INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo Headache is right!

and.....

recessive (Mf+).

Watch your language, young lady!

[COLOR=8B4513]Screech's feathers are starting to come back on her head after being pecked off for being a pushy pint-sized hen. (Don't let the innocent look on her face fool you! lol)[/COLOR]

Aww, how could anyone believe such things about such a precious little hen? (Bantam Cochins have me nearly as well-trained as Dorkings and Plymouth Rocks do... )

I use heat for my Silkies and mixed Bantam pen. but it is not direct heat if you will. How to explain, lets see???? The heat can get into the house without being in the house, and if it should fall, don't see that happening cause have it wired to the point I REALLY hope the bulb don't need changed..... anyway if it does fall it will hit nothing but dirt. The only thing I really worry about is it exploding and the birds trying to eat the " shiny " pieces. Bubbles has heat right now cause I'm still trying to keep her an outside chicken. But she is still right out my back door and I'm up and down all night with the dogs so will know if anything happens. Its not like I turn on the heater then leave for 8 hours. O and yes she has a heater, not a bulb. The boot/foot warmer I got to try out this year, it shuts off every 2 hours. Even though the box says it don't. I got it at a swap meet so I figure it got put in the wrong box. I'm going to try the rest of my pens without this year and see what happens. I still have heated water bowels that only come on if the temp gets under 35 and off at 40 and lights on timers to give the layers 14 hours of light. As for the mass culling ...... we should put the " humans " that come up with that in there and make them stay until dead. Thats an absolutely terrible and sickening way to die.

Brrrr! Just closed coops, yikes its cold out. Time to dig out winter clothes and put up summer stuff I guess .

SHHHH I don't want me to know that yet. Still holding out hope...

Interesting... Are you sure it's even putting off much heat at all for the birds inside the coop if it's outside? I guess I'm not sure if I understand how it works..? Also, if you're concerned about it shattering, you could put some fencing over it, like maybe chicken wire? When mine shattered, it stayed in pretty big pieces and didn't go far because it was in a caged lamp. The scary part for me was more the fact that it happened at some point overnight, so those hot wires were exposed to all the dust and stuff from the coop for an unknown amount of time. :/ Didn't think much of it at the time, but thinking back makes me shudder to think how that could have ended... And agree on the w-word. We're not there yet.

 

[tmarsh83]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo Love your dorkings. Such a cool bird. Great history.

 

[pbirdhaven]

Tis the season! I really do enjoy Halloween. ..this year I put up a new shower curtain. Oooo did I get some belly laughs outta this one! My 15 year old literally fell down when he walked in hahaha...my 6 year old, whom I just had to quietly peek in (of course he never shuts the door!) I catch him slowly peeking around the backside of it, I couldn't stop myself from busting out laughing and Ohhhh did he jump! Lol!
We have a small candle plug in that acts as a nice night light.
Here it is walking in without and with the lights!

I love Halloween too; since I live by myself and off the beaten track, don't do much with decorating since nobody sees it but me. However, there is a fantastic display just a few miles from me. It's still going on tonight and tomorrow if anyone who lives in the south central or southeast Indiana area, it's well worth winding through the back roads to visit. They do this every year and include a donation box for the year's chosen charity. I may be mistaken, but I think that Mercy Rescue is this year's. If you can't make the trip, at least enjoy their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Boyd-Pumpkin-Display-139380052765139/?fref=ts

 

[Mother2Hens]

Oh, boy, frizzle genetics are tricky. Those of you that don't want a headache should stop reading here...

If I remember correctly, though, ONE part of frizzling is partially dominant (F), and the OTHER is recessive (Mf+). The recessive gene is not well known and seems uncommon, but it's hard to know which birds may be carrying it. It's called the frizzle modifier, and birds homozygous for it (mf/mf) will NOT be frizzled if they carry ONE frizzle gene (F/f+) but WILL be frizzled if they are homozygous for frizzling (F/F). HOWEVER, a bird can also be frizzled (or, in the case of homozygous frizzles, 'curly') and NOT carry the modifier (F/f+ Mf+/Mf+ or F/F Mf+/Mf+) or carry it heterozygously without it having an effect due to it being recessive (F/f+ Mf+/mf or F/F Mf+/mf).

SO, with that explanation over with...

If one or both parents are actually carrying the modifier, then SOME of the offspring COULD be carrying frizzle. BUT, if neither parent carries the modifier, or if only one parent is carrying ONE modifier (Mf+/mf), then only the birds that appear frizzled have the gene. So basically, yes, they could be carrying the gene--but it would take some test crossing to find out for sure.

Genetics-related posts are the only ones I skim through!

@chick rookie ~ Loved all your photos of your flock members. These two are especially cool!


chick rookie posted: We are going to steel your ideal of the pipe wrap for the our new coop. and the partition is a good ideal, how is it standing in place?

For the partition, I just cut the notch a tad smaller, so it grabs onto the perch particularly if the partition is foam and the perch has foam pipe covering.
If you buy foam pipe covers, I recommend ones like mine (available everywhere). Most stores have two versions, and the cheaper ones look like the material used for swimming pool noodles. That type does not hold up well being clawed. I change my covers approx 3X a year when they get too shredded. Pipe insulators come in different widths, too, so do some measuring before you shop. The ones on my perches are 1 1/4". Smaller sizes are better for bantams, but it doesn't matter that much since they can easily grasp the foam.

@ellymayRans ~ They've never nibbled on the foam. They do the "wiping their beak" on the foam perch to show ownership, but they've never pecked at them even when they eventually get frayed from their claws.
P.S. I'm calling child welfare about your shower curtain!

hahaha I love Halloween, too.

I looked up "spoiled pet chickens" on Wikipedia and found this same exact picture.

Haha Strange things happened when my kids left home, and I still had a need to "mother" — I never thought I'd be a crazy chicken-obssessed mother!
posted by pipd
Mom and I have discussed making wooden frames with clear plastic stapled in them to prop at an angle over some or all of the windows of my coop. This way they can be left open and plenty of ventilation gets through, but not as much of the snow, rain, and wind comes into the coop. I think this will be the optimal setup for my coop as far as wintertime ventilation.

@pipdzipdnreadytogo
Last year, I made these covers. I bought heavier plastic so they'd last longer, and I bought a grommet kit and hooks. I made covers for all areas so I can easily put them up on all areas or a few depending on weather conditions.

This is around the run part of the coop. I attach most sections to the outside of the coop for easier access. The hooks can be turned, which makes it easier to attach the grommets.


This section is on the inside left when I walk in the door. It's easier to access from inside the coop rather than outside.


This is over the ventilation area at the top on the end. I usually don't cover those areas, but this part is by the coop box. Since I made separate panels, I can easily make air flow changes. When it was really cold last year, I covered more areas than recommended, but I monitored humidity and temperature using a remote sensor system (gift from my DS).

 

[chickiebaby1]

Round 2 of pretty pictures!!! Today you will get a mixed bag of delightful beauties.

First off Beehtoven my handsome EE rooster. I think he is Blue laced red, not exactly sure.



This is Farrah one of my EE hens


This is Bunny my other EE


One of my newest members BamBam (polish) he wasn't as shy this time.

And Pebbles


Raven an EE or maybe an OE not sure who her daddy is.

ABBA polish


Queenie polish



This is Betty she is a barred rock chick only about 10 weeks old


That's all for today!! Stay tuned for bantam cochins, silkies and Large fowl cochin..

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote:
Dad had used that house foam insulation to close off the crawlspace. Well, over the years, the chickens, geese ducks etc have all chewed and pecked it all away. It just amazes me it doesn't make them sick.

Tis the season! I really do enjoy Halloween. ..this year I put up a new shower curtain. Oooo did I get some belly laughs outta this one! My 15 year old literally fell down when he walked in hahaha...my 6 year old, whom I just had to quietly peek in (of course he never shuts the door!) I catch him slowly peeking around the backside of it, I couldn't stop myself from busting out laughing and Ohhhh did he jump! Lol!
We have a small candle plug in that acts as a nice night light.
Here it is walking in without and with the lights!

Muahahahahaha!!! that so cool!

 

[ellymayRans]

Dad had used that house foam insulation to close off the crawlspace. Well, over the years, the chickens, geese ducks etc have all chewed and pecked it all away. It just amazes me it doesn't make them sick.
Muahahahahaha!!! that so cool!

Thanks I truly enjoyed it! !! Hahaha! I'm so bad!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Quote: But its so fun! Got to have a lil sense of humor or life would be boring lol.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Tired & sore tonight from processing and still reducing for winter. Today still felt really chilly, even though it was dry. Refuse to get the coveralls out yet! Getting coops ready, have a huge load of hay coming this weekend. Added an adorable Yorkshire gilt piglet last night that looks like a little sumo wrestler! She is so plump and round you can almost hear the stomp, stomp when she is running up to greet you, lol.. Going to make a really good breeding sow, has a calm demeanor and isn't timid like your average piglet. Just so pleased with her, she likes to be scratched and pet. I am able to pick her up without loud pitiful squeals. thats very unusual. Have a few more piglets coming this weekend, and I will be all set for next year. Plan to stagger my breeding plan so we will not have to search for piglets anymore.

Had a new "first" today, and it is pretty disappointing. I have a beautiful muscovy drake, a barred lavender I have to cull from the flock. He is in jail tonight. Caught him several times this afternoon grabbing chicken hens! This is the first time I have seen a muscovy do this in the 3+ years I have kept them. I am sure not going to use him as a breeder. Really frustrated, he is gorgeous and very human imprinted, exceptionally social fella. Not risking him killing any chicken hens

. He has plenty of female ducks to choose from, and most are pretty friendly to the few drakes I have. My ducks free range off season from hatching, so they must be able to comingle with other species without issue. For those not familiar a drake (male duck) that breeds a chicken hen will kill her. Completely different "plumbing":
My naked neck/turken rooster is getting himself in a lot of trouble too! He has taken an "interest" in turkey hens, and had several angry turkey hens chasing him this afternoon! Never seen such a ridiculous thing, he is only about 6 pounds. Has a lot of growing to do yet! A mad turkey hen will actually stomp another bird/animal to death if they feel its a threat. He is also in "jail" to calm him down, and keep him from getting stomped. A few of my turkey hens are close to 18 pounds or more.

 

[ellymayRans]

But its so fun! Got to have a lil sense of humor or life would be boring lol.

I hear that!