California - Northern

[zooweemama]

You all have such cute chick pics. I had a hen hatch out one chick and she hides it every time I try to get a shot of it.

I find it much easier to raise other livestock, than poultry. My American Guinea Hog sow has some of the best fertility and largest litters on record for the breed. And one of my St. Croix ewes gave birth to triplets, 2 weeks ago, and has raised them completely on her own.

So, I don't have chick pics to share but here are my pigs & lambs...hope you all don't mind.




Kim

Ahhhhhhhhhhh I love other farm animals! I'd love to have all kinds (but since we wouldn't have a purpose for them that could pay for itself we couldn't justify the cost) so I live through others that have goats and sheep and pigs and donkeys and horses. I hope you share more often!

 

[zooweemama]

I am the worst when it comes to keeping my webpage current. I never even finished it and it's been years since I started it. Now some of my pages aren't showing up and I have no idea why. I do my own website for fun, but it literally takes me all day to make upgrades or changes. I'm not a geek at all and struggle with it, trying to figure out how to do what I want on there and make it look right. I don't like templates but don't know enough HTML so I use the NVU WYSIWYG. Recently, a friend told me that all websites have to change over to CSS, which are wayyy too complicated. I can't pay to have someone do it for me and I actually like doing it myself when I have the time.
I made a Facebook page and do keep it current since it's so much easier.

Kim

The easiest way to set up shop honestly is to use a blog. You can make listings, add Buy buttons right inside the post. My photography shop where I sell digital downloads is like that. I am code-tarded. So if you want any recommendations or want to ask any questions- please feel free! I use a template in my blog that allows me to do what I like and I do not need to know a lick of code.
www.amymcmaster.com/shop if you look at this- it's just a blog but it's almost my store!

 

[mendocinosunris]

It's really your decision whether or not to cull the rest. If you want to get rid of it completely and not have to deal with it, that's the way to go. I have read here on BYC that you should cull the entire flock if you have mycoplasma. I don't agree.
A couple years ago, I had respiratory symptoms show up in my birds. I took 2 live birds to UCD for testing. Results were inconclusive but mycoplasma was suspected. (BTW, Walt recommended the Turlock lab, rather than Davis.) I then took 2 more birds to an avian vet in Roseville. She couldn't find what was wrong, either, said that she depends on the lab testing to determine what was wrong. They did not have worms. She said that in my case, since I have birds that are hard to replace, she did not recommend culling. She said any free ranging flock is going to get exposed to mycoplasma, and most are, so it is unavoidable unless you lock them up. She said that free ranging birds with access to sunshine & green grass are actually healthier in the long run, so it is worth the risk.
It does get spread through the egg, but if you cull birds with symptoms as part of a long range breeding plan, you develop resistance in your flock. So that's what I plan to do.
JMO.

I wish you the best,
Kim

Thanks for the help, Kim - the Davis vet suggested I take a couple of live birds in. He said they can do more extensive testing that way. I think I'll do that.

Regarding the respiratory stuff, I too wonder how you can keep your chickens from getting these things if you let them out. Even in town we have birds and vermin around the chickens and even in the coop if the door is open. I would rather let them enjoy being chickens instead of locking them up like a factory bird. Just my own opinion.

A couple of months ago I heard one of my Hens sneeze. She should be soup? Seriously though, I hope I never have to make decisions like this.

Ron

Yeah, I agree. And I let my birds free range all the time. we've got a lot of wild turkeys that hang out nearby, so i know they're exposed to whatever the turkeys have.

I'm probably being totally paranoid, but here's my main concern. I'd like to start showing birds & selling hatching eggs and I would feel terrible if someone else's flock got sick from one of my birds. Would you want my Mycoplasma-infected bird next to yours in a show? How to people with show birds handle this sort of thing?
Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Hmmm. Possibly...

 

[mendocinosunris]

The easiest way to set up shop honestly is to use a blog. You can make listings, add Buy buttons right inside the post. My photography shop where I sell digital downloads is like that. I am code-tarded. So if you want any recommendations or want to ask any questions- please feel free! I use a template in my blog that allows me to do what I like and I do not need to know a lick of code.
www.amymcmaster.com/shop if you look at this- it's just a blog but it's almost my store!

Bahahaha!! Code-tarded - I love it! I will now officially start calling myself a code-tard.

 

[mendocinosunris]

You all have such cute chick pics. I had a hen hatch out one chick and she hides it every time I try to get a shot of it.

I find it much easier to raise other livestock, than poultry. My American Guinea Hog sow has some of the best fertility and largest litters on record for the breed. And one of my St. Croix ewes gave birth to triplets, 2 weeks ago, and has raised them completely on her own.

So, I don't have chick pics to share but here are my pigs & lambs...hope you all don't mind.




Kim

Super cute!!! I wish I had a little more room for more critters...

 

[ronott1]

Quote:

Quote: A blog is a great way to do this. Look for one that uses WordPress. Those use a web based editing system too.

Ron

 

[zooweemama]

Bahahaha!! Code-tarded - I love it! I will now officially start calling myself a code-tard.

I use a template that is really like what Windows was for MSDOS....we see Windows but what is really there is numbers and letters and code etc. So the template doesn't have a look but it allows you to use Wordpress to add images, adds, digital decorative elements without having to know any code. I hope this makes sense.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Those guys are adorable! How big do the piglets get when they're older?

You all have such cute chick pics. I had a hen hatch out one chick and she hides it every time I try to get a shot of it.

I find it much easier to raise other livestock, than poultry. My American Guinea Hog sow has some of the best fertility and largest litters on record for the breed. And one of my St. Croix ewes gave birth to triplets, 2 weeks ago, and has raised them completely on her own.

So, I don't have chick pics to share but here are my pigs & lambs...hope you all don't mind.




Kim

 

[chiqita]

Sad day. ( and DH bday too) A hawk got Sachi, one of my up and coming Silkie boys. I think he just couldn't see where to run. We have lots of trees and bushes and they usually just go under those if the hawks pop up ( or under the porch) but he was trying to hide under a tiny tree and didn't make it. The CD's keep the hawks out of the run around the house, but they don't work for the whole yard. I think the next step is to hand a few fro the trees.

I am thinking I may have to keep the silkies in the part of the yard that is completly covered. The fluffier the poof, the harder for them to see where to hide. Sachi was a lap chicken too, he used to like to sit on your feet when you walked around. Named after my niece.

And zoo, you may have to give your chickens light to get them to start laying in November. My girls were supposed to start end of October last year, and after it looked like nothing was going to happen, we put christmas lights in the coop. We got eggs right afterwards just in time for my birthday!

 

[tankgirl]

Hi all, I'm in the East Bay (Livermore) and new to BYC and chickens. I'm so excited to see so many people here!