California - Northern

[capayvalleychick]

A lot of importers work with someone in Canada. It is easier to move Poultry from Canada to the US.

The best thing to do is to work with Breeds already here. There are a lot of really nice Breeds that need help.

I know of someone in Canada who went to all the trouble to import birds from Holland. She saved money by having her own quarantine area at home. Not sure how she managed that. After everything, she ended up with birds that still had the same defects that we are struggling with in this breed, here in North America.
I really wanted to import Dorkings from England... VERY BADLY. I did much research on it and decided it wasn't worth it.

 

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote: This has me wondering if I should move my silver EE into the Marans pen. She lays a really nice deep green egg. Would she be a good candidate to throw an OE?

*sigh* -- the bobcat returned, off of its previous mornings-only schedule, this afternoon around 5:30, literally about fifteen minutes after i'd let them out and about two minutes after i'd walked away from the area by the pens -- i've gotten everyone rounded up & in their pens again, but the last young isbar pullet is missing (although i haven't found ANY feathers, so hoping she might still be hiding), and Maggie the basque hen is wedged way underneath the house -- i can see her (and i'm pretty sure she's injured, there's a huge pile of her feathers when the bobcat pounced), but i can't get to her.

so, i get the message: all free-ranging is suspended indefinitely, at least until the bobcat stops patrolling for a good while.

I'm so sorry Laura. My recommendation would be to run a hot wire around your pens. She will move on once she gets shocked a couple of times. It doesn't really hurt them that bad because they usually get it with their whiskers first. Once they know it's not an easy meal, they will move on.

Quote: With dogs vs predators, always have Nature's Remedy for skunks on hand!

 

[ChickNmamma]

Hatching eggs would not survive a quarantine. Plus I think its illegal to bring them in without the same paperwork and I think xrays.

There are reasons for it. Birds Cary some nasty stuff and we don't want things to spread in new environments.

On 2 related notes cocci is also different in new areas. Apparently Herman was having trouble with the stuff around here and that is why he was so skinny. Girls are going to get corid water today. Chicken girl might try it with your new guys from gff to. Once while they are in q and once when they go on your soil was recommend to me.

Also did you know because of foot and mouth and mad cow it is illegal to give kitchen scraps to any animals in england? And they are strict about it to they will fine byc people over it and kill the animals.

Too bad you couldn't put an incubator in quarantine - then they would be chicks by the time they got out!

Ah, I am glad you figured out what was going on with Herman. Good advice to check any chickens coming into your area for resistance to your local variety. I try to expose them to mine as soon as I get them, they get a chunk of sod from where my chickens go. That way I can treat them if they show any signs while they are still in quarantine. I also put one of my birds in with them - if either one gets sick I can deal with it on the small scale -before it gets to big scale!

And wow - I am glad it isn't like that over here.. but I guess they are dealing with a very bad disease over there. I just wonder - if they get upset at feeding it to the chickens - why are people eating this food?

Is it just for raw meat, or ALL foods?

 

[juststruttin]

I do use Omega Ultra egg from Omega Fields--got it from the internet--

The directions say half a cup for 10 birds. I give mine 3/4 of a cup every three days and the eggs taste great!

The Omega brand that TSC sells is not as good. The Hens will not eat it but they eat the one I give them.

I am sure there are alot of people who like the taste of Omega enriched eggs. Personally I do not like the taste. I know Flax Seed is great for the birds. It is supposed to reduce their chances of getting ovarian cancers and other tumors growth and has other health benefits.

I bought a 50# bag of Flax Seed (Main ingredient in Omega Egg) for $40 from Hunt and Behrens. The price probably went up since that was a couple of years ago. I think Omega Egg cost $25 for a 4.5# bag so if for anyone wants to add Omega 3 to the diet you might want to consider buying whole flax seed.

 

[ronott1]

I am sure there are alot of people who like the taste of Omega enriched eggs. Personally I do not. I was just recommending that they try omega enriched eggs before they feed their chickens Omega 3 because once in their diet it takes a couple of weeks to get the taste out of the eggs.

Yes, too much Flax Seed or Fish Meal\Salmon meal will make the eggs taste fishy. The amount I give my layers does not make them taste fishy.

A little bit is all it takes and I would not give Omega boosters to pastured layers since they get plenty of Animal protein. Too much Garlic will make the eggs taste funny too. I will likely not use the Omega booster after this bag is gone though. I do give them a bit of Ultra Kibble so they likely get enough Animal Protein from it.

By the way, I can taste a big difference when I feed them Soy Beans. Yuck!

 

[Ali707]

Speaking of importing..... apparently you shouldn't try to import chicken bones either..... at least not from China.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/chicken-skeletons-port-of-baltimore_n_3762766.html

Oh and whoever had their Land Rover Defender destroyed is probably pretty bummed too!

 

[Ali707]

Well since you two brought up seeds again. Anyone give their birds Chia seeds? I had some extra that I thought about throwing out to them. They are not a good sprouting seed because they get that weird gelatinous goo on the outside sort of like the flax but more so. Very interesting to me when they do that. Had me wondering how those Chia Pets worked. I never did one as a kid but I can't sprout the seed like I would other seeds so now I am all curious how those worked.

That is how I end up with a meal worm farm. Got all curious about them to see if I could do them.....

 

[juststruttin]

Yes, too much Flax Seed or Fish Meal\Salmon meal will make the eggs taste fishy. The amount I give my layers does not make them taste fishy.

A little bit is all it takes and I would not give Omega boosters to pastured layers since they get plenty of Animal protein. Too much Garlic will make the eggs taste funny too. I will likely not use the Omega booster after this bag is gone though. I do give them a bit of Ultra Kibble so they likely get enough Animal Protein from it.

By the way, I can taste a big difference when I feed them Soy Beans. Yuck!

Thanks for the tip on the soy beans!!! You are right... too much of any thing will change the taste of the eggs. The chickens love flax seed so perhaps they did indeed eat too much as they would pick through their food to get it. Maybe I will try again in lower dosages as the health benefits are tremendous.

 

[juststruttin]

Here is a very interesting article about Ovarian Cancer and Flaxseed.

http://news.aces.illinois.edu/news/flaxseed-fed-chickens-shed-light-ovarian-cancer

 

[debs_flock]

Also did you know because of foot and mouth and mad cow it is illegal to give kitchen scraps to any animals in england? And they are strict about it to they will fine byc people over it and kill the animals.

Where did you get this from? My friend in England has never heard of this either.