ALABAMA!!

[Tomtommom]

Oh, for future reference, if a chicken has a "penguin walk", something is going on in the nether regions. Egg bound or excess internal fat... It's kind of that "Omg I didn't make it to the bathroom in time" walk.

 

[groleau6]

We watched a youtube video of an egg bound hen and it was a ringer for Teeny's behavior yesterday. Now I know the signs and someone in the egg layer forum told me something that works for her most times if it happens, so between knowing the walk and trying her advice I should be able to fix it if it happens again.

 

[Tomtommom]

Lesson learned.

I know I had to learn mine, and still do

 

[ThaSilverShadow]

Has anyone here gotten npip tested? How was the experience, cost, time frame? Did you feel your constitutional rights violated(don't laugh I believe in mine)?

 

[Wisher1000]

I am NPIP certified. It is easy and free. The tester (sometimes one, sometimes two) comes out and takes a drop of blood and a throat swab from a sample of your birds. They only test for Avian Influenza and Pullorum Typhoid. I wish (there I go again) that they tested for more. They do a loose inventory so that the flock can be listed on your paperwork along with your name and address. You get a number and a card. I have no problem with the documentation that was made. If either of these are found in my area, I want to be notified. I asked the tester if any of the tests showed up positive, would my flock be confiscated and destroyed. He laughed and said, if your flock has those diseases, you will want me to take care of the disposal! He went on to explain that in over 20 years of testing, he had never had a confirmed case of either. Sometimes the first test is "not negative" but they will come back and do a more accurate (and more expensive) test and it had always been negative, again, at no cost to the flock owner. I think it is a good idea for all flocks. In addition, NPIP registered flocks can send birds off to any of the three state labs for testing for a cost of $10 and shipping. I have sent three birds off for necropsy.

All you have to do is call and make an appointment to meet the tester when he/she is in your area. It takes an hour for a flock of thirty as long as the birds are confined when they get there and you help catch and hold for the tests. I always lock them in the coop, grab a bird, get it tested, then toss it outside to run around until we are done. That way, we know who was and who wasn't. It also allows me to make sure that any birds I have acquired, that are going to shows, or that have been "off" get tested. This year, for the first time, they placed leg bands on the birds they tested. They also started without me when I was unable to meet them as soon as they could get to my farm. I have/had no problem with that.

 

[bamadude]

A person a few miles away from me has a sign in their yard that says " alabama 4h chikn chain participant". Anybody know what that is?

 

[Wisher1000]

The state will give you ( or maybe its for kids) chicks to raise. When they are grown, they will compete for prizes to see who did best, the birds will be sold, and the person raising the flock can keep the money and some birds.....or something like that.

 

[bamadude]

Thats pretty cool

 

[Orps]

A person a few miles away from me has a sign in their yard that says " alabama 4h chikn chain participant". Anybody know what that is?

One of my friend that work for 4H in Auburn does it very year. They ship in HUGE amount of chicks for kids to raise, show, and sell. However, she said usually the kids get so attached to the chickens that the parents end up buying the chicken back.

 

[biga]

Poor thing.

My son was heartbroken when we killed "his friend". It was a little cockerel that we got on accident when we first got chicks. Mean little thing.... we told him what we were going to do, but when all was said and done he was pretty upset. He wasn't home when we did it, he did get to see and eat the end product.

Now I tell him ahead of time, if it's a boy, it's dinner... don't get too attached. Ofcourse, I break that rule myself (RIP foghorn... he keeled over, never became dinner). I told him we were going to eat meanie and he was totally ok with that. Ofcourse, that hen kept picking on the chicks, hence the name meanie (and probably why she was so fat... always bullying other chickens, not wanting to share the food).

We triple bagged the rooster, he went in the trash. Meanie's head, feet and guts were placed in the bottom of a planting hole for a fig I needed to move. Circle of life and all that jazz.

kids are funny. my kids BEG ME to eat the chickens. they want to watch them get butchered too. i shot a rabbit in the garden once and my oldest (6 at the time) DEMANDED i clean it and we eat it. she wanted to see the heart, lungs, liver, etc as i cleaned it out. i gave her the heart to play with and she thought that was so awesome. i salt cured the pelt and they played with it for weeks until the wife threw it out for leaving hair all over the house