Arizona Chickens

[AZKat]

Chickchalet: we went through a similar situation in Mesa recently. What worked for us was calling the mayor and city council, and getting *everyone* to do so. I'll try to make a call myself this afternoon or tomorrow. As far as strategy goes, I'd try to emphasize the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' angle, as well as pointing out that ten chickens is enough for a laying flock, but that you need to have more if you're going to be able to rotate in new pullets. I'd also toss around words like 'eating local' and 'sustainability' and point out that nationally, the trend is to loosen restrictions on urban chicken keeping. Tempe, for example just decided to allow more chickens. Good Luck!

 

[lulu2]

So very sorry for everyone losses this weekend.

I hatched my BLRW this weekend. I had 12 at my house in a LG, only four hatched:/ It is very frustrating, when I candled them before lockdown, all looked good.
My friend is hatching my welsummers, EE, and another 8 BLRW. I am going to pick them up tonight, I don't even know what hatched yet.

The chickens that I help with (my cousin's) have avain pox. They lost a rooster Friday and the dogs got to a BL on Sunday. One of the SLBW, Alice, has the pox so bad, she has been blinded. So sad.

I watched a few youtube video with my husband last night on production chickens and foie gras ducks, I am shocked and outraged!!! How can people think that those practices are ok??? I'm so upset and more motivated to raise my own lifestock. At least I feel like a can give them a good life and a humane exit.

Anyway.........on to a more uplifting subject....

Congrats on the ducks! I love ducks!

Have a great day! May a cool breeze blow your way!

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Laree - So sorry.

Hoping you are Marek free.

Mohonri - It is hard to say good-by...and hard to see people moved from their homes.

pastrymama - I was worried about you. Glad you got some help and things are looking up.

chickchalet - The Mesa city council backtracked quickly after all the emails and calls. I found out late and by the time I got my email in, they were emailing back saying they dropped and please let folks know. I assumed they were very tired of upset chicken owners. Do you have contact info for your council? I can send an email - even though I am in Mesa.

Ducks! Yippee. Happy news! My dad thinks I should have ducks. Some day I may read up on how to care for them. Right now I have my hands full with chickens.

Fowl Pox. My hens have it, so I assume the babies will get it too. I only have the dry kind. I put iodine on their combs and they are doing ok. My main reason for putting the iodine on was to slow the spread. I was told the warts from the pox have lots of virus in them. ( I am sure that is bad grammer...not sure how to fix it without thinking hard right now).

Mareks - Monhonri - I was hoping Marek's was rare around here and that I could put in the low risk category. Everyone - how many of you vaccinate? Do you recommed I get serious about looking into this? My babies are 2 and 5 weeks old. I bought the adults from Mesa Feed barn when they were chicks. I assume they were NOT vaccinated. I understand they are past the age of concern anyway. I have lots of wild birds around in my open air yard.

xtremechickens - very nice.

Happy Wednesday Zonies! I am glad to have you for friends & chicken buddies!

Holly

 

[LarryPQ]

Cheerful--I am now vaccinating everything that comes my way---chicks, older birds,etc.

Unfortunately, that still leaves me with the laying flock vulnerable. I know the older-older ones are out of danger (of dying) ---but all of my in-betweeners (ie: MOST of my Aloha pullets) are still on the cusp. Sassafrass is 7-8 months old & I CONSTANTLY worry she and her sisters will just keel over.

So, none of my older birds will be leaving unless it is to the soup pot. The younger vaccinated chicks & eggs are A-OK, but I still worry. I read Mareks can live in the soil for up to 65 weeks--so even after my current flock has been cycled out, I have 2 years before I can relax. Not that I will ever stop vaccinating now---I wish I had known when I started.

FYI everyone--I have NOT had any confirmed cases of Marek's---but I am a worrier. If my blue orp hadn't already been--um--already pretty far along with decomposition, I would have sent her out for a necropsy. Any other sudden croakers will be sent out for necropsy.

 

[LarryPQ]

PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I MIS-SPEAK. I am still absorbing this info & things do get jumbled.
Where are our experts when you need them?

Here are the questions if you are willing:
1) Where would you suggest I get the vaccine?

http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/products.asp?CID=2&area=poultry&dept_id=473

The vaccine is cheap, the needles are cheap, but the stinkin' shipping will get you. You can "split" the vaccine into seperate vials so you don't waste it all. Once the vaccine is mixed, it is only good for 30 minutes or so. Splitting the vaccine (especially for those of us with small hatches) is much more economical. Sommer and I have been timing our hatches so we can meet, have a chick-pokin' party, and be on our merry way. It saves money, time, & worry

Also--the Stockman's on 67th and Buckeye said they would special order it for us, if we were to ask. This might save us on shipping.

2) When can I vaccinate? Is it too late from my 2 week and 5 week olds?
It couldn't hurt. Poking day-olds is hard. They don't have a lot of extra skin. If the younger chicks have been *mostly* quarantined from the rest of the flock, you should still be good. Basically, any unvaccinated bird is at risk---if only to become a carrier. So vaccinating older birds at least gives their immune system a CHANCE to develop an immunity to the virus. It is a bit of a race: which will win--the vaccine or the virus?

After vaccination, it is IMPERATIVE you quarantine the bird for 2 weeks. Otherwise you set the aforementioned "race" in motion.

3) You don't have to find a vein or anything do you?

Nope. The vaccine is sub-cutaneous. That is: you poke under the skin.

4) My adult hens are 18 weeks old. Do they need vaccinated?

This is where my understanding of the "age immunity" gets fuzzy. The "prime time" for Marek's to pop up is between 16-24 weeks. This is the age group where you will start seeing deaths. Your birds are still at risk. If they have not been exposed to Marek's, vaccinating them now will not hurt them, and will probably protect them. Thi If they HAVE been exposed, the vaccine won't hurt, but it will not help either.

5) Where do you get necropsy done and how much does it cost?

I am still looking for a few places. The U of A will do it for $200, plus the cost of overhight shipping or driving down to hand-deliver the bird. I BELEIVE there is a place downtown, associated with the Arizona Dept of Agriculture...but have not had any solid leads yet. I am still looking. The Emergency/Diseases forum stickies list a few contacts as well--but I do not have any experience with them.

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Laree,

Thank you for posting answers on Marek's. Do you use one needle for all the birds?

Also, just to clarify, this link is to the actual vaccine...right:
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc...7X9M2C6XEGBKMV09VX8H05&pf_id=16782&cmkw=marek

In your research, have you come across how long after exposure you start to see mortality?

 

[azmotogirl]

Hey Arizona folks..... we are fairly new to this "chicken thing" and I was wondering if you do anything special to keep your flock cool with the upcoming 110 degree days in the forecast..... we have made sure they have plenty of shade and water available but is there anything else we should be doing (or getting ready) to keep them cooler?

Any help/info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Mahonri]

I don't even want to see my electric bill the next few months. I have a wall AC unit in my coop...

I shut the windows, put a cloth over the pop door and they stop panting after about a half an hour.

 

[azmotogirl]

Well, I wish that was an option for us but it is not...... I was wondering if anyone uses those personal "misters" you see around this time of year..... I was thinking of putting one in the corner of the run to create a cooler spot for them. Has anyone used one of them and how did it work out for you?

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Quote:
The first "run" that I built is 4 feet wide by 8 feet long by 2 feet tall. It is low to the ground and covered with chicken wire. I put buralp cloth over the top of it and on some of the sided. about 2 feet above it, I have a canopy to provide extra shade. I used aluminet (silver cloth). When it is 115 plus (maybe even 105 plus) I put a mister on top of the burlap beneath the shade and let it run. It gets the burlap wet. The chickens hang out inside the run and have their own personal swamp cooler. Sometimes the jump up on the burlap, but usually not. Mine don't really like the mister right on them. My small run has wheels so I move it around ... usually along the west wall so it has afternoon shade. Others have water for the chickens to stand in...mine never caught on to that or frozen 2L bottles of water for them to sit by...mine never got that idea either. Many give frozen berries or peas for treats or cold water melon. This year, now that I have 5 gallon waters (like Becky and Crystal), I might put frozen 2L bottle in them to keep edge off the heat. The other thing I do is take their food away so they can only eat early in the morning and late in the evening. Well, I did that partly to keep it away from wild birds, but I also wanted to control when they ate so they weren't eating and getting hotter midday. I also open my coup up more so it has more breezes. (Mine can close up completely except for the hardware wire floor.) I make sure it has lots of circulation.

My chickens love their swamp cooler.

Holly

ETA I have seen some folks that put sprinklers on timers to go off ever couple of hours. They report the chickens like that.