INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

Oh no @Faraday40 I am very sorry for your loss.

 

[Faraday40]

When TSC stops selling chicks I get a lot of calls. I have a close friend that works there and she will give my number out. Other folks prefer to get their chicks from a "real farm" and not a feed store. It does come in spurts! We have a huge number of people joining our Facebook page lately.

Most people who bought our spring chicks were past customers who wanted more. (Orpingtons are a special, cuddly breed & you can't have just one, right!? LOL) Recently, I met a lot of people who bought "female" chicks from a feed store & then had to rehome their surprise roosters. So now they're shopping for female chicks or started pullets to make up for the chickens they had to get rid of.

 

[Faraday40]

Two questions about eggs & poop:
I know heat can slow down egg production, but does heat do anything to the size of the egg? I feel like my hens are laying slightly smaller eggs right now when compared to their eggs from March. I'm trying to figure out if it could be the weather or the cheaper feed or all the supplemental mulberries & garden snacks or a possible parasite.....or something else I haven't even thought of. I haven't measured the eggs & they're still just as filling. It's the shell size that seems smaller.

I use a more expensive feed in the winter but in summer, they get a lot of their nutrition from the yard. Plus I have more birds to feed in the summer & often the hens grab the chick feed. Their poop is all kinds of crazy right now! The leafy spinach & mulberries produce some unique colored waste. Yesterday I could tell my roo drank a lot of water. Today I saw some like choc pudding.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

I do LOVE the Orps! I have "hen luck", so roosters are few here. I usually have to search for a roo if its a breed I want to keep! I plan to get eggs from a friend I sold some of my flock to.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Two questions about eggs & poop:
I know heat can slow down egg production, but does heat do anything to the size of the egg? I feel like my hens are laying slightly smaller eggs right now when compared to their eggs from March. I'm trying to figure out if it could be the weather or the cheaper feed or all the supplemental mulberries & garden snacks or a possible parasite.....or something else I haven't even thought of. I haven't measured the eggs & they're still just as filling. It's the shell size that seems smaller.

I use a more expensive feed in the winter but in summer, they get a lot of their nutrition from the yard. Plus I have more birds to feed in the summer & often the hens grab the chick feed. Their poop is all kinds of crazy right now! The leafy spinach & mulberries produce some unique colored waste. Yesterday I could tell my roo drank a lot of water. Today I saw some like choc pudding.

Very good question. I usually see my eggs larger later in laying season. I don't mind spending extra on feed since my flock is so small. I have also learned better quality feed = less poop, healthier birds.

 

[Finnie]

I'm sorry...I did say antibiotic...should have said anti-parasitic

I don't think that the anti-parasitic works on scale mites. I've never read or heard anywhere that it works for them. They have to be smothered. The "old-timers" used to use old engine oil on their legs for that purpose.


Maybe someone else has heard that an internal med will work for scale mites and will chime in. But I've never heard of using one for that purpose.

With caged birds, we have what we call Scaly Face Mites. They affect the beak, face and legs. A spot of Ivermectin to the back of the neck is the preferred treatment for that. Sometimes repeated after two weeks if the problem hasn't cleared up by then. When I got chickens, I assumed the Scaly Leg mites were the same mites. So if my birds get it, I figured I would use Ivermectin. Now I am wondering if it's a different mite in chickens than in caged birds. I'll try to look up the scientific name(s). That should tell me.

A weekend of ups & downs. Sold lots of chicks & even my fav Spitzhauben Pair. (Yes, my sweet Drumsticks went to live with a very nice couple. We kept one female, but will still need to get the number down by fall.)It always feels good when you get a chance to meet other chicken families and know that your "babies" are going off to loving homes.
View attachment 1070664


The sad & shocking news is that the chicken number went down by one today. My beloved Bielefelder "Hen Solo" died. The best I can figure is that she got into my garden by jumping the shortest section of fence by the gate. Perhaps she followed my intelligent lightweight athletic hen. Hen Solo probably couldn't find her way out. I do not want chickens in my garden, so I do not have feeders & waterers in there. Bieles don't do well in the heat. Being stuck in direct sunlight on a hot day with no water probably gave her a heart attack. I feel terrible. The fence is suppose to keep the chickens OUT not IN. I found her around 1pm. I already miss her continuous honking for treats as I do my chicken chores.

RIP my dear Hen Solo

So sorry about Hen Solo.

Thanks. I really do miss HS & Drumstcks. At least I know that Drumsticks will be enjoyed in his new home as much as he was loved here. I had tried to sell them back in May & was even willing to give him away, but it fell through. I put the pair up on CL on Fri night & woke up to 4 responses by morning.

It's so weird how CL has cycles. In March, my baby chicks sold out in 2 days after hatching. The May hatch took 6 weeks to sell all the chicks. Not many people asking for chickens in June, but now in July chickens are popular again. I don't plan to hatch any more this year, but I wonder if there is some sort of cycle or logic to it.

I agree about the cycles. Early on, people are antsy to get chicks, but not too many people are offering any, so they sell fast. Then it's chick season, and there are plenty everywhere to find so sales slow down. Then in summer, fewer people are hatching any more, so there is less competition.

I hatched out about 15 too many Black Langshan chicks this year before I quit. I did not intend to grow so many out so long. Finally, last week someone called, and ended up buying 5 of them. I hope that means the drought is over and other customers will start coming out of the woodwork soon. Next year I am thinking of only hatching on a pre-order basis.

 

[Finnie]

Well, if anyone is interested, I found this website that mentions two different species of mites on budgies, one that is legs only, and one that starts on the face and then spreads to the legs.
http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/gesparasiten/grabmilben_en.htm
Still need to find the scientific name for the chicken ones...

Ok, so this website explains it. The leg mite (Knemidocoptes mutans) is the same in both poultry and caged birds, and the other two species in the same genus (K. gallinae and K. pilae) are mainly on caged birds:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/scaly-leg-mites

And they do mention Ivermectin in their list of treatments.

 

[akorte]

Well, if anyone is interested, I found this website that mentions two different species of mites on budgies, one that is legs only, and one that starts on the face and then spreads to the legs.
http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/gesparasiten/grabmilben_en.htm
Still need to find the scientific name for the chicken ones...

Ok, so this website explains it. The leg mite (Knemidocoptes mutans) is the same in both poultry and caged birds, and the other two species in the same genus (K. gallinae and K. pilae) are mainly on caged birds:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/scaly-leg-mites

And they do mention Ivermectin in their list of treatments.

I'm interested! Thanks! Unfortunately I bought the Ivomec Eprinex, so ivermectin is not the active ingredient. I've seen mixed messages about whether it will work for scaly leg mites. :/

 

[akorte]

Very good question. I usually see my eggs larger later in laying season. I don't mind spending extra on feed since my flock is so small. I have also learned better quality feed = less poop, healthier birds.

How do you tell what is a good quality feed? Is Purina a good one?

 

[JanetMarie]

I've noticed in the past, the summer heat affects the egg laying, either by smaller eggs, and/or fewer. So far this year we still are getting lots of eggs of the same size.

Heat also affects droppings, and runny droppings can simply be a cooling mechanism, and therefore everyone needs extra water, and fresh water changes more often.