INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[chick rookie]

That's brilliant. I didn't think I would mind it in the garage, but I underestimated the stories I had heard. Goodness.

I supposed the Brightside is that this was population boom. From here on out, additions should smaller. So I won't need that large brooder, and could manage something smaller in the human area of the coop. The wife will prefer it that way at any rate. LOL.

I can already tell that I am going to like having my original coop on hand though as well. It works great for three or four birds, and while it might sit empty more often than not, it will be an asset.

I have a sm rabbit hutch I modified for 4 birds, Use it as a breeding pen/Shame on you pen. lol the rest of the time it sits empty too, nice to have when ya need extra space for a short time. Last year it got used for a 3RD grow out pen... lol


Ok I had lots of quotes!!!! they didnt show up wth is going on??
Will try to get this out without them.

Welcome to the new comers, I 2nd what everyone has said about coop sizes and ventilation. AND trust US when we say " Chicken Math " gets us all!!! ( unless you city or town tells you how many you can have and then you will find yourself pushing that limit as well... lol )
As far as good laying hens that are easy to find... BO's, BA's BR's Sexlinks and leghorns. And for multi colored I go with EE's. I hear from everyone that Maran are great layers and lay a very pretty Chocolate colored egg, but I keep getting duped and the Marens I BUY turn out to either be hatchery ( poor color ) or NOT Marans at all!! So be careful with that. o and I forgot a real good brown egger is ISA browns, but I wont get them anymore, had to many with prolapse, come to find out that is not uncommon for that breed.

As for Chicks vs. adults..... I will go with chicks, in my experience their immune system is better because it grows with what I have on my property where as if I bring in adults they have what they bring with them from wherever they came from PLUS whatever I have and more times than not it ends up being to much for them to handle and the die on me. And I have paid good money and lost it, I have only 10 hens and 2 roosters that have made it as adults here ( that were bought as adults ) out of 32 I got last year. I don't call that good odds. But the chicks I hatched and or got from other people made it to sell age or I still have and are now laying or are about to start laying.
So I will stick with getting chicks when I want more. Just MHO.

 

[chick rookie]

Thank you. I will see who is near me. Ordering from mpc was fun but shipping is expensive. I doubt I'd do it for only a few birds. Are you familiar with Meyer Hatchery? We were looking there for meat birds next year, just because of the frying pan deal lol. Thank you for the links and info.

I had never heard of bantams until I started my "chicken education" a few months ago. Are their eggs significantly smaller? We were hoping that by getting barred rocks, we chose a great bird for dual purpose. And of course we ar hoping most are friendly because we have smaller children. I am trying to hold off on adding more until ours come in. Would be nice to have them the same age since I'm such a newb lol.

BR are good layers and I think they are a good bird to have around kids, at least mine were. I don't eat my chickens so cant tell about that. Bantam eggs are smaller but some say they taste better... I have had them but never noticed a taste difference.

 

[chick rookie]

@M2H I love love love the shirt!!

 

[Mishlerfarm24]

Oh my word am I behind!!! What a week this week was with getting back into the routine of thing such as school, my son's school, his first soccer practices (which were cancelled due to rain and wind) plus a friend of mine from Kansas surprisingly showed up at my house Wednesday and stayed with me until she had her volleyball tourney in Indy, it was a wonderful visit since I only get to see her once a year if that! Plus this weekend me and my fiancé were getting things ready to get a couple pigs. This will be our first time and I am actually nervous about it all!

Anyone with pigs that has any advice would be greatly appreciated!! And on top of that I was working on the chicken coop because my babies are running out of room, not so much my chicks but my ducks! Man do ducks grow like a weed!!!


Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

 

[pbirdhaven]

Who says this nest is just for chickens? I fit just fine!

 

[Faraday40]

I had never heard of bantams until I started my "chicken education" a few months ago. Are their eggs significantly smaller? We were hoping that by getting barred rocks, we chose a great bird for dual purpose. And of course we ar hoping most are friendly because we have smaller children. I am trying to hold off on adding more until ours come in. Would be nice to have them the same age since I'm such a newb lol.

Our family prefers the very large, gentle breeds & eating their jumbo eggs. We have 2 bantams, though....... just for fun. We didn't intend of keeping either, but I must say they don't eat/poop as much. Their eggs are small yes, but frequent. When not broody or molting, they lay almost daily. They are feisty individuals & let their feelings be known. Because of this, we enjoy watching their antics. Little Cookie (my bantam orpington) has the nickname "the bantam menace" because she will steal treats away from the big girls. She's also called "Cookie Monster" when broody. My other bantam is named Trouble (a Sebright). Trouble follows me wherever I go! Cookie has always been human social, but Trouble took some training. DH calls Trouble "useless chicken," but visitors love watching how she flies up & lands on my arm when called. (Again, training required with this breed.)

The bantam orp lays small but usable eggs (about 25-30% smaller). The Sebright lays very tiny eggs. They're easily 50-60% smaller than my regular eggs. The kids fight over them, but I usually have to pack 2 in their lunches.

 

[Indyshent]

Sorry for the sideways pics, I can't get them to rotate right...does anybody know what this chick is? I got a couple from Rural King and they were labeled "Assorted Pullets." Looks like a straight comb.

Partridge Rock. I got a roo out of an assorted straight run bin last year, and he looked just like that. They're stunning birds.

 

[Faraday40]

Been busy but here are some updates from across the border.

Cuddles:
My dear sweet hen seems to be doing well. Her abdomen is not normal, but not as hard as it was. She's eating normally & back to fighting over treats. I have no idea what she has, but I at least know what she doesn't have. I still feel that it's some type of reproductive or digestion issue. She's been treated with Corid, de-wormed, treated for mites, given protein, electrolytes, vitamins, & probiotics. The symptoms have cleared for a month now, but she shows no sign of laying. For now, I'm just happy to see her acting like her old self.

Chicks:
hatched some adorable Orps & Spitzhaubens

I'm not having much luck with hatching Bielefelders this spring. I got 6 eggs from a friend. 4 hatched & all 4 were mixes. (I had a 50% chance of getting a pure Biele.) They gave me another 6 eggs; 4 of which developed. Today is day 21 & so far no pips. I kept my little broody sitting on blank eggs so she could adopt whatever hatches. I'd hate to disappoint the poor girl.

Cookie hatched some Bieles & Orps last year. By 3.5 weeks they were almost her size.

 

[Indyshent]

Oh my...you know you set yourself up for heart break!

But I do understand why. Once my Bourbon start to lay, I really want to hook you up with some to brood. They are such a gentle breed. To date, my trio has not produced a single tom, yet in the 3 years I have kept them. I also understand the ducks, DH wants pekin again, ugh.

If I get a tom, I'll give him back to you! I wanted some more before April 1st because of the rezoning, but mostly, they were injured, Major Tom was so lonely, and I'm a sucker. They weren't specifically labeled as BB, but I'm not going to be lucky enough for miscellaneous heritage babies showing up in a RK. I've only seen that once in the few years I've been going, and I wasn't smart enough to get them that time because I had no idea what I was looking at then. I refuse to give these ones to you--not after seeing what you've been through with Bacon and the three hens. They are such a heartbreaking breed, but they're so sweet and make such wonderful memories in their short times here.

Is he sure he wants Pekin, or just duck eggs year round? If he's just after eggs and doesn't want to up the feed bill as much, you could try Runners or Khakis, which are the Leghorns of the waterfowl world. I'm working pretty hard to socialize the two ducklings this time around. I'm tired of ducks not liking me.


***Update on me*** Those faint positives were probably false. I took a digital test this morning, and it left no room for doubt. I have an appointment tomorrow with a doctor on campus, and we're going to try to figure what's wrong with me. Bracing for the worst. Felt really stupid for getting my hopes up and looking up baby names. Okay, time to start crying again, apparently.

 

[tmarsh83]

Oh my word am I behind!!! What a week this week was with getting back into the routine of thing such as school, my son's school, his first soccer practices (which were cancelled due to rain and wind) plus a friend of mine from Kansas surprisingly showed up at my house Wednesday and stayed with me until she had her volleyball tourney in Indy, it was a wonderful visit since I only get to see her once a year if that! Plus this weekend me and my fiancé were getting things ready to get a couple pigs. This will be our first time and I am actually nervous about it all!

Anyone with pigs that has any advice would be greatly appreciated!! And on top of that I was working on the chicken coop because my babies are running out of room, not so much my chicks but my ducks! Man do ducks grow like a weed!!!


Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Hoping I can still talk the wife into a garden pig this summer. @jchny2000 has several, and she has mentioned using a hot wire for them, and I know others that do. I'm more of a hog panel guy myself, because I don't have room for them to pasture, and I want to use them as tillers for my garden area.

Swine are easy. Make sure they have shade, especially if they are white hogs, they will burn without shade and mud. I would put hogs right up there with dogs in terms of trainability and personality. I've always loved having hogs around, and it has been far too long since I had my last hogs, so i'm looking forward to it.