chickens from inside to outside or vise versa, @jchny2000 /Janet gave me good advice over a year ago. Since my kids have flown the coop, I have extra bedrooms, (which I realize everyone doesn't have). I house the sick/hurt chicken with a buddy in a bedroom with the bedroom door closed. Janet suggested that each day I adjust the window up or down a little, depending on temps and which way they're transitioning. I know that other people on our thread have mentioned other methods like using a basement or garage for a while as a transition between temperatures inside and outside. A small $5 digital thermometer is very helpful to keep track of the transition.
Pain & Suffering

It's sad to hear about frostbite and injuries! If anyone is interested, I posted pain relief and frostbite info the other day on page 3796. From what I understand, chickens definitely feel pain, but their instincts prevent them from displaying any sign of weakness. So, just because chickens seem to feel okay, they're just using their acting skills.
Originally Posted by flyladyrocks

Anyone ever heard of this? The no -crow rooster collar? I personally love the sound of a rooster crowing. I love that I can walk through my historical neighborhood and hear roosters from several chicken lovers. I had never seen such a thing as this before so am in the eyes-bugged-out-what-in-the-world stage: http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Supplies/No-Crow-Rooster-Collar-p1580.aspx
What I do like is the look of the bowtie option, definitely a fun photo op but can you say strangulation? I mean how easy would this to be to get caught on something? http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...Bow-Tie-for-No-Crow-Rooster-Collar-p1659.aspx

@flyladyrocks I remember @kittydoc saying that she ordered one to check it out and decided that they weren't a good idea. It's too bad that there isn't a volume control knob on chickens! My girls, and even the bantams, can get really loud (typically when they're begging me to come out and take them out of the fenced-in yard for a change of scenery and/or they want some special treats). I use the training method of ignoring them when they start screaming like prisoners who bang their metal cups on the bars in protest (I think I watched too many B prison movies at the drive-in theater when I was a teenager. hahaha). But they can chant loudly for a long time! My cats find it disturbing. lol
@Faraday40 I think your visitor looks like a Cooper's Hawk, and I've heard that Cooper's Hawks will going under foliage to grab something like @MowgliMom described. Then I remembered reading that they are easily mixed up with a smaller hawk -- a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I looked up both types: Cooper's Hawk, Identification, All About Birds - Cornell Lab … Sharp-shinned Hawk

 

[number9]

It's true!!

I agree with the others, looks like a juvenile Cooper's. Handsome little thing! I know it's very anti-chicken-lady of me to say, but I have a soft spot for raptors.

I have a coopers hawk that comes through every once and awhile. It has never bothered the chickens and they don't seem to mind him being around. I know others have not been as lucky. He does take a bird or two every year off of the feeder and they are beautiful birds.

 

[chick rookie]

I'm still going back and forth to Louisville while my sister recovers from surgery. While snowed-in there, I worried about my hens. My DH works hard to take care of them while I'm away. Before I got home yesterday, he noticed that my Splash Silkie, Ditzy, had been pecked in the back of the head. The same thing happened to my other Silkie, Smalty, two months ago --only she was pecked in the front of the head-- by my two gigantic Orpingtons who didn't want her snuggling up next to them on the perch. So I am guessing that Ditzy was cold and wanted to snuggle up next to the big, fluffy Orps. Unfortunately, the Silkies don't like to snuggle with each other. Because of Ditzy's injury and the frigid temps, I am housing the two Silkies in a spare bedroom. It's too cold for two Silkies with bald heads! I put a tiny bit of Rooster Booster Pick No More on Ditzy's head, so the photo of her wound looks even worse. It's too bad that their feathers won't grow back until their first molt.






This is how they looked at 6 months. So healthy and fluffy. I hope that @bradselig (who gave me the babies a year ago this month) doesn't report me to the authorities! The problem with Silkies is that they don't realize that they are Silkies. They think they're just like the Big Barnyard Girls!

Glad your still around, I've been gone a while too and now with the new job I am finding it hard to find time to do anything I enjoy ( BYC ) just to name one.
Great to hear you good news, hope things keep getting better for you.
Your poor babies, but they are loving the one on one with you I'll bet.
I don't think I will ever get caught up again, but I like my job and now I can start getting OLD BILLS paid. As always I look forward to reading all your post.

I think it's because they think they have a pure bred bird, something of quality, and by telling them that it's an Easter-egger, they seem to believe it loses value. I personally love my girls, don't much care what breed they are as long as they are friendly and healthy and lay plenty of beautiful eggs, and I know quite a few people are like that as well, but some just seem to see it as, "my bird is better than yours," and don't want to be told that they're wrong.

We didn't have much snow until that big snowstorm a week ago, which dumped a foot or more on us. And now it's all melting, so all that shoveling wasn't worth a whole lot.

But my girls were happy to get out of their coop, so that made the effort worthwhile to me, anyway.

My old girl, Cubby, is in my bedroom with me. I guess it is going around!

Sounds to me like she ate too much. They make sort of gasping, shifting motions with their heads when they are trying to settle something in their crops.

I think your right, but still I would WANT to know .... but thats me...

Chicken hugs today.

The Dorkings were being particularly loveable. The two of them hopped up onto the feed shed and were taking turns getting hugs. One would wander off to peck at ice and the other would come over for her turn for cuddles, and then she would go off and the first would come back for hugs.

It was too precious.

Elda 'Elly-cuddles' the Silver Gray Dorking. I apparently didn't get any pictures of Kit-kit, her 'twin'.

Oh, well.




And Freema, the eternally jealous Barred Rock.

Had to reassure her that yes, I still love her, even though I give attention to the babies sometimes as well.




Just because she is so fabulously beautiful, here is Vespa the silver Sebright:




And Roha the attention hog says, "Where's MY attention?!"

The snow has melted a LOT since that picture was taken--by the time I was getting the girls in for the night, you could see the ground where she's standing!! We're probably down to about half as much snow as we had yesterday. Of course, there's an abundance of water here at the moment and the coop and its occupants are looking pretty soggy, but we're all gunning for springtime so I think we can tolerate the mess until then!

I think this is the first winter in a few years that there weren't several complete melt-offs throughout the weeks of snow. I don't let the girls out to range when there's snow on the ground because they won't go anywhere, so they haven't free-ranged at all since last year!! Poor, abused girls!




Edited for wording.

They are all so cute

Hi Julie!!


Okay everyone, here is my fist hatch of all lf cochins from my birds. they are so cute! They are already spoken for, but if antone wants bbs lf cochin eggs, I have them now.

Love Love Love babies.

Another point for first aid kits! Not an emergency this time, though. I noticed a Guinea hen with an overgrown beak this evening. I keep pet nail trimmers in my kit for trimming beaks and nails. And it once again was easy to find, so I was able to send someone for it rather than track mud through the house.

The Guinea girl is unhappy and 'buckwheat'ing away, but at least she can eat properly now.



I also cleaned Cubby's pen this morning and made it a bit bigger. She, of course, hated it, but begrudgingly settled down in there.

I took her outside for a spin and she had a few spats with some of the younger, more spry girls. She managed to hold her own, but I could tell she wore herself out very quickly with it. Had to break it up and catch her to bring her back in.

I have my suspicions that I may know what her problem is aside from her old age. I'm suspecting that she has gotten weak and lost so much weight because she doesn't want to eat the pellets I switched the flock to a couple months ago. I thought she had been eating, but as it turns out, I found the majority of her food buried under the shavings in her pen when I cleaned it out.

So I took some fresh pellets and broke them down in the food processor, not quite to crumbles but to smaller pellets, to see if that encourages her to change her tastes. If this doesn't work, I guess we'll be investing in small bags of crumbles just for her. The things we do for these birds.

probably feels better too, I had a hard time getting a few of my birds to make the switch too. It finally did...

theres a viewing window at the top













and as you can see im around the birds all the time, these are birds out of the first batch out of the coolerbator

very neat pic's






ok falling asleep, must go to bed now, play catch up latter... everyone had great pic's as usual.