INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[kanina]

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Heat will also make them stop laying. How hot are your nest boxes? Might be worth looking into. Any change can cause them to stop laying for awhile.

Its been SO WET, but I've kept the vent above the boxes open to help with the heat in there since the rain doesn't come down from that direction and can't get 'in'.

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.

I've noticed smaller eggs as well but contributed it to new layers and some of my pullets are getting pretty red.

Thoughts on a metal shed as a coop? I plan to insulate it and add boxes and roosts.

We originally started off this spring agreeing to keep six chickens so we bought a TSC prefab rated for 8. Then we had 10 (four of my grandmas, see further back in the thread for the story on that) so we made them a huge area to run as well as I let them out in the yard when I get home from work. But now at nearly 16 chickens, they're a little tight in the house at night. I say nearly because I have four babies who haven't been added to the flock yet. So I have 12 chooks sharing a small house (the two Wyandottes are up for the taking if anyone is interested).

 

[wheezy50]

If anyone here is interested in starting with a small flock of Midget White turkeys please send me a PM. I have 2 hens both around 1.5 years old and a tom that is closer to 2 yrs. I have decided to use their pen for other projects and would like to find them a new farm to call home. The hens are still laying although slowing down from what they were doing this spring. I was getting almost an egg a day from each of them for a couple months. I just don't hatch enough of their eggs to keep them anymore, although I like them as pets more than the chickens!

I have a couple poults left from them as well, 4-6 weeks old. Please PM me if any of this interests you!

 

[HoosierSilkie]

Anyone looking for Silkie roosters? We have four that need new homes. They're free, please come get them! My husband is threatening to send them to chicken heaven and my daughter would be heartbroken. The buff is about a year and the white and black ones are about 5 months. All good with hens and used to being handled. We're in southern IN, about 20 miles south of Bloomington.

 

[Indyshent]

If anyone here is interested in starting with a small flock of Midget White turkeys please send me a PM. I have 2 hens both around 1.5 years old and a tom that is closer to 2 yrs. I have decided to use their pen for other projects and would like to find them a new farm to call home. The hens are still laying although slowing down from what they were doing this spring. I was getting almost an egg a day from each of them for a couple months. I just don't hatch enough of their eggs to keep them anymore, although I like them as pets more than the chickens!

I have a couple poults left from them as well, 4-6 weeks old. Please PM me if any of this interests you!

I think @jchny2000, @racinchickens, and @ellymayRans keep or have kept MW before. My tom went to jchny2000. They're supposed to be pretty sociable but Major Tom never cared much for people. Post pretty pictures!

Its been SO WET, but I've kept the vent above the boxes open to help with the heat in there since the rain doesn't come down from that direction and can't get 'in'.



I've noticed smaller eggs as well but contributed it to new layers and some of my pullets are getting pretty red.

Thoughts on a metal shed as a coop? I plan to insulate it and add boxes and roosts.

We originally started off this spring agreeing to keep six chickens so we bought a TSC prefab rated for 8. Then we had 10 (four of my grandmas, see further back in the thread for the story on that) so we made them a huge area to run as well as I let them out in the yard when I get home from work. But now at nearly 16 chickens, they're a little tight in the house at night. I say nearly because I have four babies who haven't been added to the flock yet. So I have 12 chooks sharing a small house (the two Wyandottes are up for the taking if anyone is interested).

I've also noticed smaller eggs and less frequency when it's hot. Over crowding will make it hotter and more stressed for your birds, too.

Post pictures of your Wyandottes! Some of the prettiest chickens I've ever owned were Wyandottes, and I missed mine enough to buy some chicks this spring (they all died except the Dominique in the group). SLW seem to be my husband's favorite chickens.

 

[Indyshent]

View attachment 1072993 View attachment 1072991 View attachment 1072989 View attachment 1072988 Anyone looking for Silkie roosters? We have four that need new homes. They're free, please come get them! My husband is threatening to send them to chicken heaven and my daughter would be heartbroken. The buff is about a year and the white and black ones are about 5 months. All good with hens and used to being handled. We're in southern IN, about 20 miles south of Bloomington.

Try @ellymayRans. Last I'd heard, she'd been looking for decent silkie roos because her lone survivor was a real putz. It's been awhile since I've heard much on her silkie situation, but she's pretty close to you and would provide a wonderful home for them, if she has openings, of course. I don't remember anyone else really into silkies here though . Miss having them here, but I'm rooster heavy and can spit to my neighbor's house.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Incredible amount of water in our little creek, trying to figure out loading Will share to You tube and try that.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Our little creek, not so little!

 

[kanina]

Our little creek, not so little!

Do you live off Falls? We went down to the park the other day and it was nearly over the walking bridge and all the way up to the museum. Its been wild! Hopefully today stays dry like they claim!

 

[kanina]

I think @jchny2000, @racinchickens, and @ellymayRans keep or have kept MW before. My tom went to jchny2000. They're supposed to be pretty sociable but Major Tom never cared much for people. Post pretty pictures!

I've also noticed smaller eggs and less frequency when it's hot. Over crowding will make it hotter and more stressed for your birds, too.

Post pictures of your Wyandottes! Some of the prettiest chickens I've ever owned were Wyandottes, and I missed mine enough to buy some chicks this spring (they all died except the Dominique in the group). SLW seem to be my husband's favorite chickens.

Butterball is a sweet girl (GLW), Jeri is very independent (SLW). They're good girls, I'm just coming to terms with how over the top I went with chicken purchases.

 

[JanetMarie]

Some young boys: