INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[man_of_fishers]

Anyone selling ducklings near Indianapolis area? (preferably runner ducklings)

Tractor supply in Noblesville still had some as of last week. Not sure which kind they were, as I'm not in the market.

 

[Pollitos6]

Hello,

Looking for ducklings. I live in Indianapolis but willing to drive some. Let me know if anyone has some.
thanks

 

[man_of_fishers]

Hey, everyone! It's been a while since I've posted. The spring has been busy. I'll update with some of what's been happening! I'm now at nearly 40 chickens, four of which are roos.

I finished my run expansion, which is huge now. In addition, I added two nesting boxes to my coop, due to my silkie ladies turning the other nesting boxes into their sleep areas. That's made my other ladies happy. Had I know how large my run would have eventually been, I'd have built a much more utilitarian coop rather than a fancy looking barn-style one. I could disassemble and move it out, but it's a heavy beast and would take me a few hours to do that. So unless I coordinated that with the build of a new coop, it'd be a mess. Probably won't happen until the fall or next spring, if ever. My problem is that my run will allow for way more chickens than my coop. Actually, what I'm wanting to do is have my coop completely outside of the run with an opening into the run. This would let me stay out of the run when collecting eggs. So, I may be doing that in the fall instead, then removing/selling my barn-style coop after that's done.

I've recently processed 15 cornish cross broilers that I raised in the beginning of the spring. I'll say that I had read, but was not at all prepared for how much they eat and in turn how much they poop. They are ravenous little animals and would go through my two buckets of food a day. I was shoveling out their poop constantly and the smell was pretty potent and not at all what I want or get from my layers. I actually had them processed slightly small because I was going out of town for a week and didn't want to ask a friend to come over and deal with the feeding/mess. Also, I won't house the broilers with my layers again. I know some here have done it, but they clogged up my coop entryway almost nightly, refusing to go indoors in time for the automatic door to close. Meaning I had to go out and put 15 bulging broilers in by hand plus whichever of my ladies that didn't make it in either. So I think my plan is to do it again, but probably only keep six or so, and I'm going to keep them completely separate in a chicken tractor so I can spread their poop out daily.

I'm happy to report that I've not lost an adult chicken to a predator since the fall. My new run has been the fortress I was hoping for it to be. It cost a small fortune (due to the hardware cloth), but that's what us crazy chicken people do. I did lose one of four baby chicks that I picked up last week for my broody silkies. My in-laws were watching the chickens during a mini-vacation I had and when I returned, I was simply down one chick. Likeliest explanation is that it didn't make it back in the coop one night and was carried off by a snake or something. I've looked all over for evidence of it dying and being eaten by the flock, but have seen none. Not that I would necessarily be able to find the evidence.

In terms of new members of the flock, I've added three Plymouth Rocks, three Silkies, two Golden Sebrights, and eight Red Sex Links. I just added three older chicks from the bargain barrel at tractor supply, I'm not sure what they are yet. Of course, it's my luck that out of my new additions, one of the Plymouth Rocks, both of the Sebrights, and one of the Silkies are roos. One of the Sebrights has a cute little crow. The Plymouth Rock crowed for the first time yesterday and I'm already certain I can't keep him. He's a beast and his undeveloped crow sounded like an adult goose—I can't imagine what it's going to sound like when he develops it. He's probably going to end up in the freezer with the cornish crosses, unless any of you are looking for a Plymouth Rock roo. He's a good boy, just far too much roo for my situation. I'm fairly certain the Sebrights and Silkie Roo I'll keep.

Lastly, I'm really itching to get some non-chicken, flightless birds that serve more as mascots/pets than any real meaningful purpose. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Of course, my prerequisites might make it a non-starter. I have young children, so I can't have anything known for being aggressive. I also can't have anything that's obnoxiously loud. Lastly, I have a pool that's covered with an auto-canvas cover. So I need a bird that won't run on that. I may be open to putting a decorative fence around the pool deck. I have about an acre of six-foot tall fenced in area, so if you have any ideas, hit me with them!

 

[Faraday40]

I'm being overrun by broody hens here!

My silkie hatched some orps and seramas.

The 3 chicks in center are seramas.
The 2 light seramas are brothers to the ones @homeschoolin momma has
My silkie also adopted the 10 wk old tan silkied pullet to right.(Hatched 5-13)

Then (on July 4th) Sesame hatched 2 Modern Game (black & blue) and 2 unauthorized serama eggs were added by the other hens.

I get a kick out of the white one who now has dark gray wings. My guess is she's a female & the golden one a male. Only 2.5 weeks, so I hope to find out if I'm right soon.

Then Coge went broody with Sesame, so we gave her some orpington eggs. The hens also slipped a serama egg under her. I'm a sucker & if I see development, I don't have the heart to toss it. I'm normally pretty good about emptying the nest daily, but we had a few crazy days & those sneaky hens did it to me again.

We already sold 3 of the orps, so Coge only has one silver laced orp & one serama now. The serama's so tiny! They are 5 days old. (hatched 7-17)

Here's my big mama Jewel & my 1st silver laced orps of 2020. (hatched 7-6)

Of course Cookie is broody again and sitting on eggs. When will it ever end!?
Here are what's left of Cookie's big May 1st hatch (1 doz turkeys and 2.5 doz chicks). I kept one lav orp and 3 poults. It's funny how they still stay together.

Here's the orp at about 12 weeks. At 3-4 weeks I thought male because of those big wattles..... but its biological mom is Jewel who also had big wattles as a chick. By 6-8 weeks, no comb & wattles stayed the same, so I figured a pullet. Now at about 12 weeks, I see a little pink in comb and growing wattles. No pointed hackle/saddle feathers.

 

[man_of_fishers]

Do any of y’all have an online source for ordering antibiotics for your flock?

 

[Molpet]

Do any of y’all have an online source for ordering antibiotics for your flock?

@casportpony does

 

[Faraday40]

Do any of y’all have an online source for ordering antibiotics for your flock?

I'm pretty sure the new laws require a vet script for most poultry antibiotics. However, I have seen some injectable antibiotics like Tylan and Duramycin at Farm and Fleet. It's off-label use, so again you'd need a vet to help you with directions and dosage.

 

[Kristee]

Wow I really didn't know there was an Indiana thread.

Guess I'll ask here as well. My grandpa used to own chickens as pets many years ago. I showed him some pictures of Silkies and Polish recently, and he absolutely fell in love. It'll be his birthday in August, and he doesn't have any pets, but expressed interest in these cuties. I haven't had any luck on Craigslist or Facebook.

In short, looking to buy a young Silkie and a young Polish. Hens only, since my grandpa lives around other people! Does anyone have any for sale, or know of anywhere/anyone who does? Thank you for reading!

 

[man_of_fishers]

Wow I really didn't know there was an Indiana thread.

Guess I'll ask here as well. My grandpa used to own chickens as pets many years ago. I showed him some pictures of Silkies and Polish recently, and he absolutely fell in love. It'll be his birthday in August, and he doesn't have any pets, but expressed interest in these cuties. I haven't had any luck on Craigslist or Facebook.

In short, looking to buy a young Silkie and a young Polish. Hens only, since my grandpa lives around other people! Does anyone have any for sale, or know of anywhere/anyone who does? Thank you for reading!

Welcome, Kristen! None of my Silkies are up for grabs at the moment, but some others here may have them. Check Facebook/Craigslist as well, I’ve picked them up there and sometimes people are just looking to get rid of them. Other than that, Tractor Supply will have their assorted bantam barrels every now and again and they’re usually full of Silkie chicks. Definitely call first. Keep up the contact with us, we love seeing each other’s work and helping out!

 

[Kristee]

Welcome, Kristen! None of my Silkies are up for grabs at the moment, but some others here may have them. Check Facebook/Craigslist as well, I’ve picked them up there and sometimes people are just looking to get rid of them. Other than that, Tractor Supply will have their assorted bantam barrels every now and again and they’re usually full of Silkie chicks. Definitely call first. Keep up the contact with us, we love seeing each other’s work and helping out!

Thank you very much for the advice! I am hoping for older babies that don't need heat anymore, but I'll definitely consider chicks as well if I can't find anything else. I'll just have to keep them a few weeks myself until they're old enough for him to more easily care for. I'll keep updated either way.