INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[weezerfish]

So after a few days i think my Tom may have completed his deed 1ce and now both hens are squatting for him. Lol!

I have 2 egg orders in for the Easter Hatch along and 1 came in today. 2 of 13 eggs busted and egg everywhere! Sigh
Only 3 eggs didn't have to be rinsed and i see no air cells for any of them. Granted they are some beautiful splash and blue marans eggs, but i can still see air cells in mine and they are just as dark. Hoping they are just that fresh and not completely scrambled!

Very pleased with egg color, just hope i can get a pair at the least! Last year i hatched more black copper and my goodness...i get boys!! I was able to add 1 hen last season. Granted I only hatched a very small # because my attempt at separating they stopped laying and i exp. predator issues which I'm sure is why they wouldn't lay..too stressed.

My hens are about 3 years old and i fear if i dont hatch more this year i will lose my beautiful eggs. I love the breed and don't ever want to be without them!

My second batch of eggs are the bantam mille fleur cochins. I will be slipping those under my broody and trading out the eggs shes sitting on now and those will go into the hatcher.

Those eggs are awesome! What breed are they from?

 

[ellymayRans]

Those eggs are awesome!  What breed are they from?

Marans

 

[Crafty chick]

Went to the doctor for the the human egg I'm incubating! We're having a BOY! My 9 year old son and 6 year old daughter are ECSTATIC!
Any advice on chicken keeping while pregnant? My doctor just gives me a funny look when I ask

Congrats! Mine were 8 and 5 1/2 when our 3rd was born. November birthday?

 

[EmSteele]

Thanks for the advice! July 4th can't get here soon enough! Unfortunately, I can't find very much newborn boy/chicken things for my liking!
We haven't even started with a new batch off chicks yet. I usually give in and buy whatever is offered locally but I REALLY want a few certain breeds this year. We ended on a low note when a bit of our chicken fencing collapsed and neighbors loose dogs found it...and may have aided in the collapsing of said fence. Those beautiful marans eggs make me want to stick to my breed plan.

 

[Crafty chick]

I just caught my not-even-week-old chick dusting itself in the feed bowl... on another note. My old girl Susie seems to be confused. She was stuck standing in a corner outside by the open coop door, I went out and shewed her around to the inside. She came back out and acted stuck standing there again. All she had to do was turn around and walk away....

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

If its that close i would not encourage it.

I don't think they know any better. I have had them get off them while chicks were zipping! So frustrating and made me panic! ! They've also killed a few crushing them as they zipped getting on and off. Make sure her food and water are literally in her face and leave her be. My experience and opinion! ! Can't wait to see pics of the newbies! Good luck!

Haha, wish I had gotten on a little sooner to see this! I gave her her break this afternoon and went ahead and candled the eggs while I was at it. They are on day 16 and actually kind of look it. I'm going off of memory, though, and comparing to egg candling pictures online now. Best I can tell is they are at some point in development between day 16 and 18. I think I will go ahead and leave her on the nest tomorrow, unless she's really desperate to get out. She usually stays seated until the door opens, so I'm thinking she won't try to get up or anything on her own and knock the eggs around or something. Here's hoping, anyway!

I did see what looked like a late quitter when I candled, though. :/ It looks a day or two behind in development, and it's lacking that healthy, orangish glow that the other 4 have. Its veins also looked kind of choppy and incomplete, and it wasn't moving like the others were. I left it under her because I'm new at this and don't want to prematurely pull it, but I'm thinking I won't see 5 babies. Still, the other 4 are doing fabulously and even wiggled around a bit when I tapped the shell gently. It's getting crowded in there!! I hope they all four make it out!

Do it anyway. You can and will get used to doing shots and surgery. I'm doing my undergrad for veterinary medicine now, and I have a terrible thing about blood, shots, needles and emergency settings--but I'm getting used to all of them via my experiences with poultry. In the last year, I've administered all kinds shots, drugs, treatments, autopsies and treatments--and it's paying off big time. 

In the last week, both of my boys were doing stupid things and managed to step on sharp implements and hurt themselves. My youngest got both ends of a staple stuck in his foot, and the autistic eight-year-old got a nail through his foot. Last year, I would have freaked out and dragged them to a hospital and suffered thousands of dollars and all kinds of trauma. Not any more. I've got all the equipment and know-how I need due to bumblefoot surgeries and all the rest. I was cool as a cucumber, which kept the kids pretty calm (all things considering) and everything's healing up great. They're both clowning around, just fine. I used to be utterly paralyzed in those kinds of circumstances, but now I'm kind of looking forward to processing and inuring myself to the icky bits because it pays off later. I don't want to be useless in an emergency and paralyzed at the sight of blood and gore. If I see an emergency situation, I want to be able to stitch people back up and help out until the real EMTs show up, and the only way to do that is to just buckle down and learn to deal with it. 

I think you'd be a great vet. Vet assistants don't get paid much at all (but the degree's easier to come by and requires substantially less time). I don't think you could go into the food animal or research side of things (I'm not even sure I can do it), but I think a private practice would suit you fine. As bad as seeing and dealing with sick or injured animals can be, I think it's worth it see them get well and happy again. 

Aw, I'm grateful for the encouragement and everything, but I'm really not sure if I can get over it. I don't really panic when it comes down to it, I get things done and everything, I just get really squeamish and feel sick. Even working on dissections in the various Bio classes I have (and there have been quite a few dissections!), every time I have to do one, I either spend the day nauseated or have gagging / near-puking episodes during the dissection. Most of them, I couldn't even cut into by myself, and those aren't even live animals! I just really don't think I can stomach surgeries. Maybe needles, I could see myself possibly getting used to that, but surgeries or severe injuries or the like, I'd probably have to leave the room. :/

 

[Indyshent]

Aw, I'm grateful for the encouragement and everything, but I'm really not sure if I can get over it. I don't really panic when it comes down to it, I get things done and everything, I just get really squeamish and feel sick. Even working on dissections in the various Bio classes I have (and there have been quite a few dissections!), every time I have to do one, I either spend the day nauseated or have gagging / near-puking episodes during the dissection. Most of them, I couldn't even cut into by myself, and those aren't even live animals! I just really don't think I can stomach surgeries. Maybe needles, I could see myself possibly getting used to that, but surgeries or severe injuries or the like, I'd probably have to leave the room.

Yup, sounds like me. There are, however, several years between now and being a graduated, licensed veterinarian to think it over (and just get over the squeamishness). I'm reliably told that all emergency workers vomit the first time, and everybody vomits for the first human autopsy, or the first murder scene, too. It's normal to be squeamish, but eventually, what made you squeamish becomes the new normal. I'm still not over it, but it's becoming more normal and less squeamish. In another decade, I'll probably be fine with dissections and needles and howling puppies and blood and gore and guts. I'm still nauseated during dissections, but it's becoming less an issue of the subject and more just a smell thing. The chemicals used in preserving specimens for dissection just reek like crazy. Not that dissections are the most appetizing of experiences, of course.

Blood would always make me weak in the knees and elbows. I'd get lightheaded, feel super nauseous, take hours to recover, that sort of thing. But I'm better about it now, and recovery doesn't take as long anymore. It'll get easier, and then, why, you'll feel like a bad mammajamma then!

Worst case, you'd make a kick butt science teacher.

 

[Indyshent]

I just caught my not-even-week-old chick dusting itself in the feed bowl... on another note. My old girl Susie seems to be confused. She was stuck standing in a corner outside by the open coop door, I went out and shewed her around to the inside. She came back out and acted stuck standing there again. All she had to do was turn around and walk away....

Reminds me of (The Ever Amazing Acoustic Roo) Mag the Mighty's unplugged sessions. He liked to get into corners, lie down, and talk to himself just to hear it amplified by the corner. Might be a sound issue for her, too, or she might just be having an extra special silly moment.

 

[Mishlerfarm24]

To

Yup, sounds like me. There are, however, several years between now and being a graduated, licensed veterinarian to think it over (and just get over the squeamishness). I'm reliably told that all emergency workers vomit the first time, and everybody vomits for the first human autopsy, or the first murder scene, too. It's normal to be squeamish, but eventually, what made you squeamish becomes the new normal. I'm still not over it, but it's becoming more normal and less squeamish. In another decade, I'll probably be fine with dissections and needles and howling puppies and blood and gore and guts. I'm still nauseated during dissections, but it's becoming less an issue of the subject and more just a smell thing. The chemicals used in preserving specimens for dissection just reek like crazy. Not that dissections are the most appetizing of experiences, of course. 

Blood would always make me weak in the knees and elbows. I'd get lightheaded, feel super nauseous, take hours to recover, that sort of thing. But I'm better about it now, and recovery doesn't take as long anymore. It'll get easier, and then, why, you'll feel like a bad mammajamma then! 

Worst case, you'd make a kick butt science teacher. 

Totally agree!!!! It takes a lot of practice for your stomach to handle those episodes. In my bio classes that I have taken I get queezy from the smell and feel like days afterwards I can still smell it. But with time and practice you get use to it! In my anatomy class last semester we dissected a pigs heart and it was the coolest thing ever besides the smell! And the whole needle thing I am terrified to get shots and thought how on earth am I going to give someone a shot. But was told time and practice and building your confidence up it becomes second nature. Well it's true!!! I haven't started my MA clinicals yet, next semester, but I take care of a lady who has diabetes plus dementia. Well her husband took control over her diabetes because of her going into a bad diabetic shock that if he's gone I'm going to have to test her blood and give her her insulin. Well he taught me and man was it a rush the first time!!! And now it's easy and (as bad as this is going to sound) look forward to give my lady her insulin!!! So everyone gags and throws up from time to time. In the end your stomach will adjust and get use to the smells!

 

[Mishlerfarm24]

So I downloaded the BYC app and I can not do anything but open it and stare at the BYC logo and not go any further than that. Does anyone else have the BYC app?