California-Southern

[Sylvester017]

OH BOY! yet more mis-information of DE....sigh.... DE WILL NOT keep the mites&lice at bay. It is a great deterrant BUT you have to use too much for it to be safe to those little chicken lung lobes. IF it is irritating to YOUR nose, think of what it is doing to their PRIMATE respritory system. The active ingredient in "Poultry Protector" is Potassium Sorbate, go look up what it is......

I too live in a wind tunnel (Jurupa Valley) and wind breaks are a MUST HAVE for your birds.
And yes I can be a pushy broad sometimes.....Just trying to get the word out about mis-information is all..... GO HUG YER CHICKENS

I have to agree about DE since I am allergenic with a couple respiratory-sensitive hens so DE would be disastrous for us. Manna Pro Poultry Protector is an organic enzyme, can be used as often as needed, and has been great to use directly on hens and coop as directed on the label. It is safe for chicks too. I used it on juveniles that were shipped to us with feather lice and one application rid any evidence of lice the next day; however on the 2nd day I used a 2nd application just to be sure, and another application a week later in case any hatched lice eggs got missed. For severe mite/lice infestations something stronger like permethrin (?spelling) would be advisable but hopefully most of us won't get to that point.

Taken from the MDhealth.com website: "Many consider potassium sorbate ideal for applications in foods because it is highly soluable and can be used at a wide range of pH levels, so it can be applied to a number of products without worry that it will break down. Most food monitoring organizations consider the substance to be non-GMO related and kosher so it does not affect the legal distribution of products. Potassium sorbate typically scores well in safety tests and it contains no additional odors or flavors that would disrupt the eating experience when it is added to commercial products."

 

[Dekthai818]

anybody close to san fernando valley area with a pinless peeper? the new pullet is pecking others and online order might take abit to deliver.

 

[Sylvester017]

anybody close to san fernando valley area with a pinless peeper? the new pullet is pecking others and online order might take abit to deliver.

What we did when we found a Cuckoo Marans being a nasty peckerer we isolated her immediately from the flock of gentle breeds she was tormenting. The next day we re-homed her into a friend's layer flock where more established alpha hens kept her in her place. Otherwise there would be no amount of Peepers, isolation, etc, that would stop her from tormenting our flock of gentles. She was a sneaky hen and when we found she was the culprit we chose to re-home her. From reviews I researched about Peepers, they can work for a short time but the smart hens eventually learn how to maneuver around them and can continue their bad behavior. Bad hen behavior can be contagious so I chose to remove the problem instead of wasting energy on a dead-end prospect. A stew pot for her would've been better but my DH won't eat any of our pets LOL!

OUR 6-MO-OLD PARTRIDGE SILKIE BEFORE GETTING THE MARANS


ANOTHER 6 MO LATER AND THIS IS WHAT THE PECKING MARANS DID TO THE SILKIE

AT FIRST WE THOUGHT THE SILKIE WAS MOLTING UNTIL WE DISCOVERED THE CULPRIT!

 

[Phage]

anybody close to san fernando valley area with a pinless peeper? the new pullet is pecking others and online order might take abit to deliver.

This usually means that she is low on protein, or does not have enough space. I would isolate her for a while and feed her up. She should be isolated anyway for bio security.

Also ask the previous owner if she was an overly bossy hen.

That said I have never had that issue with birds that have plenty of protein in their diet and lots of room. I have kept MArans and silkies and Ameraucanas and tiny d'uccles all together in the same pen with no problem at all.

Optimizing the environment for the birds is the best way to avoid or eliminate this type of problem. Only If really limited by space (like the above poster) do you need to be selective about which breeds you can keep together due to them being on top of and annoying each other.

Also I am not sure where the figure 95/98 % of back yard flocks have nasty diseases came from. I would love to see that confirmed in an official document.

However if you know you have a bird that has been in contact with your own diseased birds and you no longer want to keep it for whatever reason the ONLY HONEST thing to do is have the bird destroyed. If you want to sell it or give it away, do so informing the new owner that it is diseased. No one would be crazy enought to buy it unless they were going to feed it to their animals.

I have seen this happen over and over again on BYC AND by several people in San Diego!!!!
People ask for help with sick birds one week and then are selling them a week later.
Believing that 98% of backyard flocks are already contaminated with something so adding yet a new disease does not matter is IMHO reckless and is destroying the hobby.

If you source your eggs carefully and hatch your own birds and take biosecurity precautions you are likely to keep a clean flock.

 

[Sylvester017]

I understand your passion for chickeneering and appreciate your input. I had to add some comments to your comments to allay your fears -- the info was meant to educate and not frighten.
Also I am not sure where the figure 95/98 % of back yard flocks have nasty diseases came from. I would love to see that confirmed in an official document.
This was a percentage cited in an article under the CRD-only umbrella of respiratory issues and encompasses MS/MG into the carrier percentages -- not actual symptom percentages. Please don't ask for a reference as this was researched a few years back and notes not preserved as it wasn't the main focus of the research at the time. Please read carefully about what the % was talking about (it wasn't citing all "nasty diseases" but only citing one particular umbrella of "CRD" health issues as an example). I have received shipped birds with CRD issues and some breeds seem more prone to them than others -- thanks to a great vet who also happened to work in the poultry industry I haven't been so paranoid about these issues any more. He has been great at saving my birds and allaying my paranoid fears.
Believing that 98% of backyard flocks are already contaminated with something so adding yet a new disease does not matter is IMHO reckless and is destroying the hobby.
The info that backyard flocks are carriers of endemic viruses that never mutate or manifest into symptoms was to state that we don't have to be paranoid about every new disease outbreak that comes out on the news. Usually those dramatic news events are coming from the commercial poultry industry where endemic viruses mutated into a more serious symptom -- and not backyard flocks. But it shouldn't surprise us to find endemic viruses should our flocks ever be tested. It's interesting that an endemic AI virus is present in chickens yet if stressed (like poultry industry flocks) the virus mutates into the serious outbreak we hear about on the news. It's interesting that the outbreaks are found first on poultry industry farms and not backyard flocks (unless the backyard flocks happen to be in proximity to the infected industry flocks). I personally think the commercial poultry industry would like to blame backyard flocks for chicken diseases to eliminate the "competition" but that's another subject. In places like Indonesia and Viet Nam where AI has been found in migrating bird routes no backyard farm flocks raised by the citizens had one outbreak of AI.
If you source your eggs carefully and hatch your own birds and take biosecurity precautions you are likely to keep a clean flock. Most backyard flocks are kept cleaner, well nutritioned, with spacious environments moreso than commercial industry or even hatchery birds. After seeing a video of a hatchery showing a very serious lice infestation in one of their chickens and how to treat it I would be more inclined to get a private breeder's bird before one of the hatchery birds since the hatchery wasn't on top of the health of their flocks to allow such a serious situation. Probably was an isolated incident but then I have to wonder about so many hatcheries crowding their breeding stock into less-than-ideal pen conditions.

 

[Phage]

Quote: Thank you but I think you missed the point.


I am not frightened (AT ALL) and I have been doing this for a VERY long time.


I am trying to clear up misinformation by speaking plainly so that we treat our birds and each other better, and limit the spread of disease in backyard flocks.


Knowingly passing on birds that are likely carriers of disease into potential clean flocks justified by assuming that most flocks are infected with chronic diseases, or that the birds won't show symptoms, is destroying the joy of the hobby.


It may not be such a big deal for people with some pet chickens that they can afford to take to the vet, but many cannot, and their backyard flock may be a needed source of food or income.

 

[Sylvester017]

Thank you but I think you missed the point.


I am not frightened (AT ALL) and I have been doing this for a VERY long time.


I am trying to clear up misinformation by speaking plainly so that we treat our birds and each other better, and limit the spread of disease in backyard flocks.


Knowingly passing on birds that are likely carriers of disease into potential clean flocks justified by assuming that most flocks are infected with chronic diseases, or that the birds won't show symptoms, is destroying the joy of the hobby.


It may not be such a big deal for people with some pet chickens that they can afford to take to the vet, but many cannot, and their backyard flock may be a needed source of food or income.

Yes, it's good to clarify the points we are making to know where we're all coming from. All points are valid depending on our circumstance -- from a breeding point of view these issues obviously would be more passionate. Clarifications with a tactful approach are always welcome!

 

[Alyssagthatsme]

Hi all!!

I'm looking for anyone who lives in Norco, CA. We are looking to possibly move there from Orange County but want to make sure the chicken laws are as good as they are in our current town. I can't seem to find anything and I've called just about every number the city lists. Any residents who can share the regulations with me?

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi all!!

I'm looking for anyone who lives in Norco, CA. We are looking to possibly move there from Orange County but want to make sure the chicken laws are as good as they are in our current town. I can't seem to find anything and I've called just about every number the city lists. Any residents who can share the regulations with me?

Contact Amber Waves Silkies in Norco. They have various livestock and various poultry on their farm and maybe you can email Debbie or make an appt to visit their farm to get all your questions answered. Hope they can help you because they are who I will get my next Silkie from:
http://showsilkies.com/contact.htm

 

[froggiesheins]

Hi all!!

I'm looking for anyone who lives in Norco, CA. We are looking to possibly move there from Orange County but want to make sure the chicken laws are as good as they are in our current town. I can't seem to find anything and I've called just about every number the city lists. Any residents who can share the regulations with me?

GET OUT! even City Hall in Norco did not know their own codes??? Time to rattle some cages over there...