INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Chaneys Ranch]

I used a Reciprocating saw to cut off the shelving on the door to make a flat surface, then used a scrapper to scrap away all the foam, then used a drill to drill 2 holes and then a jig saw to cut out the window. Used 100% silicone to hold the window and seal it.
If you want some variety to your group, I'm more then willing to share! I will be getting my Fancy Celadons, Silver, and Pastels soon!
The mini fridge was only a couple months old and perfectly working when I destroyed it lol... We bought it from Kmart for $150 using Kmart rewards points. So We didn't loose any money destroying it .
This is what it use to look like:
View attachment 1248609 View attachment 1248610



Welcome back! We all have missed you too! How are you liking the remodeling? Is everything going as you planned?

Its going well just ~slow~!As of this weekend I have a new sink, counter top and after 19 years a dishwasher again! We repaired 22ft x 11 ft of floor, laid new vinyl flooring. I will share pics asap, this project has been at least 2 years now. I cook whole food meals for 6 adults, and process our own "food animals" at home. I will not send out an animal I have raised to a butcher. They deserve better, won't do it. I will now have the space to manage it and counter tops to do so.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Seems like a lot is on your plate!
Well this year I have restarted on chickens for main purpose of brooding my Muscovy's, but sadly they are more egg laying then broody. I restarted quails again. I also received 65 new Muscovy's from a couple dropping them off on my front yard in boxes on a day that was -7 F outside. I plan to sell most of them at an animal swap or locals when I get test results back on them.
I plan to hatch a ton of ducklings this summer well over 300+. All extra left over male muscovy's I have will be fattened up and processed to go to a homeless shelter along with extra eggs. We might breed our Border Collie pup when she is around 9 months old only once before we have her fixed. Her pedigree is coming in the mail any day now. She was born September 24th, 2017 in Wisconsin. Hoping to find a Blue Merle Male to breed to her. She is a black and white border collie.

LOL you sound like me, I often take in flocks of any type often due to rezoning or divorces. I try to rehome them with single parent families. Encourage those kids to learn to be self sufficient. Best of luck with your LGD!

 

[Nyla]

Does anyone know of a local place to buy barley, or wheat seeds in bulk? I've been buying Barley seeds in 15 pound bags off ebay for more then 5 years now and would rather buy local. Does Tractor supply sell them?

 

[kanina]

Cute chicks!

You're doing fine. The temp & humidity sound good. Although they say all chickens take about 21 days to hatch, I've found that when incubating bantams & LF orps together, the smaller breeds always hatch 1st. The eggs from my 9+ lb hens always take the longest. In other words, hang in there for at least a couple more days.

If you're worried about smell / bacteria, you can remove the shell debris with the chicks. (Also remove any rotten, smelly eggs if you have any.) I don't open the incubator more than once a day to remove chicks. Must be done very quickly. You can spray a mist along the wall of incubator to get the lost humidity back up quickly.

The last egg candling was so/so. The eggs will either hatch or they will not. Candling at this stage could chill them too much. My advice is to let them continue incubating until you're ready to pull the plug. That's when I candle for internal pips & tap on the eggs for a response. (Any chirps or tapping = life.) If I'm pretty sure it's dead, I practice an "assisted hatch" autopsy. I like to figure out when death occurred &/or look for cause. It may sound gruesome, but we can learn more from mistakes.

You have 2 adorable chicks, so that alone is great news!

I do have two adorable chicks. I'm thinking they'll be blue and white. One has feathered legs and the other doesn't. Adorable.

I'm not sure at what point to make the call to pull the plug. The whole goal was to get some lavender orpingtons, even one would have been great. I'm trying to not be a sour pus because I have another option lined up thanks to the great people of BYC. 20% hatch rate wasn't what I was looking for.

How long to keep them in is not a big deal. I can keep them in until Tuesday, I can keep them in for another week. I just don't know what the best option is. I want to be realistic and do the right thing.

And then my next question is how do I know know if an egg is rotten to remove it? I've not noticed any smells.

This morning there is no new development. I've been trying to talk to them and tell them its OK to come out now, but I'm more and more resigned to no new hatches.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@kanina
So you must have gone to Penn?

 

[Leahs Mom]

@jchny2000
Whoa....you're really here! So good to see you.

For spring, I have some Dominiques on order from a breeder. Also planning on a couple of Buff O's (hoping for a broody) and if there are any laced O's at the same time, may get some of those just for "yard candy" - they are so pretty. No plans for SFH this year. Those kiddos from the German lines were such a challenge temperament-wise that I f I get SFH again, it will definitely be from the Swedish imports.

I still have 2 of the Buckeyes. All the rest are 6 yo's this year from 2012 spring. (I'm down to a total of 5 birds!!!!) Had 2 of the 6 yo's start laying 2 weeks ago. Charlie the EE and the old BR girl ("The Barr Girl" or "Miss B".)

 

[Leahs Mom]

OH....whoops. Forgot to add that I'll also get a couple ee's with the Buff O's for colored eggs.

I've considered getting a few bantams to see how they are but not sure about them housing with the LF. @jchny2000 , when you had your bantams, did they house together with the LF okay or did they have a separate house?



I love the appearance of the mottled cochin's but I don't want shipped chicks and so far haven't found a more local source.

 

[kanina]

@Leahs Mom Marian actually. Also my LF and bantams get along well together. My ducks are also getting along with everyone.

@jchny2000 glad to see you back!

Our chicken trip for the year consists of almost too much stuff

1. Flock thinning. Grandma is supposed to be taking almost half my flock, but if she changes her mind again then they might be going up for sale. For whatever reason I keep buying/hatching/taking in chickens.

2. Sorting out hatching. I don't know if that means a new incubator, new methods or stopping. My November hatch was about 30% success and this hatch currently a day late at 20%.
With that is sorting out my rooster situation. I currently have three roosters. If I'm not going to be hatching I only need one rooster, if that.

3. Reevaluating my coop. My coop is not fit for this climate. I need something better suited for the winter we had this year. Something I can fit their food and water in as well as safely fit them. I knew this all along, I was just ignorant of how bad it can be. Also my run isn't covered so I have no true safety from the elements, which a new coop could bring. Which brings me to my next goal

4. Reevaluating my run. I don't have any good coverage in my run. Last year we covered part of it in a tarp, when we moved thing around the tarp did not work. We need to figure out how to build a small shaded area, possibly roof half of it.

5. Sorting out food. Today is the first egg I've gotten since the week before Christmas. We've changed their food several weeks ago, but we're going to try another new food. With the weather becoming better, that might be something that we sort out next winter.

All this doesn't even include all the things I need to and am doing around my house. We're in the middle of relocating the laundry room, which will lead to expanding the kitchen. Not to mention the new back door we need and sanding/staining our floors. Or the new project car that DH thinks he needs.

Nothing new on the hatch, but my two kiddos are just lovely. They are Fibro Fly Ties which are a Ayam Cerami x Genetic Hackle. Based on their wing tips first day, I think they're both females but the heads suggest a pullet and cockrel. I suppose we'll find out

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Here are the girls in their setup. We took advantage of the nice weather and added some tile to where the fence meets since our dog got hurt on it about a month ago. The girls had to go check it out of course.
I know the prefab isn't the best, but it is working for now. I am considering adding a resin/plastic shed (my husband won't give up the other shed. Lol)

 

[Faraday40]

Here are the girls in their setup. We took advantage of the nice weather and added some tile to where the femce meets since our dog got hurt on it about a month ago. The girls had to go check it out of course.
I know the prefab isn't the best, but it is working for now. I am considering adding a resin/plastic shed (my husband won't give up the other shed. Lol) View attachment 1249466View attachment 1249467 View attachment 1249468 View attachment 1249469

Looks nice. However, I agree the shed in the background would make an awesome coop! Then you could fill it with even more chickens and keep the current little coop as a broody hen nursery! Do you think your DH would go for it!?!