Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Eggcessive]

This swab thing to diagnose what your chickens have is kind of confusing. What does it test for? A good friend is chief of microbiology at the local medical center. I did a nasal and pharyngeal swab recently on a chicken of mine that had a hiccup sound which I think is a chicken sneeze. It came back negative for everything he tested it for, but he told me that it is very difficult to get a positive culture for MG (mycoplasma) even in human beings. Most reports I have seen say that state labs have to perform necropsies and examine tissues and the whole respiratory tract to make any diagnosis, and sometimes I wonder if it is just opinion. Anyhow I would be surprised if there were such an easy test for CRD or MG like a swab, or more people would know about it.

 

[delisha]

This swab thing to diagnose what your chickens have is kind of confusing. What does it test for? A good friend is chief of microbiology at the local medical center. I did a nasal and pharyngeal swab recently on a chicken of mine that had a hiccup sound which I think is a chicken sneeze. It came back negative for everything he tested it for, but he told me that it is very difficult to get a positive culture for MG (mycoplasma) even in human beings. Most reports I have seen say that state labs have to perform necropsies and examine tissues and the whole respiratory tract to make any diagnosis, and sometimes I wonder if it is just opinion. Anyhow I would be surprised if there were such an easy test for CRD or MG like a swab, or more people would know about it.

http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahm/2.03.05_ AVIAN_MYCO.pdf

This will help explain about the swab for MG, coryza, CRD and other diseases.

 

[Beekissed]

Speaking of reassurance....I cleaned outthe fridge today and gave a lot to the chickens. Cranberries sauce, stuffing mashed potatoes and pizza and a little mac and cheese. Now almost all of them have a really big area at the bottom of their throat on their right side. Does this mean they over ate and will they be okay?
L

Yep...they overate.

Should be okay..but they are gonna wanna wear some loose PJs to bed tonight.

I know this is late..but I am reading, trying to take it all in!!..

..you guys & gals are great!!..

Seriously!!!

Thanks! So glad you could join us!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

You sure can. You can ferment any feed ration you may have or design. I like the rations that are 50% milled layer and 50% mixed whole grains the best and this is what I normally feed in the winter months to cut costs. It has a better consistency, drains off easily if needed and seems to keep them fuller for longer...more content, somehow, then feeding 100% layer.

This is never a good time of year to cull for laying. I agree that she should have more laying as this is their first year but then...they are BOs and aren't exactly super dooper layer breeds when bought from hatchery stock.

Tell her not to cull any until around March, if this is her chosen breed. By the middle or the end of March all birds who are laying, should be laying. If they are not laying by that time, it is likely they will never be good, consistent layers and need to be culled.

She might want to explore why she is keeping chickens and then choose breeds that are optimal for that purpose. If it's for a hobby that produces a few eggs for consumption needs, then hatchery BOs may fulfill her needs, though she may not be satisfied with their overall hardiness and production levels.

If it's for eggs and meat as a side effect of extra roos or retired hens, there are better breeds for a first timer to have that will be easier to manage and yield more of what she wants. Could be she will want to order a more likely breed for this when she orders.

I noticed that as well and was completely satisfied that the hens would mature more slowly as well. I know to folks waiting on their first egg slow maturity is agony but it is healthier for the chicken and will keep her in the production flock longer.

Folks get used to a certain way of doing things and they don't want to change anything. It's sufficient for them and that's enough. To me it's like being able to buy premium, high octane gas for my car for the same price as regular. Who in the world wouldn't want the high octane?

But some people don't like change and some folks feel that their methods simply cannot be improved upon. To me, there is always room to learn and improve any animal husbandry method...I'm always searching for ways to improve what I already do and have, within the bounds of my budget.

Just like something as simple as using ACV in the water some of the time vs. using it all the time...that little move improved my egg's overall taste and clarity and my regular customers commented on it. My eggs were always good enough but that one little move put them over the top for taste and people could tell the difference, though I had not told them to expect a change. I didn't even know it could change things that drastically but was pleasantly surprised at the feedback and with my own impression of the improved flavor of the eggs.

It's those little things and improvements that, costing little money but yielding big rewards, that I love to add to my husbandry.

Some who are set in their ways will never try anything different and so will never see if it could change things...if good is good enough for them, then it just is. Simple enough and it is in their comfort zone...some folks have big difficulty moving out of that comfort zone.

This is definitely one of the most truthful statements I have ever read! Thank You

,The day I get that comfortable with what I know(or don't), is the day I gotta go!..Never will I know it all...

 

[armorfirelady]

I noticed that as well and was completely satisfied that the hens would mature more slowly as well. I know to folks waiting on their first egg slow maturity is agony but it is healthier for the chicken and will keep her in the production flock longer.

That would be me

........30 weeks and no eggs yet.......but I patiently ask nicely every day for the girls to lay an egg. No one even goes in the nesting boxes but I do see nest corcles in the DL. Sooner or later I figure they will pop one out.

As a newbie I dont know if my hens are maturing slower but if I took an uneducated guess I would say mine are. 2 have decent sized combs and wattles that are red. The other 2 have small ridges for combs and very little wattles. But I can see that they are growing well & are healthy as well.

Mine to have slowed down there eating since its gotten cooler. They eat about 1 cup of FF for 4 hens. That 50# bag of layer pellets is going to last me a year at this rate

They sell love to go in the veggie garden every day & dig through the leaves there pulling out the pieces of grass they can find. And they have eaten a 20# pumpkin almost to nothing since Thanksgiving.

I keep seeing people post about the dangers of wild birds being near your hens. I have to bird feeders hanging from a tree in the hens run. I figured any feed spilled out would be eaten by the hens instead of my puppy. Should I move them??

 

[Beekissed]

Nah...mine eat under the bird feeders every day. Wild birds are not the problem and they have co-existed with livestock since the beginning of time. I wouldn't move your feeders.

 

[Gargoyle]

I think we should all pitch in and buy a set of these for Bee for Christmas.

 

[Mountain Momma]

Yep...they overate.

Should be okay..but they are gonna wanna wear some loose PJs to bed tonight.

Thanks! So glad you could join us!

Oh thanks. Appreciate being able to go to bed with out worrying too much. One of the PR was asking about the cheesecake we had left over though....I'll have to watch her!
Goodnight friends!
L

 

[arienwolf]

I think we should all pitch in and buy a set of these for Bee for Christmas.

Only if I can be a anonymous contributor. lol Can just see it now

hahahahaha.

On a more serious note, I think One of my chickens ate a smallish looking toad today. Saw them chasing each other around didnt get to it in time to check. Now Im worried it might have been a Cane toad. Any harm to the chicken? Or eggs?

 

[delisha]

Quote: Chickens eat all kinds of things you don't see. Sometimes its better that you don't see it.