INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kittydoc]

I like raptors, too....as long as they leave my birds alone. 2" chicken netting from Amazon has worked perfectly,

Re "no crow" collars, I have found them imperfect but useful. Our five roos sound like 2 or 3, and one isn't collared. 3 are very quiet. Mine are homemade from double sided Velcro. One does have to check periodically for proper fit.

Nee subject: can you Dremel the sharp points of spurs when they are too short to "hot potato"? A hen's back was pretty badly spur injured despite wearing a saddle. I am going to order a longer saddle for her for after she heals, but would like to reduce the sharpness of the spurs too.

Happy Sunday to all!

 

[racinchickins]

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...

I've done aquaponics before and plan to start up again this year. Send me a pm and we can discuss it if you want.

 

[PeacefulWalls]

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!

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.

I've done aquaponics before and plan to start up again this year. Send me a pm and we can discuss it if you want.

Aquaponics & mozarella cheese making would be 2 more great topics for chickenfest -- may need to turn this into a 2-day event to get all the good ideas worked in!!

 

[birdman55]

morning everyone....man this feels like a heat wave i think were above freezing right now...almost feel like putting on some shorts.....lol

 

[kabhyper1]

Hey guys, I'm going to likely have 1 or 2 big cochin boys available. I have 4 chicks right now. The girls are spoken for but not the boys. I'm thinking I have 2 and 2 but they are young yet. They are black and will be beautiful. Ready to go at 6 weeks. They are 2 weeks now. Here are the parents

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

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.

Wow, sorry to see this! It's been a rough winter. Mom keeps saying last year was worse, but I seem to recall only a few spikes down into the negatives and some meltoff days as well. Not like this year, where we've been cold for weeks with few signs of it ever warming up! Hope things start turning around over there for your birds! C'mon, spring weather!

I openly admit, I was a blubbering mess yesterday when I found my Frou-Frou like that. I love all my girls, but what I have with Frou is special. It's like she needs me as much as I need her (okay, I know I'm crazy ). I'd be totally lost without her, though! Even going out this morning, knowing she was safe up in my room, it just felt wrong not seeing her come flying out of the pop door after honk-honk-honking at me for a while as if pleading for help with the task! Now she's honk-honk-honking at me from the couch beside me, begging for me to share my crackers.

[rule][COLOR=8B4513]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.[/COLOR]
[rule][COLOR=8B4513]Pain & Suffering [/COLOR]
[COLOR=8B4513]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.[/COLOR]

That's just what I've been doing with my Frou. We spend some time on the couch, and then I'll take her to cool off in the kitchen with the window or garage door open. She seems to be transitioning well, but I think it being above freezing when she came in helped with that, unlike with Louise, when it was in the single digits! Edit: And it just occurred to me that there's a window right next to us by the couch. I think we're comfortable now.

And thank you on the pain reliever as well. I want to make sure my beloved Frou is comfortable, poor baby! My only concern is with big wounds, I've seen where it is advised NOT to use Aspirin as it can make bleeding worse. Frou'f is scabbed over pretty well, so I think she will be alright, but I thought I would put that out there.

I like raptors, too....as long as they leave my birds alone. 2" chicken netting from Amazon has worked perfectly,

Re "no crow" collars, I have found them imperfect but useful. Our five roos sound like 2 or 3, and one isn't collared. 3 are very quiet. Mine are homemade from double sided Velcro. One does have to check periodically for proper fit.

Nee subject: can you Dremel the sharp points of spurs when they are too short to "hot potato"? A hen's back was pretty badly spur injured despite wearing a saddle. I am going to order a longer saddle for her for after she heals, but would like to reduce the sharpness of the spurs too.

Happy Sunday to all!

Good point! But in nearly 10 years of chickening, I've never had problems with hawks, so they're okay--for now. I was super excited to see a Great Horned Owl in our woods the other night, though! The property has come a long way from when it was farmland!

If I remember right, Kab dremels her rooster's spurs down. I think if you're just trying to take the point off, you should be fine as well.

morning everyone....man this feels like a heat wave i think were above freezing right now...almost feel like putting on some shorts.....lol

Break out the sprinklers and swimsuits!! e



Edited for a typo

 

[SallyinIndiana]

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!

Have you picked out any recipes for the mozzarella cheese yet? I was thinking of trying to get something together to attempt a batch next weekend. The weather is not looking favorable for a trip to Salem's festival so why not make cheese?

 

[leslea]

Are yours bearded or non-bearded? I like both.

I suppose they are non-bearded. I can see their wattles and all that. When I ordered them I chose the "random" option at MPC, so I just got what I got and didn't get to choose either way.

Well, one of them seems to be less bearded than the other. Lynda, the one who christened herself, is def beardless.

In either case, I can see their eyes on both of them, so I assume they can see pretty well. That's a relief, to be honest. We'll see what I get with the buff silkie chicks I have coming in April. I may need "beauty school" tips if they end up with poofier 'dos than these two have.

Luckily, my sister thought it was funny that the silkies were staying at her house.

That is funny! I hope your sister is feeling better. Sorry to hear about that. And this has been awful weather for traveling.
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.

Noted! I have one of those thermometers. Will def. keep this in mind.
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.

I read most of that, but I think I didn't absorb the pain relief part. I will go back and check in a moment. Thank you for all you do for us!

@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

I had three red-shouldered hawks in my woods about a week ago. They were calling to one another as if to say, "Here she comes to let the chickens out." The girls had to stay in that day!

 

[ChickenLady2014]

morning everyone....man this feels like a heat wave i think were above freezing right now...almost feel like putting on some shorts.....lol

lol...

 

[ChickenLady2014]

I had a Red Tail hawk swoop into the chicken yard yesterday. Luckily the hen was faster, no casualties thank goodness. We definitely need to get the aviary net up this spring.