INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

Hi, I'm new to the site as well as to raising chickens. We have a flock of 17. I look forward to learning more about chickens from this site! We live just outside Evansville.

@cookbookguru
Welcome! You'll have to tell us about your flock and we definitely need some photos when you get a chance

 

[Mommahiggy]

I've been following this thread about the sick chickens.... Very useful info!
I have been trying to look at balance with even the treats we give, but I think I will dig deeper now. I'm not worried, and our girls seem healthy, but knowing what to do... I don't want to lose one due to something preventable or treatable.
Thanks all for sharing your knowledge

 

[twoacrefarm]

Me too! To which outside @cookbookguru? We are west! Welcome!

 

[cookbookguru]

Hi @Leahs Mom ! Thanks! Yes, I will have to take some pictures here very soon. We have 1 rooster and 16 hens. We've had them for less than two weeks, so we are very new to raising chickens, to say the least. I will post pictures soon!

 

[cookbookguru]

Hi @twoacrefarm ! We are east of Evansville, in Warrick County.

 

[twoacrefarm]

Hi @Leahs Mom ! Thanks! Yes, I will have to take some pictures here very soon. We have 1 rooster and 16 hens. We've had them for less than two weeks, so we are very new to raising chickens, to say the least. I will post pictures soon!

That is exciting! Where did you get your chicks? Last spring we got our first ones, 1 roo and 11 hens from West side RK.

I've been scrolling thru the hoop coop threads, and I think I am going to try and convince my hubs to build one for the new chicks to start out the spring in. We had our first set in the coop and run, but until this set is big enough to join them, I want to have something outside.

 

[cookbookguru]

That is exciting! Where did you get your chicks? Last spring we got our first ones, 1 roo and 11 hens from West side RK.

I've been scrolling thru the hoop coop threads, and I think I am going to try and convince my hubs to build one for the new chicks to start out the spring in. We had our first set in the coop and run, but until this set is big enough to join them, I want to have something outside.

A friend of my husband's had had chickens for a long time and was looking for someone to give them a good home. We took all of the ones that he had and my husband is looking to add a few more.

I Googled "hoop coop"; those do look neat! My husband has talked about making a chicken tractor; we'll see if that gets done!

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hi, I'm new to the site as well as to raising chickens. We have a flock of 17. I look forward to learning more about chickens from this site! We live just outside Evansville.
Welcome to the Indiana Thread! @cookbookguru
It's great having another newbie from the Evansville area! As you know, @twoacrefarm ) recently joined us, too. Before that, I've been virtually the lone Southern Indiana thread member since this thread began. I'm north —off of Mt. Pleasant.
Here is some info about our special Indiana Thread: Indiana BYC'ers Members, Events, & Links

General ANNOUNCEMENT to all Indiana Thread members — Soon I will be updating our Indiana page info and members' list since it's been a while. I have our Fearless Leader & Thread Starter—@jchny2000 's blessing. LOL!
Members' List: If anyone would like to be listed or if you have changes, please PM me. It's a helpful resource when you're looking for someone near your area who might have a certain breed or have local info, etc.

@good2016 ~ How is your Silkie? I've been hoping that she's improving from the nutritional advice you've received from @Leahs Mom .
As far as magnesium supplements, I haven't tried them, but occasionally take an Epson salts bath. I should mention it to my doctor next time I go, but I feel certain the intense cramping is from all the yard work I do as an excuse to entertain my chickens. I go out every day no matter the weather and spend anywhere from 2-8 hours raking, digging, picking up limbs—I'm a little obsessed with adding organic material to the soil, and the chickens love to help. (Oddly enough, I am not thin and my yard looks bad -lol) Being outside every day is my chicken therapy. I'm lucky to be able to work part-time from home. Back to leg cramps—recently I happened to read a syndicated column by The People's Pharmacy (in an old-fashioned hard copy newspaper)—Haha—about using yellow mustard, and it's worked for me!
@pipdzipdnreadytogo ~ I've been meaning to thank you for the horse info! You had posted the links when I was caring for Frieda, so I went back to the page later. I also found good info from Univ of Minnesota's and Univ of Colorado's veterinary schools. They both said a horse needs a coat if it's outside and the temps are lower than 5-10 degrees.
Also, I may have asked before, but did you hatch all of your adorable cochin chicks? How did that project come about?
I took this dust bathing photo last Saturday when it was a wonderful 69° and sunny!
It was breezy, too as you can tell by my EE's tail feathers. The two Frizzled Black Bantam Cochins from @ellymayRans look like one blob. There's another head somewhere in those feathers! They keep a little distance from the older, larger hens.

 

[daxigait]

Oops. Deleted.

 

[tmarsh83]

Hey all,

The job searching, subbing, and writing has taken a lot of my time lately and I just haven't been on much. Production is still in the tank as last years chicks continue to surprise me with early molts. Last week one of the Delaware hens looked like a drowned rat, this week the last NH is slogging around looking like a NN.

God bless that leghorn though, she just doesn't stop. And one of the BO pullets I rescued started laying this week as well, so that's good.

Lost a SS hen last week to some mysterious ailment i'll never know. The dog needed out around 3 a.m. and while standing on the porch I heard something odd from the coop, went out and everything seemed in order, checked the next boxes, and there laid the SS hen. She had to have just expired. Rigor hadn't set in yet. No trauma I could find. Abdomen felt normal. Nothing out of the ordinary, not a feather out of place.

Waiting for the local places to have chicks in stock. Planning on adding some EE to the mix and to even out the age of the flock. Eventually I'd like to get into a 6/6 add/cull rotation, culling birds going into their third winter if production is slowing.

Also, we're expecting our first child in May. So there's that.

Adding stress to the under-employed aspect of life...