INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

I have found that as long as I leave the doors to the runs open while they're " free ranging " they ( as needed ) go back inside and use the nesting boxes....so everyone is happy. I even made and set a couple outside the coup in the back of our barn up off the floor and they use those as well.

@Jntnrmn
That's what I was going to say too. Since yours know where the nest boxes are, the usual behavior is that they'll go back to the nest boxes to lay.

I've found that to be true w/all my birds so they go out into the range w/the door/gate open first thing in the morning. They come and go all day long at will.

 

[racinchickins]

I simply adore my bantams, but between the fact that they won't go in a coop and the fact that they don't interact with us as much as the others, I'm thinking it might be time to find them a new home. I want a rooster that will do all of his rooster duties but not be too much of a concern as far as aggression toward us. My 3 year old grandson LOVES our chickens. Does anyone know if it's going to be an issue bringing in a rooster with an already set up flock of hens. I have 8 out of 10 laying daily now, and the other 2 are real close. My male bantams are almost 5 months old and are not respected at all yet but my females no longer chase them.
...sorry, one more question...if i get a rooster will he go in the coop with the hens or do they stay outside and guard the coop?

Any roo you bring in to look over your hens is going to think he died and went to harem heaven. All my roos coop up with the girls, they don't stay outside. And the girls mostly need guarding from the roos, not predators........

Positive side of things my quail are laying like crazy! When I collected today, I had 14 eggs.. only have 12 hens! I collect eggs at least twice a day for all my species/birds. WTG little ladies, you are certainly earning your keep! My chickens are laying well also, have lots of "egg cubes" already in the freezer so I am not buying eggs this winter! Geese have stopped for the year. 2 Muscovy are sitting on nests but they will stop laying soon also. 2 of 3 of the turkey hens are brooding eggs, and my peahen has a clutch of 3 eggs she is brooding.
Warm months, I let the birds brood eggs and raise their own. They deserve every bit of normal I can offer them.
Hows everyone doing with broody hatches? Chicken, duck, goose, peafowl, turkey, emu whatever lol! Feel free to share pictures, comments and more.

I had 2 muscovies that sat eggs together with a third setting not too far away. All three are raising the ducklings together, the babies just run to whatever mother is near. Is that unusual? I had a fourth hen hatch out some, and she was very possessive of her babies, wouldn't let them near any other Muscovy.

 

[Jntnrmn]

When you say you don't let them out until you get the eggs, do you mean that you wait until they are done laying?

Yes, @Leahs Mom, they almost always have eggs laid by noon at the latest...some days later but most of the time they are early morning layers. The RIRs will come back to their coop to lay but the BRs have just started to lay, all but one so I prefer to keep them all closed in the fenced in area until every one has laid. If I get 6, I go ahead and let hem out because the BRs aren't laying consistent yet.I just HOPE no one lays any eggs outside of the fence.

 

[Leahs Mom]

That makes sense while they are still young and learning

 

[Jntnrmn]

@Jntnrmn

That's what I was going to say too.  Since yours know where the nest boxes are, the usual behavior is that they'll go back to the nest boxes to lay. 

I've found that to be true w/all my birds so they go out into the range w/the door/gate open first thing in the morning.  They come and go all day long at will.

@tmctlt and [@]
[/@] I used to do that with the RIRs until a few weeks ago we went from 4 eggs every single day to 1 or 2. We walked the woods where they prefer to hang out and never found any random nests so we started locking them in to see if some had just cut back on laying eggs or if maybe they had been laying them elsewhere.they had always come back to their coop to lay in the past. Well, then the BRs began to do egg songs and pacing around the coop in the morning so I thought I had better make sure they were going use the nest boxes. I was worried since the RIRs were so bossy they may not be comfortable using the coop so that's why I kept them locked in. But I would prefer to let them out in the morning. They just holler and scream. Between that and the egg songs and the bantams crowing non stop, I worry about neighbors being bothered. So far, they say they enjoy the sounds though...

 

[Jntnrmn]

I forgot to mention, the couple RIRs still didn't produce eggs after I quit letting them out. But now they are back to it. I had just assumed they were either, laying elsewhere, taking a break or going into moult. But they are back at it and never lost any feathers so I'm not sure what was going on.

 

[browncow15]

Anybody help me with what breeds these are?

 

[Indyshent]

@Leahs Mom
I think that is how the mister feels. The RIRs were our 1st set, they lay VERY well and they are such wonderful pets toward me and they interact well with my gandson. So I am fond of them. But I was about ready to give up on them when it took almost THREE months just to get them to stop being aggressive toward the barred rocks. As of now , only one barred rock still gets pecked and all of a sudden, a RIR has begun mounting her but she is the only one not laying yet so I am hoping once she starts to lay, things will calm down for her.
We are going to add another door this weekend. And maybe even some more floor space but they seem to roost fine with one another.some nights there will even be blacks and reds side by side on the roost.
I have also noticed, the worst behavior happens when they are kept in the pen longer than usual. They DO NOT like to be kept in but I won't turn them out til I get my eggs. And some days if I see a hawk or whatnot, I won't turn them out. The pen is a very large fenced in yard but they choose to sit at the gate screaming and yelling at me to let them out rather than explore.

I have found that as long as I leave the doors to the runs open while they're " free ranging " they ( as needed ) go back inside and use the nesting boxes....so everyone is happy. I even made and set a couple outside the coup in the back of our barn up off the floor and they use those as well.

I second this. The solution is often more freedom (and nest boxes) rather than less. I have girls laying at all kinds of weird times. Some like to have the whole coop to themselves just to feel secure enough to drop off their rent in the box, so to speak. Leave a door open for them, and they should drop the rent off in the appropriate place (unless they're feeling like motherhood or they held on to it too long, and the egg surprised them).

 

[Indyshent]

Anybody help me with what breeds these are?

The black and white one is probably some kind of game. You might get lucky, and he'll be a Phoenix, but most likely, he's a OEGB. The orange one is a (lower quality from the looks of it) mille fleur Belgian D'Uccle

 

[Jntnrmn]

Well then, starting tomorrow morning they will be set free when I let them out of their coop. They just scream and holler something awful so it will be better for all of us I'm sure. But their fenced in area truly is quite large. I can't get over how much they complain about it. The BRs don't even go far from it. The RIRs go straight for the woods though so I guess that IS better than a fence.and as I always say, the bantams just stay on top of the fence 65-75% of the time and I DO turn them out at 6:30 ish every morning.