Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Anniebee]

It was very steamy here last night. I walked into soup when I got home last night.

Isn't that a tad late in the year for Queensland to be so humid ?

Speaking of soup ( which I wouldn't like to walk into

or did I read something wrong there ?? ), I purchased my first for the season, ham hock for green pea soup, today. If there is enough meat left on it, I make a fricasee out of it with heaps of finely cut up steamed vegies and creamed bechamel. The soup stock takes most of the goodness out of the ham hock, but there is enough taste and good left in it, to make a darned fine meal.

Hope your weather improves - - same for us all down south.

Cheers .......

 

[Anniebee]

V
Not at all wierd. The blue colour in chook eggs is in the shell itself, the brown colours are coating, so if the outside of the egg is any shade of blue or green the inside should be sky blue. In America and UK the Aracuana programs did not breed to brown layers when creating thier birds. I am disappointed that Australia chose to, as it means that a pure Aracuana here does not lay pure blue eggs, but rather mostly shades of green.

But, but, but ... I have had many really blue blue outer shell eggs from Mindy ( mixed in with the other outer shell colours mentioned ). Is that unusual, then ?

 

[sjturner79]

But, but, but ... I have had many really [COLOR=0000CD]blue blue[/COLOR] outer shell eggs from Mindy ( mixed in with the other outer shell colours mentioned ).    Is that unusual, then ?     

Not that unusual, she just doesn't have a very consistant productuction of the brown coating, meaning her eggs will vary from no coating( giving pure blue, same colour inside and out) to a thicker dark coating leading to whatever the darkest outer shell colour is.

 

[Anniebee]

MyHaven ....

I feel so sad to have to say again, sorry for your loss. This time your orpington pullet.

I so hope you get on top of all this and very quickly. Interesting comments about nesting box material.

One of the reasons I never use hay - if it becomes mouldy, ( and I would think heavy humidity could do that ) .. .. it is not good for any bird or animal. As Victoria is 'damp' at various times of the year, I keep right away from hay. Stick to pea straw if possible, or other straw like oat etc.

Don't know anything about sugar cane mulch, but if WA has banned it, there must be a reason. Wondering if it is something potentially in the mulch, that is toxic. ?

Whatever the problem, I sure hope it stops - now, for you and your chickens.

........

 

[Anniebee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fancychooklady

Agreed. It's not until you are really sick that you realise how isolated you are. Knowing your legal rights is also very important. After spending 12 months in Hobart hospital they paid for myself and my husband to fly to Melbourne , they then paid for accomodation for 3 months before I was admitted to the Austin centre for a further 6 months.this was all possible because my state health system was unable to provide me with the help that I needed and tassie has an agreement with the organ transplant organisation in Victoria. I was on palliative care at that stage and without my husband none of this would have eventuated.
Having said that , the care that I received at the Royal Hobart hospital was second to none. They just didn't know what to do with me.
It rained all night here , I didn't sleep through worry about the goats and cows down the back. This morning the mountains are covered in snow and the sun is shining . Wouldn't be dead for quids.

AND ....

Originally Posted by MyHaven


An advocate is what saved me too. I started in Dysart hospital. Remaining undiagnosed for a week. Then incorrectly diagnosed and sent to Mackay Mater hospital where the surgens nearly killed me through botched surgeries. The worst part was they "accused" me of have depression and lectured me, when I was turning septic and developing peritonitis. The Flying Dr service took me to the Princess Alexandra in Brisbane and my lovely Dr's Coen and Meed saved me. It seemed they did it with ease when I wasn't expected to survive before their care.

I paid a fortune for the private care but the PA took me as a public patient.

The other thing I learned is to not just think it - say it.

In Dysart they said, "we need to send you to Mackay for emergency surgery, can make you're own way there? You are not sick enough for the chopper" I thought how sick do you have to be, but didn't say it. Luckily a nurse off shift travelling back to Mackay volunteered to drive me. She didn't want to have to put in a nasal gastric tube. I didn't want her too either. HaHa.

I have never seen snow. I really should put that on a bucket list.

_________________________________________________________

I said it before - you have both been in the wars, healthwise, but didn't realise just how bad it all was for both of you - at the times these horrors happened.

Really terrible, but here you both are now, hopefully hale and healthy. Yes Fancy - doctors are human and make mistakes, understandably. Some however, make those mistakes with arrogance and attitude. We are not there to placate them if they have problems, they are there to do a job and do it as well as humanly possible - and with compassion. Have struck two doctors who have acted badly, both with a ' I am a god' complex, one of whom I considered reporting to the AMA for very inappropriate behaviour. I didn't report it - would have fallen on deaf ears at the AMA.

Which is why we need to be so very vigilant, careful and help ourselves, by learning, and understanding as much as possible - and by asking a lot of questions, no matter how trivial they may seem.

So many people are afraid to ask doctors questions - ( not something I understand really ) - and it can be to their detriment to not open their mouths, through fear or awe.

To have sensible, loving support is essential, but that sometimes simply does not or can not happen, for whatever reasons.

So glad to know you both - two very brave ladies.

............

 

[satay]

V
Not at all wierd. The blue colour in chook eggs is in the shell itself, the brown colours are coating, so if the outside of the egg is any shade of blue or green the inside should be sky blue. In America and UK the Aracuana programs did not breed to brown layers when creating thier birds. I am disappointed that Australia chose to, as it means that a pure Aracuana here does not lay pure blue eggs, but rather mostly shades of green.

i have seen two breeders now that have pure blue egg laying aras. Mine only lay mint green but they can be found in Australia.

 

[MyHaven]

MyHaven .... 

I feel so sad to have to say again, sorry for your loss.   This time your orpington pullet.

I so hope you get on top of all this and very quickly.   Interesting comments about nesting box material.  

One of the reasons I never use hay - if it becomes mouldy, ( and I would think heavy humidity could do that ) .. .. it is not good for any bird or animal.   As Victoria is 'damp' at various times of the year, I keep right away from hay.   Stick to pea straw if possible, or other straw like oat etc.    

Don't know anything about sugar cane mulch, but if WA has banned it, there must be a reason.  Wondering if it is something potentially in the mulch, that is toxic. ?   

Whatever the problem, I sure hope it stops - now, for you and your chickens.

........   

Blue green eggs your blue eggs like Sjturner says are the ones without much brown coating. In the last part of the oviduct the hen applies the brown coating. Each time she lays an egg she uses some of the coating. After a while in chocolate egg layers the colour drops off from dark brown to light brown. When they stop laying their reservoir builds up again and the next egg will be dark again. It's a matter of palette really - brown and blue make green.

Bedding my home made hay doesn't go mouldy which is why I like it. I normally use straw when I don't have grass and used it for a long time before a friend talked me into grass. I thought it would be too much work. But it works well. The sugar cane mulch is organic and supposedly safe for chickens and other animals. But I don't like it at all. It is like chaff. Hate it and it wasn't the same as I have had before and what I expected. I couldn't get the straw this time when I ran out of grass .

Regions are anywhere not in the major cities. I'm sorry I should have realised that could mean somewhere different to different people. So I refer to the bush, mining communities, outback and even small cities.

cancer was a lifetime ago it seems now and I am well - although not fit as the multiple surgeries and wasting before getting on PTA (intravenous feed) took their toll. Thanks for your comments.

Cheers

 

[satay]

But, but, but ... I have had many really [COLOR=0000CD]blue blue[/COLOR] outer shell eggs from Mindy ( mixed in with the other outer shell colours mentioned ).    Is that unusual, then ?     

If she is not 100% pure Anni you may just be fortunate to have one that comes from a blue egg layer.

 

[satay]

When I got home the orpington pullet was dead. I hate finding them dead, I feel like they suffered in the end. May not be true but I wasn't there to know or to help her.

 

[Teila]

Council rang me today regarding the fox program. I asked if they had foxes on your side of Sandgate road and they confirmed they do get sightings.

Thank you for asking and thank you for the heads up.

I will catch up with other posts later, when work quietens down but I wanted to share a thought I had with you.

Not pointing the blame .. what biosecurity does the fox dude use, if any? Does he go near the birds or coops?

I was thinking about your predicament and got to thinking that chicken keepers would be up there as one of a fox dude's more frequent customers? What's to say when he has arrived at your place he has not just left another chicken keepers place, bringing nasties with him?

Just food for thought??