INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[twoacrefarm]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo they all came from Meyer. I got 5 BO, 4 BR, 4 SLW and 3 Black Australorps. I have one BO with a slight tail feather, one SLW and one Australorp. I guess only time will tell, just seemed weird that all of the other ones in the same breed grew rapidly and not them.

 

[twoacrefarm]

Lookit my silkied Cochin babies!! They're 4 weeks old today, and I'm so in love with these little munchkins! Aren't they just the cutest?!

Not to play favorites, but this little girl is definitely the prettiest. Her name is Abra.

The other little girl, who I've settled on Rowena as a name for

Ramsay was the first obvious boy:

Lucky, who's always been a spitfire so I kind of figured he was a little boy.

This little guy is the only one that I haven't come up with a name for. He's the sweetest of the three boys and loves to perch on my hand.

I just really love this picture. Ramsay, with the unnamed boy and Rowena in the background.

They're so soft with their fuzzy silkied feathers. I can't get over how precious they are!!

How precious!!! Makes me want some of those cuties!

 

[Faraday40]

Lookit my silkied Cochin babies!!

They're 4 weeks old today, and I'm so in love with these little munchkins! Aren't they just the cutest?!

1st those delightful Dorkings & now silkied Cochins. You have all the fun chickens at your place!

 

[Indyshent]

@twoacrefarm Most hatcheries breed for fast feathering girls, however, some breeds tend to feather out faster or slower, regardless of being hatchery stock. For instance, my Dark Brahmas all feathered slow, and EEs always feathered out fast. Generally, tail feather speed is a pretty reliable guess for the most part otherwise.

@kittydoc If chocolate is what people are going for, Australorps are the best bet. A lot of people like the notion of getting Australorps in other colors, so Orps are the closest breed for both ends.

Also, your SGD's presently limited libido isn't necessarily abnormal. Many larger breeds and meat bird breeds mature more slowly and have less sex drive, so it's to be expected. He's also a good heritage quality bird, so he's going to be slower. I'm sure he'll be worth waiting for... once he gets around to it. You might want to stick some other young guys where they can see and compete with each other without being able to get to his hens, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. I've had Brahmas wait quite awhile before trying to mate. Alternatively, if your boy feels the competition is too fierce, it might hamper his development (happens with drakes, so it might happen with roos too).

 

[weezerfish]

Quote:

Remembered today that I hadn't posted the pics of this yet. Pretty simple but the ladies seem to like it. Not currently using it, so there's no wood shavings in it right now but you get the idea. I don't put shavings in the front. Just the back nesting areas.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Anyone know of any breeders who raise more natural or organically non gmo near the Indiana mi Ohio area? I'm looking at rare breeds

Welcome~! I hope someone can help you in your search.

Hey all long time no see again!

I'm looking to add a guard goose to my flock but don't need the 15 minimum the hatchery requires. Will anyone have goslings the end of April early may? Preferably roman tufted.

Awesome to see you post! Hope all is going well. I will have Chinese, Embden, and mixed breed gosling this year. I also plan to order geese to refresh my Chinese flock, my whites are 5 now. I can add romans to my order, pm me.

@twoacrefarm Most hatcheries breed for fast feathering girls, however, some breeds tend to feather out faster or slower, regardless of being hatchery stock. For instance, my Dark Brahmas all feathered slow, and EEs always feathered out fast. Generally, tail feather speed is a pretty reliable guess for the most part otherwise.

@kittydoc If chocolate is what people are going for, Australorps are the best bet. A lot of people like the notion of getting Australorps in other colors, so Orps are the closest breed for both ends.

Also, your SGD's presently limited libido isn't necessarily abnormal. Many larger breeds and meat bird breeds mature more slowly and have less sex drive, so it's to be expected. He's also a good heritage quality bird, so he's going to be slower. I'm sure he'll be worth waiting for... once he gets around to it. You might want to stick some other young guys where they can see and compete with each other without being able to get to his hens, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. I've had Brahmas wait quite awhile before trying to mate. Alternatively, if your boy feels the competition is too fierce, it might hamper his development (happens with drakes, so it might happen with roos too).

Australorp are technically Orps.. google the breed history. Agreed, Many heritage breeds are slow growing and slow to mature.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I have 5 guinea remaining. One is a hen, so its going to be an interesting spring! Once she chooses her fella they will be penned.
RIR and WL have won over my heart here. Still laying. First EE egg today!
This will be an early year for Muscovy, my hen Physco is already laying and is brooding in a tree.

Welcome to anyone that's visiting our thread!

 

[weezerfish]

I have 5 guinea remaining. One is a hen, so its going to be an interesting spring! Once she chooses her fella they will be penned.
RIR and WL have won over my heart here. Still laying. First EE egg today!
This will be an early year for Muscovy, my hen Physco is already laying and is brooding in a tree.

Welcome to anyone that's visiting our thread!

After going a full two months without one, I got my first green egg since November(ish) on Monday...then another Tuesday...and yet another on Wednesday. Looks like one of my EEs is warming up too! Today I got a grayish colored egg that had to have come from my other EE. I was certain she was the one that laid a couple really light pinkish eggs late last fall, so I'm not sure what's going on there.

 

[Faraday40]

We purchased a few BO "pullets" a couple years ago, and all but one was a boy. Both of the boys had wonderful manners as teeny tiny chicks, and I'd been really looking forward to how they would grow up--even though I hadn't wanted a BO roo starting out. As week-old chicks, they were dancing and clucking for girls and weren't eating treats themselves. A dog killed one and my youngest accidentally stepped on the other (poor kid was so traumatized, but at least he doesn't roughhouse around the birds anymore). I couldn't sell brown eggs in this neighborhood, so I tried getting rid of all my brown layers. Still have a BO hen (she's not a fit breeder anyway--sweetest bird, but she's got an asymmetrical face and David Bowie pupils) who is my youngest's favorite, so she's staying til she dies at this rate. Real lap hen and never been broody but she lays light pinkish-brown eggs quite regularly.

It's exactly the opposite here. People think white eggs must be like the bland store eggs, so they prefer the brown eggs & fight over the blue & green ones.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

@pipdzipdnreadytogo they all came from Meyer. I got 5 BO, 4 BR, 4 SLW and 3 Black Australorps. I have one BO with a slight tail feather, one SLW and one Australorp. I guess only time will tell, just seemed weird that all of the other ones in the same breed grew rapidly and not them.

Genetics are funny sometimes, but none of it is a sure thing unless you know for sure it's a trait that is bred for. Wait until they're between 4 and 6 weeks old to be sure before you decide whether they're boys. By then, it should be obvious if you've gotten some 'oopsie' boys in the mix.

1st those delightful Dorkings & now silkied Cochins.  You have all the fun chickens at your place!

Heehee, I try! Actually, I'm kind of wanting to 'collect' all of the silkie mutant breeds like these guys. I love how soft and fuzzy the silkied feathers are. The Cochins are one of the rarest, but apparently another rare one is Svart Hona (the other breed that's all black like Ayam Cemanis). They call them 'woolly' Svart Honas and they look so gorgeous and huggable! I also need some silkied Ameraucanas and Seramas, and then there's Showgirls... I've not heard great things about the personalities of Hedemora, but I'd kind of like to try a silkied one out here to see for myself, too. I wonder how hard it would be to make silkied Dorkings...