Recent content by Engteacher

Duane Urch from Urch Turnlund Poultry in Owatonna MN has them on his list of breeds. Just so you know, he is an old man and has been a breeder since 1957. No website. Best contacted by phone. Info and number easy to find with a quick Google search. He has lovely birds and breeds to standard.

I would say it's normal for any new bird who has been taken out of her old environment. You don't mention if you have a flock of your own or if this bird will be integrating into your own flock. If so, and it might be too late already, you should isolate her for several weeks to avoid...

The taping didn't improve the toe issue. I kept the pullets as layers but didn't use them in my breeding stock. The cockerels were delicious.

I would isolate the chick for 12 hours or so and give her access to nothing but water. If the crop goes down in size or feels less tight, she's passing the food through just fine and it's not impacted. It's a good way to check before you start trying to treat.

Okay. I sent off two emails to my county folks raising the issue and asking for contact people at the state level. The rules for State Fair Open Class Poultry are different than the 4H rules for competition. My son knows a few old time breeders who are very involved in breeding at the national...

We are in Washington County, but thank you for tracking that down. My guess would be any change in hatch date would need to come though the state 4H. I looked at the State Fair entry requirements and they have the exact rules as Washington County's premium book. It won't take much to find out...

You have a good point. My other option would be to work to change that hatch date rule for turkeys so it's the same as breeding pigeons. I imagine any change would take years to implement, but I'll check in to the rules for other states. I know there is some variation from state to state...

Here's what it says in the premium book: Requirements: - Poultry exhibited must be of this year's hatch (except breeding pigeons). - All birds except waterfowl and pigeons must have a health certificate. - A numbered leg band must also identify all birds. - All birds exhibited in breeding...

We're back from the fair where our BBB took third place. The only turkeys at the fair were market pens of BBB and BBW. Sadly, there were no breeding pens entered for turkeys. We've been trying to come up with a plan for next year so we can bring a breeding trio, but we need some help. The...

Mexican H7N3 poultry outbreaks trigger animal health emergency Mexico's government declared a national animal health emergency yesterday, designed to trigger more intensified efforts to contain a highly pathogenic H7N3 outbreak that has infected almost 1.7 million poultry, according to Agence...

Just curious if anyone knows the answe to this question. Our son will be bringing turkeys to the county fair for 4H for the first time. I know that for meat chickens the birds should be about 8 weeks so that they aren't too big. What's the rule of thumb for turkeys? Do you take your best matched...

Hi, everyone! We will be showing a breeding trio of our Welsummers in July, but I'm concerned about feathers bleaching in the sun and damage to back feathers on the hens. I'm planning on separating the fair birds in order to protect their good looks which would mean caging them inside the...

I was wondering how your poult is doing today. Any change?

Sorry, but I would cull. He looks like he is really suffering and will probably lose vision in that eye.

Thanks for responding. Is this information about chicks or poults? Since this is my first batch of baby turkeys, I'm wondering if the timing is much different. These are hybrids and not heritage, so I wonder if they feather faster since they put on so much weight faster.