Eastern Tennessee Thread

[stanglover2001]

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

I doubt that, some breeds ::cough lionheads cough:: are just more prone to aggressive behaviors (didn't NellaBean have a very aggressive doe too? around here those are called dinner)... didn't you get a doe? Bucks make the best pets... does become grumpy when they're ready to breed...

 

[tennesseeckn]

I doubt that, some breeds ::cough lionheads cough:: are just more prone to aggressive behaviors (didn't NellaBean have a very aggressive doe too? around here those are called dinner)... didn't you get a doe? Bucks make the best pets... does become grumpy when they're ready to breed...

Yep, she's a doe. She is truly one of the cutest things around. When people come over they all gush over her. I tell them it's just her way of luring them in... Mwahahaha...

 

[TNBarnQueen]

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?

My main polish insist on sleeping in a nesting box...I don't know...he can be strange...then another who I have also put on the roost a couple hundred times still wants to sleep in a corner behind a nesting box....he has even devised a little nest there. All the rest perch outside. I think sometimes they are just confused..or..."special".

 

[itsthelaw37801]

LOL, only 2 rabbits?

Try having 9, with 4 being picked up next weekend! I'll be getting me some more mini rex!

I hope to have 2 does bred as well... Will be breeding 2-3 more eventually..

Also, yes I do make some darn good cupcakes!

Tennesseeckn - they are a riot, I hope this doesn't mean we'll never see you, we can just make it a point to conduct chichat haken business away from the picnics..

Two male rabbits that haven't been fixed yet. All they do is hunch each other. I'm trying to talk Tommy into a female - he's trying to talk me into getting them surgery.

 

[itsthelaw37801]

Question re ILT: If you get the vaccine and your birds are carriers, will they not be full blown with the vaccine?

 

[tnchickenut]

I am getting 5 hens from here. If you guys could give me some advice on which breeds I should get, that would be great. I am looking for the friendliest breeds. Also, I can't get all white chickens, cause they are like owl magnets at our house, but I can do barred.

I have kept Delawares for years and I have many owls... never lost a one to a owl. I don't know why people think white means they will be prey to birds of prey.... it's more about size. A brown bantam will be taken long LONG LOOOONNNNGGGG before a white Delaware.

But to answer your question, I'd go with the following (from friendliest on) Faverolles, Delawares, Cochins... again, if owls are your main worry, go for heavy breeds. Hens that are 7lbs and up.


I think where the "white birds get eatten faster" thing comes from locally, is that in general (not the BYC population but regular folks) people around don't know breeds. So you ask, "what kind of chickens you have?" and they answer "I got me some red ones now, them white ones got killed off by something" and what they are really saying is that they have some sort of red breed (generally "red" are RIR, NH, or production red... all heavy) and "white" are leghorns... which are flighty and small.

Sorry to ramble but working in a feed store I learned what people were really saying. "white" is leghorn to most around here.... the kill rate is due to their little bodies. Their color doesn't help, a brown leghorn will last longer....... but a Delaware and a brown leghorn - leghorn will be eatten first. Willing to bet great money on it.

 

[tennesseeckn]

I have kept Delawares for years and I have many owls... never lost a one to a owl. I don't know why people think white means they will be prey to birds of prey.... it's more about size. A brown bantam will be taken long LONG LOOOONNNNGGGG before a white Delaware.

But to answer your question, I'd go with the following (from friendliest on) Faverolles, Delawares, Cochins... again, if owls are your main worry, go for heavy breeds. Hens that are 7lbs and up.


I think where the "white birds get eatten faster" thing comes from locally, is that in general (not the BYC population but regular folks) people around don't know breeds. So you ask, "what kind of chickens you have?" and they answer "I got me some red ones now, them white ones got killed off by something" and what they are really saying is that they have some sort of red breed (generally "red" are RIR, NH, or production red... all heavy) and "white" are leghorns... which are flighty and small.

Sorry to ramble but working in a feed store I learned what people were really saying. "white" is leghorn to most around here.... the kill rate is due to their little bodies. Their color doesn't help, a brown leghorn will last longer....... but a Delaware and a brown leghorn - leghorn will be eatten first. Willing to bet great money on it.

That makes sense to me. It explains why I see TONS of hawks around here and they've never even looked at my flock (knock on wood). I've heard that black birds deter birds of prey, but it's probably just an old wives' tale.

 

[tennesseeckn]

Question re ILT: If you get the vaccine and your birds are carriers, will they not be full blown with the vaccine?

I'm not an expert, but this is what I'm thinking:

Only birds that actually become sick from ILT are carriers and they only shed the virus when they flare up. Just like with the human herpes virus (genital herpes and fever blisters). Flare ups can be caused by periods of stress.

I am not giving the vaccine to any of the Wyandottes, since they ALL were sick to some extent.

I'm vaccinating all of my bantams, ameraucanas, and the boys and juveniles in the bachelor pads because they never showed any sign of sickness.

I'm vaccinating all of the orps except the four that got puffy faced.

The vaccine's supposed to be mild enough that even if I vaccinate an already immune bird, it shouldn't cause a flare up. The directions say that you can give the vaccine to an obviously sick bird and it can shorten the duration of the sickness. It's also supposed to not shed, so if I miss a bird they shouldn't get infected from a vaccinated bird. They're still at risk from the recovered birds, though.

I have to vaccinate close to fifty birds in one go. We're starting after dark tonight, so send "happy vaccinating" vibes my way.

 

[Talbott Poultry]

Quote: Wishing you the very best of luck an getting all of them and it being super easy to work your way through.

 

[tnchickenut]

That makes sense to me. It explains why I see TONS of hawks around here and they've never even looked at my flock (knock on wood). I've heard that black birds deter birds of prey, but it's probably just an old wives' tale.

Yup. I have lost sebrights and OEGB the most to hawks and owls. It's expected if a bantam is out and not being watch (sometimes WHILE being watched). Never lost a big breed to a bird.