INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

I have had several people at work (city folk) that thought all chickens were white! Lol! They had no idea they came in all different colors shapes and sizes! Haha! Not to mention all the misconceptions about reproduction etc! I think it's fun to answer people's crazy questions and hearing what they think about them.

Yes, when I tell people that my chickens lay blue, green, pink, brown, cream, brown, & speckled eggs, many do not believe me. I even had a person seriously ask, "Can you eat a green egg?" The best reaction is when I hand someone an egg I just picked up & it's still warm.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Originally Posted by bradselig I remember when you were trying to sell that fecal exam kit! What? No takers? haha

Originally Posted by kabhyper1 Considering the Indiana BYCers Facebook email alerts I receive, I think you're spending too much time on FB instead of our thread! haha

Just teasing. I'm just jealous because I can't find time to participate in more than one group. But seriously, we're here to help each other! This is a wonderful, supportive group and a valuable resource. It's great to talk to people who really "get it" about how interesting chickens are.

Like @Faraday40 , I can't imagine not educating yourself about the care of anything from chicken to a human baby. It's our responsibility, IMO. And the learning never ends!

@flyladyrocks haha RARE is not a rare word in advertising-- very overused! Do you ever look at vintage things on craigslist, eBay, etsy.com, etc.? The plethora of "rare" items is incredible!

haha

 

[ellymayRans]

Some pics from today.
I released my newest Peahen and she loves her new Pea family!
I really need to name her and my two whites! Hmmm..any suggestions for her?

Other news..my darned Naked Neck and silkies didn't make it! Only 2 shipped eggs hatched and they are adorable..just not Naked!
Black and Splash

Eggtopsys revealed 3 internally pipped but expired the remaining 8 were malpositioned..one was still alive!! But it too was positioned with its head at the bottom away from the air cell. None of the veins had receded..sad.
Notice the splash is so much bigger than the black and it hatched a day later. Probably a roo. Thick legs and the little black one is full of itself. Betting it's a girl! Lol!

Then I have the lovely broody hangin' in the Great room on 2 silkie eggs. The one in the bator that expired was a partridge so I'm guessing hers are too.

The cochin eggs coming in the next few days are going to her also.

I'm building 2 more coolerbators this week. One for myself and the other for my aunt. I convinced her to participate in the Easter Day HAL!! Woohoo!! She brought over some needed supplies today and I will have the thermostats in the mail later this week. I'm building these with the digital as my first is the wafer. Interested in the comparison.

 

[Faraday40]

Other news..my darned Naked Neck and silkies didn't make it! Only 2 shipped eggs hatched and they are adorable..just not Naked!
Black and Splash

Things you can say to others about your baby chicks, but not about your significant other.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Happy Friday everyone! Here's some pics from around the homestead last night:



















Posted this on FB last night and someone asked how many we had of what...so here's the count as of this morning. Planning a trip to Dinky's next Friday though so this may change.

• 13 isa browns
• 10 black sex links
• 10 pearl guineas
• 11 silkies
• 2 Indian blue peacocks
• 1 cameo peahen
• 3 pheasants
• 2 alpaca
• 1 horse
• 2 dogs
• 3 cats

I just adore your IB, and loved all your pics! Someday I hope to go to Dinkys!

Quote: We do raise some meat breeds every year. I do keep them separate from my heritage, especially the BB turkeys. The hens in the BB as they mature do become territorial and I had some painful losses from the first year. Once my heritage turkey flocks grow enough, there will be no more meat turkeys purchased.
The Cornish cross are a really fun bird for me. I have a 2 1/2 year old hen thats still hanging in there! She lays double yolkers, but I have hatched a couple of her eggs. I have a daughter of hers thats 2 in July.
I raise them in a heritage type setting tho, and they do get free range time about 5 weeks until processing. Really friendly goofy birds. I do not leave feed out 24/7 or they will flip. (heart attack) They grow a bit slower free ranging but you would never know they were a CX with the finished bird, except more muscle gain. They sure love people, they will run up to you and climb in your lap. I have had very good luck with Meyers CX, super healthy and no flipping.

I just don't understand why they go to so much trouble to try to dispute what the birds are or make them sound like something they are not when, in reality, what people are looking for is just what these birds are - something that lays "pretty eggs". ETA - the "people" I am referring to being those that are sourcing their birds from retail outlets/hatcheries and are looking for production, etc vs show quality/breeding quality stock that would meet the SOP for the breed of choice as the latter would be sourcing from reputable breeders.

Good point!

Quote: Adorable batch of babies!

Quote:
Interesting how they mask and play on words, isn't it.

Quote: Depending on what you decide there is always the option of auto sexing breeds too. More of us are adding these breeds all the time.

Quote: AGREED, and I am very convinced the longevity of some breeds are being modified.. many of my hatchery breed birds dont seem to live past 3 years. Not all hatcheries seem to be doing this, but its becoming obvious with a few.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

kittydoc - last june we had a couple hatch under a broody & an incubator hatch 6 days later - we added a couple of the chicks to be with the 6 day older chicks (sold the rest of the incubated chicks) & all worked out fine for us (that time)

Wow thats great!

Quote: Very good post.

Quote: Also excellent info.

After years of hatching leghorns in the classroom - then rehoming them after the unit, I was given a rainbow assortment of eggs to hatch. The man used to show Ameraucana, white rocks, barred rocks, & possibly several other breeds. When he decided to get out of breeding chickens & move on to pigeons, all his fancy birds got mixed for general egg production. So I know my orig hens are mixes - but exceptional when it comes to health, appearance, & personality. (They are what got me started in chickens.)

Since they all lay sky blue or blue-green eggs, I call them EEs. I like to research. I went from only knowing how to hatch chicks to overall care / health to a growing wish list of future breeds I want - all within 1-2 months. It surprises me too how little some "experts" know. We are so removed from our food supply (here in the suburbs) that the average person still thinks that hens need a rooster to lay eggs or even better: white eggs come from white chickens & brown eggs come from brown chickens. LOL

ROFL thats what I used to think too! Who knew there were soooo many types!

Hello, I am in Northern Indiana, Goshen/Elkhart area. I am looking to get some:

Blue laced Red Wyandottes.

Black Copper Marans


I am building a barn to house my current flock of fun layers and then to start breeding these two breeds, along with some EEggers and work on some olive eggers. Barn wont be done till like June.

If there is anyone out there hatching soon and would want to sell me some chicks, that would be great.

I love the BLRW hens coloring, just beautiful. I have two splash hens now and need a few more and need a black roo to breed with them.

I have a couple BCM but need to add some new chickens to my mix of 2 hens and 1 roo.



Also, on a side note, How many hens will one roo mate with to truely produce fertile eggs? I ONLY have 1 BCM roo and 12 hens of a variety, 2 of which are BCM hens. He seems to have his favorites but the BCM hens dont seem to be at thetop of his list. I assume i just need to separate them and include the EEggers as well, so that will be 5 hens. I would think that wouldnt be a problem for him, however, till the weather gets better, i have no way to separate them.

Thoughts on how many of my eggs are going to be fertile?

Im going to start pulling some out to prep for incubation but its just been so darn cold.

thanks for your time.

Welcome to our thread! I bet there is a few close to you that can help.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Some pics from today.
I released my newest Peahen and she loves her new Pea family!
I really need to name her and my two whites! Hmmm..any suggestions for her?




Other news..my darned Naked Neck and silkies didn't make it! Only 2 shipped eggs hatched and they are adorable..just not Naked!
Black and Splash


Eggtopsys revealed 3 internally pipped but expired the remaining 8 were malpositioned..one was still alive!! But it too was positioned with its head at the bottom away from the air cell. None of the veins had receded..sad.
Notice the splash is so much bigger than the black and it hatched a day later. Probably a roo. Thick legs and the little black one is full of itself. Betting it's a girl! Lol!

Then I have the lovely broody hangin' in the Great room on 2 silkie eggs. The one in the bator that expired was a partridge so I'm guessing hers are too.


The cochin eggs coming in the next few days are going to her also.

I'm building 2 more coolerbators this week. One for myself and the other for my aunt. I convinced her to participate in the Easter Day HAL!! Woohoo!! She brought over some needed supplies today and I will have the thermostats in the mail later this week. I'm building these with the digital as my first is the wafer. Interested in the comparison.

Good luck on the build! Those chicks are too adorable. What is the other peafowl names, that helps to pick.

Quote:

 

[ellymayRans]

@Mother2Hens I promised some pics of my momma to your Monday. The poppa is in there too but I didn't take pics of just him. They have been separated for breeding. I won't be gathering from her until approx 3/23. I will likely be setting some of her eggs for the HAL..

This is an example of the eggs on their way to me. random pic of the breed.

Now my next and last bin I'll be buying eggs of are Russian Orlaff..just waiting for them to post. I'm hoping to be hatching for the HAL!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I was going back through posts trying to find someone new who posted a few days ago. I think she lives near Bedford. I didn't welcome her, and I couldn't find her post.
However, I ran across the questions about Guard Geese from @Leahs Mom that @jchny2000 answered. I have a headache from all that bright red type, Janet, lol. I am re-posting it for easier reading for the elderly. haha My big question is, Could you have one female goose to guard a flock or would that not be advised?

Hope this is better!
Yes you can, I would recommend 2 but one would survive. They will do well, not as well as a gander but its an instinct of the species to "guard". A large bodied flapping bird frightens off hawks and other smaller predators. Again, no match for a dog or coyote!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

@Mother2Hens I promised some pics of my momma to your Monday. The poppa is in there too but I didn't take pics of just him. They have been separated for breeding.

I won't be gathering from her until approx 3/23. I will likely be setting some of her eggs for the HAL..




This is an example of the eggs on their way to me. random pic of the breed.


Now my next and last bin I'll be buying eggs of are Russian Orlaff..just waiting for them to post. I'm hoping to be hatching for the HAL!

I would love to keep cochin, but they are too docile for most the other breeds here. So many lovely colors, especially in the bantams!