INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Hholly]

Ok, my order from Ideal Poultry came this morning! All chicks are alive and seem healthy. I ordered 12 and they sent at least 25 (haven't got an accurate count yet). The extra 'males for warmth" are either Black Australorps or Jersey Giants. If anyone is interested, I would give them away free.

 

[Carole AM]

Anxious for any Naked Neck chicks or hens to add to my flock.

 

[slutter]

First, HPAI news. It will suck if any of us have to be depopulated in more ways than one. They are going to a flat rate payment system to "streamline" the process, which screws anyone who has any fancy fowl.

Here's the article:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revised its highly pathogenic avian influenza response. As part of the plan, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will now use a flat reimbursement rate for all depopulation and virus elimination activities. Iowa Poultry Association Executive Director Randy Olson says he’s pleased APHIS is moving ahead with these changes.
He says the biggest changes USDA is making include the flat rate payment and the streamlining of their bird flu response.
Olson says there are a variety of depopulation methods that producers can use and ventilation shutdown has been proven effective. He says despite some activist concerns, it’s a humane method that quickly depopulates the flock and protect any remaining healthy birds from contracting the flu.
Under the APHIS response revision, turkeys will be reimbursed at a rate of $3.55 per bird, layers at $6.45 per bird and broilers at $1.15 per bird.
- See more at: http://wnax.com/news/180081-usda-revises-bird-flu-response/#sthash.Sm476PzI.dpuf

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Secondly, we got 19 eggs today! Almost all or perhaps all of the pullets are laying, and my mature hens are starting to lay again, too. I need to start checking for fertility and do trims on all the breeders.

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I have a 6 year old Australorp hen with a crop impaction of massive proportion. It's down to 1/3-1/4 of its original size, but this old gal has practically no breast muscle mass. I thought she was dead when I found her. Her crop was so heavy she couldn't stand up or even sit up. I can tell she ate a lot of straw for absolutely no reason--our birds never, ever run out of food. I've been oiling her for and massaging her crop for several days. I'm going to give it a little longer. And then, of course, I have no idea if she even lays. Our Australorps have been our very best layers for that flock, and we are going to cull most of the old girls later when weather permits, and restock with chicks.

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Do any of you have Speckled Sussex in your flock? I want to get a second breed for our replacements, and prefer not to get a sex-link or hybrid. I'd just rather have a traditional breed. I've read good things about SS but don't know how valid that info is.

All done!

First off thanks for the info on HPAI! Has anyone heard anything about its spread statewide, where it is, where is isnt? To answer your Speckled Sussex question, yes, i have 6 hens and one rooster. My hens are great, friendly, tame, averaged 3-4 eggs a day since they started laying in october and beautiful. The rooster is beautiful but not the best tempered! i would recommend them though a friend of mine is incubating 25 of them right now!

 

[cganote]

I have Muscovy eggs available that I was wondering what to do with because I am not ready to begin hatching yet. I have an even dozen right now and are getting one or two a day.

I may be able to help out. I don't have any extra drakes, but will be going up to see jchny2000 this weekend to pick up some Muscovy hens. I could pick up a drake for you. I'm located in Mooresville, so quite a bit closer to you than Pendleton. I might be interested in some of your extra hens also, what colors do you have?

Oh man, I checked up on this too late. I raise lavender and black muscovies, though they are all mixed up with white spots and some white heads =) I think someone will be coming by to take my extra hens in a couple of days. What colors do you have? I might buy some eggs from you if they are fertile!

 

[cganote]

Welcome to BYC and our thread!

I have several, but am in pendleton, ugh.

I'm going up to Indianapolis this weekend, maybe we could meet up? What colors do you have?

 

[LeahFreeman]

I did order mine from ebay. Started almost 4 years ago. The seller shipped double what I bought. I have kept them 4 years. I try to keep mine in 30% gamebird feed as bedding. I toss in a couple mini carrots, or potato slices every week or so. Like everyone said, it better to forget them let them go to beetles, then one day, BOOM they just multiply into thousands! its 12 weeks for a full life cycle, and then you will be amazed what they give you. super good treat, and scovys love them too.

Awesome news! Oh, frizzle silkies are the cutest!

X2 lol!

Good post.

I have best luck with scovy eggs to keep humidity a bit higher. 35 day minimum hatch, have had some go to 40!

I am hearing so many mixed versions of where humidity should be for them. One says lower and another days higher is what I'm finding as I read. It's nerve-wracking lol. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. I have an incubator with auto turner which from what I'm reading is good (that's one thing the different sources seem to agree on at least lol)

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

There will be little Reublets in the future!! I believe I finally saw Reuben, err, 'get busy' with one of the girls! About time!! Now if any of them would like to start laying...

I've decided on my summer building project for this year......Get the birds out of the barn! I can't keep anything else in the barn when they are in there. They soil everything, and if it is remotely possible to eat it, it gets torn apart. I tried tarps over some equipment, and they've absolutely shredded them. and then pooped all over what's underneath (and laid eggs under there too....) Also, since it is an old barn, the walls are not air tight and I get some cold breezes no matter what I try. Frostbite has been a problem and the cold this winter has reminded me that I need something that will work in our winters and our summers. Then I found this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter I got the book that is referred to in thread and am starting my planning! It won't be cheap, but I'll get my barn back! I can keep the barn coops for breeding and hospital pens.

Ah, this is one of my favorite coops on BYC! This is what I've been trying to emulate with my coop by leaving windows open in the addition. No frostbite this season on any of the girls, so it must be working.

[COLOR=333333]I have a 6 year old Australorp hen with a crop impaction of massive proportion. It's down to 1/3-1/4 of its original size, but this old gal has practically no breast muscle mass. I thought she was dead when I found her. Her crop was so heavy she couldn't stand up or even sit up. I can tell she ate a lot of straw for absolutely no reason--our birds never, ever run out of food. I've been oiling her for and massaging her crop for several days. I'm going to give it a little longer. And then, of course, I have no idea if she even lays. Our Australorps have been our very best layers for that flock, and we are going to cull most of the old girls later when weather permits, and restock with chicks.[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/COLOR] [COLOR=333333]Do any of you have Speckled Sussex in your flock? I want to get a second breed for our replacements, and prefer not to get a sex-link or hybrid. I'd just rather have a traditional breed. I've read good things about SS but don't know how valid that info is.[/COLOR]

My Elly was in the same state in November and December. I ended up following the instructions on this page for impacted crop. She was on plain Dulcolax, ~200 mg twice a day for several days with crop massages every couple hours or so. She was only fed coconut oil at first, and later 'Garden Vegetables' baby food and very, very wetted feed once her crop was loosening up. If I remember correctly, it took 3 days for her impaction to loosen up, and then it soured, so I had to treat her for that as well. It was somewhere around 3 weeks from when I first noticed her impaction before her crop was finally moving like normal, and I thought for sure she would starve to death before then because she was nothing but skin and bones for a long time, but she's finally back to a good weight now. However, she will be 2 this spring, so she is much younger and possibly more resilient than your girl as a result. Good luck with your hen! I have Speckled Sussex, so I can comment on them. Mine are not as people friendly as many proclaim them to be, but still can be picked up and handled easily, they just aren't lap chickens like Elly is. They are walking stomachs, those two! It's not that they eat more than anyone else does, it's just that they are very motivated by the possibility of food. They're the first to the feed pan when I fill it, and the first to come running when I go out to the chicken yard because people = food in their heads. They are also quite adventurous and good foragers. Both will free-range quite far when given the opportunity, though not as far as my skinny, leggy types like my Leghorns and Fayoumi. They are good layers as well, and started laying first in their group (which consisted of them, two Partridge Plymouth Rocks, and a Splash Marans). They were laying probably 5 eggs a week when they first started. I couldn't tell you how much they lay per week now, though, because they lay brown eggs so similar to my Barred Rocks and Wyandottes that I have no clue.

Ok, my order from Ideal Poultry came this morning! All chicks are alive and seem healthy. I ordered 12 and they sent at least 25 (haven't got an accurate count yet). The extra 'males for warmth" are either Black Australorps or Jersey Giants. If anyone is interested, I would give them away free.

WOW, that's a lot of extras!! Cute babies, though! Good luck rehoming the extras!

 

[flyladyrocks]

Got a question for everyone .... got a friend well someone I know anyway, that asked me how to get " goat pee smell " out of carpet? I guess she didn't get the memo about not letting your goat live in the house unless poddy broke.... yuk!!! Anyway she has tried shampooing with all kinds of pet oder remover stuff, mean green and mean green orange... and vinegar o and baking soda. I said maybe she just needed to rip up the carpet and start over. Anyone have any ideals???

 

[Hholly]

@flyladyrocks your puppy is soooooo cute!

 

[Faraday40]

So proud of my Orpington roos today! While I was outside cleaning up the yard, one of the roos made the predator alarm call. The hens immediately ran into the coop/run & I saw the small hawk flying low & fast. The roo however did not go inside with the hens. He remained standing out in the open 1/2 way between a pine tree & the safety of the run area. "Dumb bird!" I thought. Because the hawk was still nearby, I went to the garage & got a cap gun to make some noise. When I returned, I noticed that our tiny Sebright was in the pine tree. I didn't notice her before, but my roo did! SHE was the reason the roo stayed outside. He was actually waiting for her. I put out my arm, she jump on, & I brought her into the run. The roo ran along beside me. For the next 2 hours, the roos kept the girls inside the run.

I found it strange that the roo would risk his safety for the Sebright. She's too small for the roos to mate & they seem to view her as a little nuisance. (They don't give her the attention & treats like their hens, but they won't let anyone peck at her either.)