Michigan

[chicken grandma]

just read in BACKYARD POULTRY, TEFLON COATED LIGHT BULBS ARE TOXIC TO CHICKENS

Yes, I guess they safety coat them to make them shatterproof.
I assume the ones from the feed store or pet store for animals are safe.

I heard of our local zoo using bulbs from the hardware store in a bird aviary and all the birds died from the fumes of the teflon coating on the light bulbs. So you would not want to put a teflon coated light bulb into a coop!

Like I said - I try to get bulbs from the feed store or pet store.

 

[Amy PT]

It seems like there's been a lot of animal loss here in the last month. I'm new to the game. Is this rate of loss kind of constant, or is it unusual? I'm sorry for those who unexpectedly have illness or attack in their flock.

 

[normanack]

re: betta fish.

Sorry, I can't find the original post to refer to. Bettas can live out of water for longer than one would expect. It has something to do with the way they process oxygen, and is why they can survive in such small amounts of water. If I had more energy I'd google it for the technicalities.

My son's Betta did the same thing. He was dry and covered with carpet fuzz when I scooped him up to flush him. When he twitched, I about freaked. I dumped him back in the tank where he took a day or two to look like his old self.

 

[NovaAman]

Sweet! Thanks for finding that snowflake. That's like the Albon,they are using it in other countries to treat serious respiratory illnesses and are having great success.

Those geese look so content!

I got Mr. F to eat. He ate 2 yolks, yogurt, and some chicken noodle soup, rinsed off the salty broth. He is a bit grouchy. I poultry drenched him also.

I use either a red or black light. No Teflon. Don't like the idea of causing my birds lungs to hemorrhage..

 

[chicken grandma]

It seems like there's been a lot of animal loss here in the last month. I'm new to the game. Is this rate of loss kind of constant, or is it unusual? I'm sorry for those who unexpectedly have illness or attack in their flock.

Amy, I had chickens in Hawaii and because of the remote location there were few predators and few diseases. My chickens easily lived to be five years old and I thought that was normal everywhere.

But since I got to Michigan, I have lost all the hens I brought with me to disease and one to a hawk. Since Michigan is in the migration path of wild birds and since people trade eggs and chicks and chickens freely here, there doesn't seem to be any way to control infectious disease. That is why the big egg farms in Michigan who produce millions of eggs for sale every year, keep their chickens in large enclosed buildings so that their chickens don't come into contact with our environment. Our vet has to shower and put on some of their overalls and clean boots which the egg farm provides to even go into that facility.

If you have chicks that you got all at once from one place, and you don't wear your feed store shoes into your coop, and you keep the wild birds and rats/mice out of your chickens feed, and predators at bay, hopefully you will do o.k. But the attitude I have found prevalent here is that chicks are cheap, so you just hatch them, trade them, sell them, cull them, enjoy them while you have them.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

It seems like there's been a lot of animal loss here in the last month. I'm new to the game. Is this rate of loss kind of constant, or is it unusual? I'm sorry for those who unexpectedly have illness or attack in their flock.

Usually there is a bit to heat stroke, and a bit to predators, and a bit to fall sicknesses, but the predator issue is out of control this year due to the extreme weather, and the sustained extreme heat was worse than i remember it ever being. That is throwing even experienced chicken keepers for a loop, because night time strikers are coming during mid-day, and this year their sheer numbers of them are boggling.......

But yes, there is always a loss somewhere for some reason.......... All you can do is your best. I keep a notebook with all the info i learned, and quick references for where to buy the meds online if i ever need them. I also like to read the emergency forum sometimes, just to learn from what others are going through. It's sad, but soooo invaluable when it's your turn.

 

[Mom 2em All]

you just hatch them, trade them, sell them, cull them, enjoy them while you have them.

I dont think we are all nonchalant' about it- we do our best to provide great homes, foraging areas, and instead of treating them like battery hens locked in tiny cages- we try to give them some freedom and enjoyment. The trade-off for that is some losses.

Randy- what time are we meeting up at your place?

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I dont think we are all nonchalant' about it- we do our best to provide great homes, foraging areas, and instead of treating them like battery hens locked in tiny cages- we try to give them some freedom and enjoyment. The trade-off for that is some losses.

x 2

 

[1muttsfan]

Praziquantel has a 14 day withholding period.

 

[chicken grandma]

Praziquantel has a 14 day withholding period.

I think Ivermectin does also but in practicality the vet at M.S.U. said, he would eat those eggs. Do you think it is important to discard eggs when using Praziquantel?