INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[ellymayRans]

So i am making the "leap" lol..if thats what you may call it, of raising mealworms.

I know a few of you do. Any suggestions and does anyone here have any that i could buy to start my pop?

There's a person on the BST here that is offering them. Thought I'd check with everyone here first.

 

[Faraday40]

I plan to hatch blue, black, and splash English Orpingtons,
Lavender Orpingtons (25-50% English),
Chocolate English Orpingtons,
Cuckoo English Orpingtons (Chocolate and Black),
Black split to lavender Orpingtons on demand only,
maybe a few Jubilee Orpingtons,
and last but not least, Bielefelders!

I also have a general question for the masses. I know most of you don't show (except kids in 4-H), and I don't have show quality birds at this time anyway. I'd like some idea of how many people would care if their Orps might carry lavender without knowing for sure without a test breeding at maturity? I'd like to give Cogburn and his sisters something to do this season. They are black split to lavender. Bred to blue, their BBS offspring MIGHT or MIGHT NOT carry lavender. Same if I breed them to my chocolate cuckoo rooster. The offspring will be the "dominant" color (black or chocolate, cuckoo or not), but MIGHT or MIGHT NOT carry lavender.

Let me know. I plan to test a few of Cog's offspring with the blues from last year by breeding them to Janet's lav roo to see if they do or do not carry lavender, but it'll slow me down a bit. I kept three full English Orps out of him and my blue hens (two black pullets and one blue cockerel) that each have a 50% chance of being split to lavender. I'm planning to use my older blue cockerel which is "true blue" for sure until I know otherwise, so it's less of an issue with my BBS. I have one black hen that is "pure black," two of Cogburn's sisters which are split to lav, and the two black pullets of unknown status with respect to lav. I need black girls to breed to my chocolate cuckoo cockerel so I can tell by color what sex the offspring are (chocolate or chocolate cuckoo = female, black or black cuckoo split to chocolate = male).

Can't answer the genetics ?, but I was wondering if your choc orp roo is anything like Cogburn? I still have both of Cogburn's sons. (I just couldn't decide. They both have gentle temperments, never fight, & work as a team to protect the flock. One looks nicer & is more gentleman-like with the hens, but the other seems more protective & athletic. I've seen him stand guard outside in the freezing snow or when a hawk was nearby, all because a single hen decided to stay outside. (Usually the Sebright who he can't mate anyway.) Both run up to greet me & allow me to simply bend down & pick them up. They're 9,5 mo old now & have never shown any aggression.

So, if you happen to have any choc orps with similar Cogburn-like personalities. let me know.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Leahs Mom
Regarding goats and chickens--notice my avatar!

hahahaha..... so it's the chickens that trample the goats, eh?

 

[amwchickin]

Update on the AI situation in Dubois County:

I think things are settling down. My first testing came back negative, and they will be back to test in a week or so. They finally made it up to my parent's house to test theirs. They live much further away from the original farm, but with people going crazy over this, they have expanded the testing zones. Non - chicken / poultry / animal / common-sense / people drive me insane!!! I can't wait till everything is cleared up!

I think a couple of the silkie babies have frizzle in them. I told the seller to not mark them so I would have a surprise! One of them definitely has some upturned wing feathers coming through!

The incubator has been cleaned up and is ready to go again! What do I want to hatch next...?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Below: While DH was watching TV nearby, Screech found a nice spot to take a nap!

@Mother2Hens
Can I be a chicken at your house?

You can feed me, give me a place to stay, let me lounge by the fire.... while y'all go to work to provide for me.

Yep. I want to be a chicken at your house!

 

[Leahs Mom]

So i am making the "leap" lol..if thats what you may call it, of raising mealworms.

I know a few of you do. Any suggestions and does anyone here have any that i could buy to start my pop?

There's a person on the BST here that is offering them. Thought I'd check with everyone here first.

@ellymayRans

Here's a really inexpensive source. Go down to the local pet store that sells lizards. They will sell tins of live mealies for lizard feed. Inexpensive and you don't have to get anything shipped. It's a great way to get started.

But...
I want to say that I did mealies for awhile and finally decided to stop. I came to the conclusion that it would take a 2 acre field of mealies to make enough to feed even half a dozen chickens very well. The small amount I was able to breed seemed like such a "drop in the bucket".

When I realized that I was getting grass-fed beef from a clean healthy source direct from the farm, and it was only costing $3.50/lb (at the time...it's now $4.50) when I buy for the freezer, I decided that a little raw ground beef from time to time was way more cost and time effective in the long run.

Just some food for thought.

PS: I would NOT feed supermarket meats raw...to many risks. But since I know my source from birth to butcher, I have confidence.

But another disclaimer is that the WHOLE BUG is more nutritionally varied and really a better "all-around" source of vitamins and minerals than just ground meat - which is a great source of animal protein and some other vitamins which they desperately need.

So it all depends on what you're trying to accomplish with your worms [Animal protien vs. all-around vitamin/mineral source with animal protein.]

 

[ellymayRans]

Thank you @leahsmom! Im not sure that petsmart here sells them. We don't have any other pet stores here but i may have to go to Greenwood.

I would like to start with a large #, i would think that would help ensuring a good # for the birds. Nutritional value more so for the birds that do not free range. Soon will be all of them but for now silkies and other bantams.

 

[LeahFreeman]

You made it! Welcome lol

Yup, I finally made it lol

I am so excited and nervous tho - just picked up out first muscovy duck eggs to be put in the incubator (they are resting at the moment) but was told that what I'd been reading want very accurate so I'm back here scrolling looking for more information as well as some other places lol. So, it looks like another night of research for me lol. @funnyfarmmom is my turn too for chicken facts so I guess it's my turn to learn add much about ducks lol. Wish me luck

 

[Faraday40]

So i am making the "leap" lol..if thats what you may call it, of raising mealworms.

I know a few of you do. Any suggestions and does anyone here have any that i could buy to start my pop?

There's a person on the BST here that is offering them. Thought I'd check with everyone here first.

As a sci teacher, I've raised all sorts of insects. The mealworms are easy if you have time to simply forget about them. (I accidently breed them all the time..... After using them for our lab activities, I feed them to misc critters. If I forget & allow them to change into beetles, they breed & I get more mealworms. If you want to breed a lot of them, you might be able to buy them in bulk at a reptile swap. (We have 2 exotic animal shows every month at the fairgrounds. Mostly reptiles & all the supplies, feed, etc.) The next cheapest would be a chain called Pet Supplies Plus followed by PetSmart. Petco also carries them but they're the highest. This is of course in my area & I'm not sure if pet reptiles are as popular in other areas.

Other insects are a lot cheaper to raise. I used to grow "superworms" because they were more meatie. Better for my lizards (wiggle more & bigger than mealworms). I haven't had them in years, so I don't know if chickens would like them. I don't recommend breeding crickets. My reptiles loved them, but those tiny ones are very hard to contain. They also jump all over when they escape not to mention the odor.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Kassaundra Was raising dubia roaches...she had a good system and felt that they were easier and produced good sized bugs. I wonder if she'd stop in over here and tell us if she's still doing it and if she still likes them.

When I think of roaches, I have a hard time not envisioning them escaping and becoming the roaches that ate New York (or something similar).