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We've had ours confined to runs as well for the last week, because we had a sudden, as-yet unexplained disappearance/die off of every cottontail on the property. We had anywhere from 10-15 easily visible at any given moment one day, 1 the next, and now that 1 has died as well, found the body in the barn yesterday and didn't see the live bunny anywhere. We've looked everywhere we can think of for something that's leaked or spilled that could have poisoned them, because that's what it looks like, and haven't been able to find anything here, so we're not sure what's going on. We don't want to risk chickens finding whatever it is. We are adjacent to state owned land a local rancher leases for cattle grazing, and consider possibly he put out poison for prairie dogs/gophers that the rabbits found, but so far that's pure speculation.
 
More specific to chickens, I got some chicks from McMurray a couple of weeks ago, still have 15 white leghorns that are already almost off heat, I am amazed at how fast they grow! Those I have listed on Craigslist, I intend only to keep 1 or 2. I also got a few each Red and Brown leghorns, Speckled Sussex, and Cochins that were supposed to be white but they're blue. Speckled Sussex and Brown Leghorns are virtually impossible to tell apart as youngsters, I want to keep one of each, and I *think* I have 2 SS left, will see as they feather out. The Red Leghorns I still have 3, they are not quite as stout as the Whites and Browns, again only planned on keeping 1 (just looking to build a female-only layer flock separate from the others I keep for breeding) but I don't dare sell any until I feel quite sure they will remain healthy and alive - 1 is absolutely fine, but 2 have been slower to grow, and I found I had to give soaked feed to keep them eating enough, so now they're catching up. The Whites are literally twice the size of the Reds at this stage. The Cochins, I want to keep just a couple to add into my Black flocks to start a Blue/Splash line, so I'll wind up selling the other 3. They are doing great, they're just always slower to grow than Leghorns. I'll try to snap some pictures later today and share.
 
There is also some disease hitting the cottontails that will wipe out the population like that. My first search turned up this...

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2 (RHDV-2) has been detected in wild rabbits in Larimer, La Plata, Mesa, Elbert, Adams, Alamosa, Prowers, El Paso, Custer and Pueblo Counties. ... Please report any sick or dead wild rabbits, hares, or pika to your local CPW office. Nov 10, 2020
 
Mtn Margie said:
There is also some disease hitting the cottontails that will wipe out the population like that. My first search turned up this...

Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2 (RHDV-2) has been detected in wild rabbits in Larimer, La Plata, Mesa, Elbert, Adams, Alamosa, Prowers, El Paso, Custer and Pueblo Counties. ... Please report any sick or dead wild rabbits, hares, or pika to your local CPW office. Nov 10, 2020
Click to expand...
Yikes, thanks. We'll look into that at once.
 
GingerAndHerChicks said:
Hey everyone!!! I found the Colorado forum - wooo hooo! Just got into chickens, thought really hard about it for a year and now I don't know why I didn't get them sooner. Anyone know were I can get some cute silkies?
Click to expand...


What part of Colorado are you in?
I don't know about Silkies or the quality but Northern Colorado Feeders Supply would maybe be an option.....for hatchery silkies. They do special orders with no upcharge for shipping.
 

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