Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

Chooks, that would be awesome! I hope we all get more rain soon!

Okay, so I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but I had my birds tested with a State vet for Pullorum/Typhoid. The vet is obvious-- K-State guy. I'm the one in the VERY orange shirt. Looks a lot brighter in pictures... wow. hehe!

They pluck a few feathers on the inside of the wing and then pat the area and look for a good vein. Then they poke it to draw blood. They scoop up the blood and rub it on a sheet of glass and drop in the serum. THEN once that is done, they do a throat swab and stick a long swab down the throat and rub it around a bit and stick it in another solution. Once those come up clean, it's on to the next bird! So it was really fun learning how this was done!

Throat swab (BELOW)

Looking for infection... (below)

All clear! (Below)

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Gosh Its been so long since I have been here. It strikes me odd that so many of you are loosing so many birds. It is just so sad. I guess having a new hen travel 15 miles plus or minus to get back to her flock is a testoment. Never had a disease in 10 years except for the coons and dogs or foxes;gosh I have a hen that is now 10 years old. I am guessing that hatchery stock; with its gaurantees, vacinations and State CITES just live longer! I do hope that this heat spell will break and that your birds will be doing much better soon,
Mike

 

[Hawkeye95]

Gosh Its been so long since I have been here. It strikes me odd that so many of you are loosing so many birds. It is just so sad. I guess having a new hen travel 15 miles plus or minus to get back to her flock is a testoment. Never had a disease in 10 years except for the coons and dogs or foxes;gosh I have a hen that is now 10 years old. I am guessing that hatchery stock; with its gaurantees, vacinations and State CITES just live longer! I do hope that this heat spell will break and that your birds will be doing much better soon,
Mike

Strikes you as odd? Try having horses out in this heat!

One of my mares went down yesterday with heat stroke. Took me a few minutes to get her up and she is a mess and was still out of it last night. It was over 110+ degrees out there-- and that is not including the heat index. Everything is dying left and right outside. The farmer to the left and right has over 80 acres of corn next to me that is dying, and he's likely to lose his butt. My other neighbor down the road is losing cattle. My dad has 300 acres in corn and milo and it's not doing well either. This is simply put, a tough summer. You don't even want to know what I had to pay for my large round bales this year. To top it off, the heat messed with our gas lines on the tractor when we were hauling and started a fire and put us 2 weeks back on moving hay. (all is well now) But this is insane!! Sigh.

 

[chicken danz]

Hawkeye and Checoukan, I can feel the excitement in your posts. I had the head of the 4H over here this afternoon asking me to help with some PT testing and she got me excited about showing some of my newer stock next year. Since I'm trying to concentrate on getting some better quality birds I might actually want to enter some. I wouldn't put any of my older stock in a cage for showing because they are used to free ranging. I think it would stress them.
But some of these newer ones will be raised a little differently. Maybe I'll even repress my crowd phobia and go visit the poultry displays this year to get a feel for it. In reality, I'll probably just continue to raise birds for the 4H kids to show and hope for more winners. Love making the kids happy!
I got my granddaughter to help me and got all the birds in the pen I wanted treated with ivermectin. Yay! So now everything should be wormed.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Hawkeye and Checoukan, I can feel the excitement in your posts. I had the head of the 4H over here this afternoon asking me to help with some PT testing and she got me excited about showing some of my newer stock next year. Since I'm trying to concentrate on getting some better quality birds I might actually want to enter some. I wouldn't put any of my older stock in a cage for showing because they are used to free ranging. I think it would stress them.
But some of these newer ones will be raised a little differently. Maybe I'll even repress my crowd phobia and go visit the poultry displays this year to get a feel for it. In reality, I'll probably just continue to raise birds for the 4H kids to show and hope for more winners. Love making the kids happy!
I got my granddaughter to help me and got all the birds in the pen I wanted treated with ivermectin. Yay! So now everything should be wormed.

Danz, that is fantastic!! It's so exciting, I promise!

If you go to a show, you will LOVE it!! I know the State fair is a long distance off, but maybe you could head out to your local county fair for now and take a look around their poultry barn! I'm also going to be a barn "watcher" or whatever... they have a name for it, but I don't remember what it is. I've signed up for a couple hours to take over a time slot to watch the birds and barn and refill water, keep things clean, etc, etc. Answer questions from visitors... That kind of thing. I think it will be fun. I only signed up for one day this time. But maybe next time, I'll sign up for more days. I have to be there ANYway! We have to show up each day to water and feed. So what's another couple of hours hanging out with poultry people! I think you should do a test run and get a look-see and then see what you think. They have Open classes at the county fair, too. So you don't have to be in 4-H for those. At least they do here. I'm assuming they do at all of them....? And even if you just do it to sell to 4-H'rs they will really appreciate your efforts when they start winning. And the poor kids need to have more guidance with their poultry leaders/sellers-- you could help with that. So many of them are buying production reds and EE's at the farm store and thinking they are pure-breeds. It's sad to see them get disqualified because they have a single comb when they need a rose comb, etc... Glad to hear you got your granddaughter wrangled up to help you treat! I'm thinking that is next on my 'to do' list! I've got 3 girls that are worrying me. I may see if I can post a photo of one of them and see if it's similar to what you are dealing with. Perhaps we can put our heads together and get it figured out!

Maybe Chooks will have a good idea!

 

[ChooksChick]

I'm working on my 3rd 55 gal barrel for water storage out there...I have 6, and an 85 gallon that goes in the truck to fill the others. I have to get moe parts for the valves and that will have to wait until tomorrow. I should have a battery of them ready to go by Wednesday, and so all full, I'll be able to go a week without hauling: 335 gallons. I have those foil reflective emergency blankets for wrapping around them, and they are back in the tree-line, so the barrels will get warm from exposure to hot air, but won't be in sunlight at all, so they shouldn't be too bad for water temp.

I'd love to have a cistern and solar pump, but that's a dream for now.

I can't imagine having cattle right now. It's really just like what Oklahoma and Texas were having to do last year. They couldn't feed the animals, couldn't keep them watered- my friend Marc had to sell off a lot of his prized longhorns. It was just sad. The corn around here looks pretty good, but I'm not farming it, so I don't know really, but it seems like it's not all brown, and it could be okay if we get more than a mist. It really just wet the dust so far, and the radar looks like it dried up, but there seems to be something coming in from Colorado...please???

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Hawkeye I am so sorry. Really! I see it here too! the farmer down the road has too many cattle and no grass to feed them. Spring and the last few years have been great! Now severe drought! I dont know the answeres. I just know I am glad I didnt pick up a few calves this year.
My flock is to the bare minnimum and my rabbits, are to just one doe. I can treat them like kings and queens as there are so few. As they come from CETIES breederes I know they dont come with the bagage of local swap,auction, or local breeder diseases to add straw on the camals back in these stessful times.
My Prayer to the benifit of all of us is that: We all realize limits do to extreem conditions, that we all respect the animals we love so much, and that we all survive what is yet to come heat wise!

 

[sharol]

Is it safe to use ivermectin in the heat? I know so little about the various meds that I wasn't sure about it.

Hawkeye and Checoukan, I can feel the excitement in your posts. I had the head of the 4H over here this afternoon asking me to help with some PT testing and she got me excited about showing some of my newer stock next year. Since I'm trying to concentrate on getting some better quality birds I might actually want to enter some. I wouldn't put any of my older stock in a cage for showing because they are used to free ranging. I think it would stress them.
But some of these newer ones will be raised a little differently. Maybe I'll even repress my crowd phobia and go visit the poultry displays this year to get a feel for it. In reality, I'll probably just continue to raise birds for the 4H kids to show and hope for more winners. Love making the kids happy!
I got my granddaughter to help me and got all the birds in the pen I wanted treated with ivermectin. Yay! So now everything should be wormed.

 

[Ivywoods]

Danz-Yes, it's good to be back. I was going into withdrawal not being able to get on my email and BYC!

Hawkeye-LOVE the pics of the testing. The best part is your little is right in there in the midst of it all. That's the way to learn!

Checoukan-YES... I got the water shut off.... AFTER the rain. We really did get a good, soaking rain, thank goodness. It's been miserably dry here. Our tenant had to replant his soybeans because it was too dry for them to even germinate. The second batch came up nicely and this rain should make them take off well.

Mike-I've had a number of 10 year old birds. None of them were hatchery stock. I usually don't keep them that long. Productivity is pretty much zilch by then. It's only the ones I have that are pets or sentimental that I keep that long. Certainly not all my birds live to be 10 years old. Actually, most of them have been sold or eaten long before that. I recently lost a 10 year old rooster. I don't think he would have died even then except I moved him to a different pen and I just don't think he was eating like he should. Guess old birds are set in their ways.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Gosh Its been so long since I have been here. It strikes me odd that so many of you are loosing so many birds. It is just so sad. I guess having a new hen travel 15 miles plus or minus to get back to her flock is a testoment. Never had a disease in 10 years except for the coons and dogs or foxes;gosh I have a hen that is now 10 years old. I am guessing that hatchery stock; with its gaurantees, vacinations and State CITES just live longer! I do hope that this heat spell will break and that your birds will be doing much better soon,
Mike

It is a real testament, Mike. It is a true testament that a new hen would hike 15 miles or so to get back to a flock that doesn't feel the heat, has zero susceptibility to disease in 10 years except for those pesky diseases of coons, dogs, foxes, and where hens live to 10 years old easily. It is a true testament and heaven knows those are hard to come by. You ought to write a book about your experience to help those of us who struggle with real issues, as we would surely love to learn as much as possible so that we can avoid common pitfalls. Here's more certain evidence of my vast ignorance, but I won't learn if I don't ask so here goes: What is the difference between State CITES and CETIES breederes. Are breederes a kind of title or did you mean breeders? Thanks for all your help and your beautiful prayer!

Danz-Yes, it's good to be back. I was going into withdrawal not being able to get on my email and BYC!

Hawkeye-LOVE the pics of the testing. The best part is your little is right in there in the midst of it all. That's the way to learn!

Checoukan-YES... I got the water shut off.... AFTER the rain. We really did get a good, soaking rain, thank goodness. It's been miserably dry here. Our tenant had to replant his soybeans because it was too dry for them to even germinate. The second batch came up nicely and this rain should make them take off well.

Mike-I've had a number of 10 year old birds. None of them were hatchery stock. I usually don't keep them that long. Productivity is pretty much zilch by then. It's only the ones I have that are pets or sentimental that I keep that long. Certainly not all my birds live to be 10 years old. Actually, most of them have been sold or eaten long before that. I recently lost a 10 year old rooster. I don't think he would have died even then except I moved him to a different pen and I just don't think he was eating like he should. Guess old birds are set in their ways.

Ivywoods, I'm remembering your post about bad roosters and your advice with how to deal with them and it made me LOL! Now here's a good old rooster who made it to a ripe old age yet was done in by simply being set in his ways. Sheesh. I wonder why roosters have so many issues? I'm dealing with some very young roosters who just keep ripping my sweet little hen's neck feathers out, just because they can, so instead of lopping off their heads, I penned them all together to let them see how they liked it. Suddenly, some of them started acting like they'd found treats for the other boys. Others just continued to focus on pulling out neck feathers and a few just ganged up to beat up one. I saved his butt but didn't feel real sorry for him as he had been one of the rudest feather pullers. When one finds a well mannered, intelligent, and kind rooster who has the experience to crow instead of croak, you KNOW he's a keeper!