Eastern Tennessee Thread

[TNBarnQueen]

Nah... I guess it's teacher-humor. You know, the laugh-so-you-don't-cry, in-the-trenches type humor? I actually had to laugh... for the first time in a really long time, it seemed.

You know WE are always good for a good laugh. I am sure it was a good feeling knowing they all where thinking about you.

@Ladyrider....you should see my pens. I have white feathers going everywhere! As if egg laying shut down was not enough now they are going broody.

The first time my chickens molted I thought something was serious wrong. But they did recover.....and so did I.

 

[TNBarnQueen]

Yea... We sometimes are each others prozac

X2

 

[littlechicklet]

Nah... I guess it's teacher-humor. You know, the laugh-so-you-don't-cry, in-the-trenches type humor? I actually had to laugh... for the first time in a really long time, it seemed.

That's good. I am glad you & the chickens are doing better. I still haven't read up on the ILT enough yet. Will you chickens always have it now? I have read some on the vaccines and plan on checking into soon.

I am going to post pics of the babies from you. I am going to do a complete box clean Sunday & will try to get them then. They are doing great. Their feathers are starting to come in. I think the black two maybe at least a day older than the blue ones or they are just feathering out more quickly. I have never raised any English type Orps but I am going to go out on a limb and say I have at least 50/50 ratio but I am the one with two 4 month old EEs I can't positively sex yet.

 

[stanglover2001]

Thanks,

They are starting to look like nice, health birds again, thankfully.

I suspect wild birds as the cause, but I'll never know for sure.

ILT effects all types of poultry, turkeys, chickens, ducks, even guineas, so no dark side for me, thankfully. (That would indeed be a dark, dark day

) My one attempt at rabbit owning has left me with Jazzy, the vampire bunny. She HATES being held and goes for the jugular with teeth bared when we reach for her, so bunny keeping is not for me.

ILT is supposed to be slow moving, but it hit two of my pens and a total of twelve birds all at once. It's been really calm since they've succombed or recovered. This all happened in, like, eight days.

I am mourning the breeding and hatching most of all. I won't miss showing, since I was never really into it to begin with, but I REALLY hate not being able to share birds with my chicken-buddies. Thankfully there are a lot of people on here that were able to get some of my birds before the sickness struck, so it's not like their genetics won't live on... I'm really going to miss how eggs and chicks offset my feed costs, too.

One of the main reasons I decided to "come out" on here was to make sure my flock stayed well and truly closed. Looking at them today you would never know the damage they could do (unless they became stressed) and it would be really tempting to pretend nothing happened. I'm relying on you guys to keep me honest.

I love that I have a place to vent my sorrow to people who actually appreciate the loss. My other friends and colleagues know that it really upset me, so they sympathize, but they don't really UNDERSTAND, ya know?

You just got a bad apple (bunny)... I hate that you don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy my babies... If you feel like you're ready to try again, I'll hook you up with a real sweet one!

 

[littlechicklet]

On a more serious note my blue Orpington cockerel will not stay on his perch at night. I have tried putting him on the perch but he just jumps off again

The perch is not too high & it does not wiggle or roll on him. He just seems to prefer sleeping on the floor. Maybe when I put him in with the pullets he will learn to perch? I also have an old RIW hen and she refuses to sleep on the perch. She roosts in a nest box.

Are my birds stupid or lazy?

 

[laughingdog]

well back on for now at least hopefully, and ended u in sevierville TN.. only sadly got two pairs of flying pigeons, and almost had trio of bantam ameraucanas, but buddies gf said she suddenly didnt want tiny chickens, but still wanted a pet pig. lol

 

[stanglover2001]

On a more serious note my blue Orpington cockerel will not stay on his perch at night. I have tried putting him on the perch but he just jumps off again

The perch is not too high & it does not wiggle or roll on him. He just seems to prefer sleeping on the floor. Maybe when I put him in with the pullets he will learn to perch? I also have an old RIW hen and she refuses to sleep on the perch. She roosts in a nest box.

Are my birds stupid or lazy?

maybe he's just too young for the "instincts" to kick in...

Hope he figures it out soon though! I always had more peace of mind knowing my chickens had high places in their coops to roost, I think that is the only thing about large coops I liked, the small ones keep them so close to the ground but are just more economical for a small flock...

 

[tennesseeckn]

You just got a bad apple (bunny)... I hate that you don't enjoy it as much as I enjoy my babies... If you feel like you're ready to try again, I'll hook you up with a real sweet one!

I probably did something wrong. Only I could break a bunny.

 

[littlechicklet]

maybe he's just too young for the "instincts" to kick in...

Hope he figures it out soon though! I always had more peace of mind knowing my chickens had high places in their coops to roost, I think that is the only thing about large coops I liked, the small ones keep them so close to the ground but are just more economical for a small flock...

Thanks. His is about 6-7 months old so he is not young. He should be safe he has a small pen in the corner of the larger pen & the pen has an electric fence. The RIW is in the chicken house & the roosts are about 3 feet or so off the floor.

 

[tennesseeckn]

maybe he's just too young for the "instincts" to kick in...

Hope he figures it out soon though! I always had more peace of mind knowing my chickens had high places in their coops to roost, I think that is the only thing about large coops I liked, the small ones keep them so close to the ground but are just more economical for a small flock...

I'm glad it's not just me who INSISTS that they sleep on a roost. I've been known to go out and put their booties up on the roost two or three times a night. At least you have a reason for wanting them up there. I think I've just got some weird sort of compulsion.

They do tend to stay where you put them if the coop is pitch black dark. Just a little discovery I made on one of my 500 attempts I made with my first three birds. They didn't have any older ones to learn from.