INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Jntnrmn]

On a positive note, regarding the bantams (d'uccles)...I have been giving them massive amounts of treats and they have determined I can be trusted as long I have food in hand. And the little female will eat from hand every time now. I carried her into the basement last night to hand feed her mealies. She took one look at my totes the worms are kept in and she made all sorts of happy sounds. I'm hoping by the end of summer we won't have to net them anymore to get them inside their pen at night. I just feel like netting them sets us back no matter how far we get with them during the day. We have tried coaxial get and tricking hem with treats to get them back in.we have tried just waiting it out to see if they will go in on their own. They roost so high on a fence we can't get them without the net, even after they go to sleep.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Anybody help me with what breeds these are?

I agree with Indyshent on the breeds, I just wanted to say I see Pokémon on the shirt in the background and I think that's awesome.

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.

That's because no matter how much space you give them, it's not enough unless they're free-ranging. Seriously. My flock of 45 chickens have a chicken yard that is about 50x100 feet, giving them MORE than 100 square feet per bird within it, and it's still not enough space in their little minds. Once they get a taste for free-range, there's no turning back!

 

[ellymayRans]

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

It may not be low quality if its just younger. Definitely a MFD though. Pretty little girl.

 

[amwchickin]

Two things to post today:

My landlord/neighbor has put the bad dog up for adoption, so fingers crossed there! She put a big sob story up on facebook with its pics. Said the dog was only a year old. It has done that much damage starting at 6 months of age? She has small children, I would be worried about what it goes after next! Hopefully she will find a good home for it, people that will pay attention too it and not let it run free.


Anybody else tired of the rain? SO much water... As I am typing it is thundering and starting to storm! Ugh.

Ok, a third thing...I made it through Rural King the other day and for the first time, did not buy chicks!!! They had more guineas though, and I would like a couple more, just not 6.

 

[Indyshent]

It may not be low quality if its just younger. Definitely a MFD though. Pretty little girl.

I was referencing it's small muffs. MFD's are supposed to have massive cheeks. All of my big-cheeked birds had them on hatching, pretty much, so I'm leaning on the assertion this bird just has small muffs and may be heterozygous for that trait (or that someone/something has picked/plucked/pruned them). I've been known to trim the muffs on mine occasionally if I notice feathers are getting stuck in their eyes or noticeably impeding their vision. Love my cheeky birds.

Two things to post today:

My landlord/neighbor has put the bad dog up for adoption, so fingers crossed there! She put a big sob story up on facebook with its pics. Said the dog was only a year old. It has done that much damage starting at 6 months of age? She has small children, I would be worried about what it goes after next! Hopefully she will find a good home for it, people that will pay attention too it and not let it run free.


Anybody else tired of the rain? SO much water... As I am typing it is thundering and starting to storm! Ugh.

Ok, a third thing...I made it through Rural King the other day and for the first time, did not buy chicks!!! They had more guineas though, and I would like a couple more, just not 6.

I've been pretty good about not picking any more birds up (not since the fiasco with the turkey poults). All total this year, I've picked up six CX, two guineas, four ducklings, one white Leghorn pullet, one Jersey Giant pullet, ten Light Brahma pullets, eight heritage turkey poults, four BBW poults. Two BBW, six heritage poults, both guineas and one Leghorn made it through the fiasco with the neighbor kid, the purge to new homes, an almost symptomless respiratory disease, and a need to commit suicide-by-5-gallon-bucket.

Guineas still tempt me a little. The two I picked up this year were as small as possible to help them socialize with people and other birds, and I think it worked. They're by far the quietest pair I've seen and unlikely to raise alarms unnecessarily. The girl calls when she can't see someone she's looking for, but altogether, they're pretty quiet and get along well with everyone here. They put up with handling much better than my last guinea.

 

[Faraday40]

DD is still working with our Dominque, Bubbles - The Amazing Psychic Chicken!

She trained Bubbles to peck at the Q Hearts. If DD does her part of the magic trick correctly, the volunteer "randomly' picks the Queen on Hearts. Then DD lays out the cards & the volunteer must think very hard about their card. (without saying the answer out loud LOL) Bubbles can always read their mind & select the Q Hearts! Way to go Bubbles!!!!

She also trained a few other chickens. (Those are more practical, though. The magic trick is more for fun & will be entered in the county fair.)

Another science project is to test to see if egg shape can determine gender. She finished 2 trials & her 3rd will hatch next week. She was only going to do 2 trials, but I used a bread machine on the same table where she placed the fertile eggs the night before putting them into the incubator. I scrambled them well & she only got about 50% hatched. Opps!

We normally only set those perfect egg-shaped & clean eggs. We very often get more than 50% female, but it varies from hatch to hatch. The theory behind the experiment is that rounded eggs= female & pointy eggs = male. So far it means nothing. All eggs were collected & separated by hen. Measuring & comparing all eggs from hen 1, she divided them up into males & females. She did this for each hen that she used in the experiment. As the chicks hatched, they were banded according to mother & gender prediction. Time passed & most of her gender predictions were wrong. On the bright side, we again hatched more females than males. Because DD needs to be finished by the end of the month, I obtained some sex-linked eggs. At least she'll know the genders right away.

DD also signed up for entomology but refused to collect & kill insects. Last year she did a report on Monarchs & tested to see how long it took to go from egg to butterfly. It took 30 days - but we had a very cold June. So last August & Sept, she did an experiment to see if the temperature would affect the time it took for the metamorphosis, She collected 40 eggs from the backyard & put 1/2 in the house (w/ A/C) & house 1/2 on the back porch during those dog days of summer. They started at the same time, but the house butterflies took 6 days longer! In the end, the size & genders were not affected. It just took them longer.

I must say I'm impressed with her creativity. So many people after talking with her say she has a great mind for a career in science. Of course that's too much like mom & dad. If we ask her what she wants to be whe she grows up, she answers: An Artist during the week and a dancer on the weekends. LOL


I believe I already shared these on the thread a while back.

These chicks were trained to go back & forth from the coop to the tractor for grass time each day.



Our sebright also comes & lands on our arm when called. Very helpful because this little bird can fly over any fence. It's also a lot of fun to hold out my arm and call her name as a bird comes flying down out of the tree. It really impresses visitors. My neighbor loves Trouble & is always giving her treats. Now she will call to Trouble from her back door. If Trouble hears her, she'll hop the fence & run to the neighbor's patio. The other chickens get very jealous as she parades her treat on the opposite side of the fence. Trouble only comes for our neighbor, my daughter or myself. DS & DH are out of luck.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

@Mother2Hens
Those ideas for keeping chickens entertained look cool but I had no idea chickens would PLAY! My RIR hens act hoity toity and bossy and my barred rock girls just seem to care about dirt baths and keeping their eyes on the red girls to keep from becoming their next target. And the bantams just sit on top of pen or coop all day. They all follow us around like crazy and are super involved (TOO involved) when we are out there working on projects but I just never see any of them play.
I wonder if I should encourage more light hearted activity or if they just aren't a playful bunch. We finally achieved an integrated group without as much harrassment but it still isn't a comfy group of girls just hanging out and getting along. Maybe if I come up with activities, the road island reds will mellow out and let up on the poor barred rocks. Don't get me wrong, they don't typically act aggressive anymore, except one still does) but they still keep the others from being able to just relax. They will chase them off for no apparent reason several times a day. And they will block them from entering the coop unilateral they see me, then they step aside. Some days It's like dealing with a bunch of bratty 8 year olds all day grrr!

I agree with others comments here. Activities will help a lot while they are still cooped, I have had the situation like yours where they wanted to hide eggs.

Quote: Agreed, aside from an occasional broody.

Quote: Yes this is quite normal, and really helps too. My 2 independent, "don't touch my eggs or ducklings" is Psycho of course, and my Huey (RIP we lost this spring

) . Those 2 hens were never interested in sharing motherhood. Both also raised 3 clutches last summer, and gave me 50+ duckling apiece last season. Physco is currently on a nest due any day.

Anybody help me with what breeds these are?

Agree with others opinions. The OEGB is gorgeous!

Two things to post today:

My landlord/neighbor has put the bad dog up for adoption, so fingers crossed there! She put a big sob story up on facebook with its pics. Said the dog was only a year old. It has done that much damage starting at 6 months of age? She has small children, I would be worried about what it goes after next! Hopefully she will find a good home for it, people that will pay attention too it and not let it run free.


Anybody else tired of the rain? SO much water... As I am typing it is thundering and starting to storm! Ugh.

Ok, a third thing...I made it through Rural King the other day and for the first time, did not buy chicks!!! They had more guineas though, and I would like a couple more, just not 6.

Great news on the dog. Agreed, tired of the mud! Fanny the adult cow really creates mud by the front gate, she paces as soon as she hears me. Its also a low spot in the pasture, ugh.

Quote: My Oldest Guinea teens are also doing great with socializing. I can pick these guys up with little complaints! My babies in the brooder are doing well too.

 

[Indyshent]

DD is still working with our Dominque, Bubbles - The Amazing Psychic Chicken!

She trained Bubbles to peck at the Q Hearts. If DD does her part of the magic trick correctly, the volunteer "randomly' picks the Queen on Hearts. Then DD lays out the cards & the volunteer must think very hard about their card. (without saying the answer out loud LOL) Bubbles can always read their mind & select the Q Hearts! Way to go Bubbles!!!!

She also trained a few other chickens. (Those are more practical, though. The magic trick is more for fun & will be entered in the county fair.)

Another science project is to test to see if egg shape can determine gender. She finished 2 trials & her 3rd will hatch next week. She was only going to do 2 trials, but I used a bread machine on the same table where she placed the fertile eggs the night before putting them into the incubator. I scrambled them well & she only got about 50% hatched. Opps!

We normally only set those perfect egg-shaped & clean eggs. We very often get more than 50% female, but it varies from hatch to hatch. The theory behind the experiment is that rounded eggs= female & pointy eggs = male. So far it means nothing. All eggs were collected & separated by hen. Measuring & comparing all eggs from hen 1, she divided them up into males & females. She did this for each hen that she used in the experiment. As the chicks hatched, they were banded according to mother & gender prediction. Time passed & most of her gender predictions were wrong. On the bright side, we again hatched more females than males. Because DD needs to be finished by the end of the month, I obtained some sex-linked eggs. At least she'll know the genders right away.

DD also signed up for entomology but refused to collect & kill insects. Last year she did a report on Monarchs & tested to see how long it took to go from egg to butterfly. It took 30 days - but we had a very cold June. So last August & Sept, she did an experiment to see if the temperature would affect the time it took for the metamorphosis, She collected 40 eggs from the backyard & put 1/2 in the house (w/ A/C) & house 1/2 on the back porch during those dog days of summer. They started at the same time, but the house butterflies took 6 days longer! In the end, the size & genders were not affected. It just took them longer.

I must say I'm impressed with her creativity. So many people after talking with her say she has a great mind for a career in science. Of course that's too much like mom & dad. If we ask her what she wants to be whe she grows up, she answers: An Artist during the week and a dancer on the weekends. LOL


I believe I already shared these on the thread a while back.

These chicks were trained to go back & forth from the coop to the tractor for grass time each day.



Our sebright also comes & lands on our arm when called. Very helpful because this little bird can fly over any fence. It's also a lot of fun to hold out my arm and call her name as a bird comes flying down out of the tree. It really impresses visitors. My neighbor loves Trouble & is always giving her treats. Now she will call to Trouble from her back door. If Trouble hears her, she'll hop the fence & run to the neighbor's patio. The other chickens get very jealous as she parades her treat on the opposite side of the fence. Trouble only comes for our neighbor, my daughter or myself. DS & DH are out of luck.

Go, girl, go!

Great news on the dog. Agreed, tired of the mud! Fanny the adult cow really creates mud by the front gate, she paces as soon as she hears me. Its also a low spot in the pasture, ugh.

My Oldest Guinea teens are also doing great with socializing. I can pick these guys up with little complaints! My babies in the brooder are doing well too.

Did anything ever happen with Fanny's mummified calf? Is she okay?

Glad to hear that about your guineas! Not sure how bad your pens were ravaged for guineas or how far behind you are on filling orders for guineas, so here's some fancy Craigslist links to more cheap guineas, just in case!

I think the lady I got my golden pheasants from has posted a bunch of colors of guinea keets. They're well priced (start at $4/ea) but pretty far away for me, and I'm not sure if she ships. If it's the same lady (and not just the same area and seemingly all the same species for sale), she's very pleasant to buy from.

Here's some @ $5/ea in Salem

$3/ea around Anderson. Lots of colors.


****************
Other Craigslist finds of note:

Lavender Palm turkey poults in Middletown for $10/ea. I'm so drooling!

Sweet-natured miniature Jack

Tons of ISA pullets $7/ea Martinsville

BELTSVILLES! honest-to-goodness Beltsville Small Whites! Ames line! $20/ea in Ladoga

Speedway area farmer selling Spitzhauben ($5), Faverolles ($5), Marans ($4), Ameraucana ($3) chicks and Narragansett poults ($6)

Bourbon red poults in Trafalgar for $20, but hatching eggs are $3/ea

 

[iamfivewire]

Two things to post today:

My landlord/neighbor has put the bad dog up for adoption, so fingers crossed there! She put a big sob story up on facebook with its pics. Said the dog was only a year old. It has done that much damage starting at 6 months of age? She has small children, I would be worried about what it goes after next! Hopefully she will find a good home for it, people that will pay attention too it and not let it run free.


Anybody else tired of the rain? SO much water... As I am typing it is thundering and starting to storm! Ugh.

Ok, a third thing...I made it through Rural King the other day and for the first time, did not buy chicks!!! They had more guineas though, and I would like a couple more, just not 6.

We are having near-drought weather up here . send us some of the rain. thanx.

 

[MikeTodd]

Does anyone do "Tax Exempt" at Tractor Supply for their Ag stuff?