Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[colburg]

Colburg, there are many breeds that would be fine for you.

1. Salmon Faverolles would do well for you as would our Anconas or Dorkings.
2. Our Dorkings are rather steady "DP-quality" layers.
3. Bob's idea of getting stock from someone near-ish you is a nice idea. It adds to the camaraderie.
4. If you don't have an SOP (http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/store.htm) get one, and don't get a breed that is not in it. "Heritage" is synonymous for standard-bred. If it's not in the Standard; it's not "heritage".
5. Get the breed you like, but don't get the most obscure variety of that breed. Most breeds have one, two, or three varieties which really carry the breed. Unless you run into an exception, e.g. Yard-full-of-rock's Columbian Rocks, many, if not most, obscure varieties are of poor quality--and may always have been such that trying to bring them to the fore is very hard work, quite expensive, and, for a beginner not sure yet of the how's and what's, can be very discouraging. If you're going to go for it, we'd like to encourage you to be in it for the long-haul, and that often, if not usually, begins with not choosing a breed that's too hard. If you have a particular color you like, find that color in a breed for which that color is a principal variety. It's nice to look out at quality.
6. Subscribe to the Poultry Press (http://www.poultrypress.com/).
7. Join the American Poultry Association (http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/join.htm). The APA yearbook just came out, and it is an excellent resource for you. It will have listed all of the members in your state/region, and you'll get some good contacts!

Bona fortuna! Best of luck!

SOP: check
non-difficult color: hopefully the guidance of this thread will keep this in check
Poultry Press: check
APA: not sure yet.

When we talk chicken, we open up the SOP to look and read. Basically, since we have so little chicken experience, if it's not in the SOP, it doesn't exist(to us)

How many Dorkings would you keep to lay about 12-15 dz eggs/week?

Thanks YHF,

 

[T Eugene]

I have another chicken beginning the same blister in the same place toward the back of the eye just above it. Even the same side eye. It doesn't seem to be at the eye and doesn't seem to interfere with vision but in the next layer that circles the eyes. We have wild birds and some mosquitos so maybe this is fowlpox. I'm sending a picture of the pullet. I'm trying not to picture me at the vet's with ten chickens for shots. Now that's too funny! Maybe could do that myself.
Do I just let it run it's course?


Need help what do you think this is:???bob

I want to thank each one of you for your opinions and information on this issue. I had no idea this was a possibility with chickens but who would read the disease threads if you didn't have too? Even defining the issue is a challenge when you're a new beginner. This seemed to begin as a flap of skin sticking out close to the eye. After a few days it looks like it fills with blood, swelling in size. In the second chicken it is only a small piece of skin sticking out a little....at this point. It's only been a couple days. I also have a ckl with about five black spots all on the left side of his comb but no skin damage at the eyes. I'm thinking fowl pox. I need to learn more and quickly if I'm going to vacinate the other seven. We had lot's of mosquitos a month ago but now with 100 degree days (Dallas, Tx) everything is dry and some evenings I don't see any mosquitos. Their run is under shade and I keep a one inch deep wading pool for them but I dump and refill every day so no mosquito breeding there.
OK, the new beginner story. I was just out with them to catch one or two for pictures. There must be something wrong with my catching technique (failed, too many trees and bushes) but I spent some time in close observation as I had them cornered pretty good (last chance to laugh !) so at least my descriptions are accurate and that's good enough for now. Again, thanks for helping.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Vaccinating for Fowl Pox is super easy. Up in PA I had to do it with each hatch. Down here in OK, I haven't had a single issue. I wonder if there's just something about more birds in that area carrying it? Mine were inside of an enclosed barn and never allowed outside. One day of above 40* weather and BAM. Got it. I hadn't been near any other poultry in that time either. Interesting. As soon as I vaccinated, I noticed my birds gently coughing and a week later they were over it. Any that did not "take" died within 2 weeks. When it went to the wet form, any that I did not force feed died.

You can get it from Cutler Supply, Twin City Poultry. I got the stuff for "young" birds. They will send you a vial and a poker. Mix the two together, keep from falling over and BURN it after you are done. It treats about 1000 birds. It will NOT keep so use while you can. It's good for maybe a few hours. I try to keep it for an hour. After that point, I usually get a lot of non-takers. This is a live vaccine so the birds will get a mild reaction. After that reaction, I have never had a resurgence but I did revaccinate ALL of the birds just in case a few did not take the first time. I usually revaccinated after the next hatch was ready to go into the "adult" barn.

 

[galanie]

About half my flock has had fowl pox at one time or another but it never caused any problems. It has always just been on their combs and I never vaccinated, just let them that get it get over it. You folks got me to thinking though, that since I'll be moving some 300 miles away next week maybe I should vaccinate from here on out. Not the ones that have had it of course, but any juvies, etc.

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: What kind of ground will the chickens be on? dry, damp ;( texture: light, heavier, clay, sandy) ; sun, mottled sun, shade; exposed to directional wind and/or rain?
I found this to be an important consideration and read in the old books, the experts even had lists of breeds which do well in certain soil combinations. Not sure if those lists still hold true today with our better building concepts, but thought it real interesting.
At this point, after a several years, I do know that, yarding my birds at 10 sq. ft. min., I would rather have a clean shanked bird than one with feathers on their feet. Interestingly, the English bred their Marans without feathered shanks/feet because they yard their birds and the birds tend to muss and break those feathers in that situation. The French, on the other hand, bred their Marans with feathered shanks,feet, because they pasture their birds. With brings up a side-point. I have been reading some posts by the current US experts and they opine through experience that running one's birds in the wet, dewy grass will cause them to develop stubs on their shanks. Not a good thing for the hens.
Best,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

So no one raises organic chickens anymore that just live a natural life without vaccinations? This is vaccinating a normal thing? How does using this Fowl Pox vac affect ones sales and eating the bird's eggs? Will people still buy birds and eggs from a vac flock? Or will they fear their flocks being exposed to shedding virus? Does it hurt humans to eat eggs and birds from vaccinated flocks? Once one has Fowl Pox on their property, is the property forever tainted like tat other dreaded poultry disease?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[ronott1]

So no one raises organic chickens anymore that just live a natural life without vaccinations? This is vaccinating a normal thing? How does using this Fowl Pox vac affect ones sales and eating the bird's eggs? Will people still buy birds and eggs from a vac flock? Or will they fear their flocks being exposed to shedding virus? Does it hurt humans to eat eggs and birds from vaccinated flocks? Once one has Fowl Pox on their property, is the property forever tainted like tat other dreaded poultry disease?
Thanks,
Karen

There is no shedding of virus from the Fowl Pox vaccine. I have read some studies that show Mareks does not shed a virus either. Mareks is everywhere and chick are exposed to it as soon as they hatch. The recommended method for inoculating for it is to inject the vaccine into the egg prior to hatching.

I do not raise mine Organic but am feeding them GMO Free, non soy, non corn feed. I have never vaccinated for anything but have used wormers and Corid for Coccidiosis.

People still want Free Range and etc. The eggs I sell are in great demand. I only process for myself so it is not a big problem there.

 

[catdaddyfro]

I thought same thing..they like to gather around birds eyes ...but not really sure if that is leision or tick...ticks like that area the bird wont scratch so hard around thier eye...

if there is ever a tick...the nurses at the hospital remove all ticks with a cotton ball and liquid dish soap..they soak the cotton ball , well its good and damp..they brush it gently back and forth and make circular motion and the tick cant stand it and they back out.by brushing the soap around the tick it soaks down into the head..the tick then sticks to the cotton ball...dont know why but it works every time..pretty sure they use dawn..not sure how that might feel around an eye thou..

the soap stifles them to death is why LOL they can't breathe esp. when they have their mouth buried up in the skin the dish soap works for washing dogs too the fleas die by the multitudes in seconds. Dawn works well. one can also dob ticks with isopropyl(alcohol) or even straight bleach on a q-tip too, just makes for a little discomfort which soon will pass, sooner than the pain and suffering of the tick bite.

Jeff

 

[Pathfinders]

Marek's is indeed everywhere: the feed store, the hardware store, heck, likely even at Wally World. If you have chickens, you are going to run up against Marek's, it's just a fact of life. You can vaccinate for it, or breed for resistance, but be aware some breeds are better at resistance than others.

When I bred Dutch bantams I vaccinated every single one, as they were very susceptible to it. With my Buckeyes, I am breeding for resistance, as they are nowhere near as susceptible.

And fwiw, I have never heard of vaccinating eggs for Marek's, I always do chicks. I even have a step by step tutorial on my website on how to do it, which you can see here: http://pathfindersfarm.com/Vaccinate.html

And my two cents on Fowl Pox is, if you're seeing it, you should vaccinate, because the wet form can be very hard on a flock. And I am the biggest crunchy-granola all-natural person you can imagine. But I wouldn't be willing to lose significant numbers of birds if I started seeing Fowl Pox.

 

[ronott1]

Marek's is indeed everywhere: the feed store, the hardware store, heck, likely even at Wally World. If you have chickens, you are going to run up against Marek's, it's just a fact of life. You can vaccinate for it, or breed for resistance, but be aware some breeds are better at resistance than others.

When I bred Dutch bantams I vaccinated every single one, as they were very susceptible to it. With my Buckeyes, I am breeding for resistance, as they are nowhere near as susceptible.

And fwiw, I have never heard of vaccinating eggs for Marek's, I always do chicks. I even have a step by step tutorial on my website on how to do it, which you can see here: http://pathfindersfarm.com/Vaccinate.html

And my two cents on Fowl Pox is, if you're seeing it, you should vaccinate, because the wet form can be very hard on a flock. And I am the biggest crunchy-granola all-natural person you can imagine. But I wouldn't be willing to lose significant numbers of birds if I started seeing Fowl Pox.

Hatcheries have been inoculating the eggs for Mareks for quite a while.

I agree about the Fowl Pox Vaccine and where your flock is located seems to make a difference. Woodland California does not seem to have a problem with it but Roseville California, which is about 20 miles across the Sacramento River from Woodland has Fowl Pox problems.

I will vaccinate if I see Fowl Pox in my Flock.