INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

@Faraday40
I know I said it elsewhere but.... I'm jealous.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Mother2Hens
Good to see you!!! And the photos

 

[Leahs Mom]

Got the tarp back up in the garden for the fall cleanup. I couldn't attach it to the fence yet as it would shade the Got the tarp back up in the garden for the fall cleanup. I couldn't attach it to the fence yet as it would shade the nasturtium and the cilantro so I"m trying the portable fence posts for the time being.

The tarp is to give them courage to go out in the open area so that they have a place to hide from hawks. Gives them more security. 2 Buckeyes working under there.

Back in the corner they are spreading compost.

The compost corner. The stuff laying on top is some apple pieces that had worms (and some rotting watermellon rind) that I put out yesterday so it's not composted of course. They do a great job at spreading compost. Late in the fall we'll start a new compost heap in the middle of the garden. Then next spring, the birds can come out and spread it on the garden for us.

 

[Mother2Hens]

@Faraday40 posted: Yep, my big blue orp is VERY BROODY!

Faraday ~ She sure LOOKS pregnant! Haha
She is gorgeous. Are you letting her hatch eggs? If so, do you know what they'll be?
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@hbrown322 ~ Thanks for posting your photos! I decided to play a game to try to guess the breeds. I didn't cheat by looking online. Anyone can guess or comment.

 

[Mother2Hens]

@Leahs Mom ~ Do you have to worry about mold in your compost? All of the chicken books talk about how dangerous mold is for them to eat, but we have mold and other fungus growing many places outside because we have a lot of big shade trees. The chickens forage everywhere and especially love rotting logs and stumps where mold is usually found. I suppose they don't actually eat it, but it seems like they couldn't help but consume some when they eat a bug from a moldy log.

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40 posted: Yep, my big blue orp is VERY BROODY!
View attachment 1139754
Faraday ~ She sure LOOKS pregnant! Haha
She is gorgeous. Are you letting her hatch eggs? If so, do you know what they'll be?
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@hbrown322 ~ Thanks for posting your photos! I decided to play a game to try to guess the breeds. I didn't cheat by looking online. Anyone can guess or comment.
View attachment 1139755
View attachment 1139756

Faraday ~ She sure LOOKS pregnant! Haha
She is gorgeous. Are you letting her hatch eggs? If so, do you know what they'll be?

She's currently sitting on a decorative marble egg, but will get one real one from the incubator tomorrow. (They're on day 18.)
Purebred chicks are much easier to sell &/or rehome. I only have orp roosters, so I set mostly orp eggs.
4 of her blue orp eggs
14-15 lav orp eggs
1 Princess Lay-a (mix, but a perfect hen)
1 CCL to make a sex-linked EE

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Mother2Hens
I have not worried about molds in the woods or compost. I usually try to have the compost a little more "composted" when they get in it. The apples on the top were just put out Sunday and I often give the apples to them anyway.

Where I worry about molds is in grain products - as in moldy feed. There is a very high chance of mycotoxin from the molds that are in grains. Unfortunately, it doesn't even have to be wet to be a mold potential problem.

Have you seen Vermont Composting? They do all their composting with 300+ chickens and they don't get feed. Here's a short video.

I could just never do what Vermont is doing as they get food scraps from restaurants, etc. I just feel that the quality of most food in the general public stream is not healthy. But They can certainly enjoy the stuff we put in ours on a small scale! They mostly scratch for the worms and bugs that are in the pile.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I thought it was interesting that he said in another video that if only a small percentage of people in the us would raise just 6 chickens for eggs per person, and 12 meat chickens per person each year, they would literally put the factory egg and chicken meat industry out of business.

An interesting thought.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Faraday40
I just wish it was spring. I would definitely have to consider purchasing some of those chicks.

 

[Faraday40]

@Faraday40
I just wish it was spring. I would definitely have to consider purchasing some of those chicks.

It's OK. You know I'll share many photos, so you can at least enjoy them that way.