FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[Floridachicken1958]

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I still have them SKEETERS but not around chickens at nite cause I spray Permethrin 25% after I mix it up.And plus it's been kinda windy too.And plus I still have tons of water sitting out back.AspiringUrbaniteFarmer: I had a bird try to attack my birds but my roosters took care of him when he tried to pick on of their girls up.I've never seen where a bunch of birds would attack a outside bird before when it waqs attacking one of their own but they took care of that HAWK.He hasn't been back since.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

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Yay for you, for keeping a dead tree in your yard, the woodpeckers and other wildlife will thank you for it.

I've never worried about vultures going after my chickens, I guess if I had a very ill or injured chicken it would be vulnerable, but it would probably be carried away by a hawk before being bothered by a vulture.

Although once I caught a vulture in a trap I had baited with chicken parts and hidden in the woods next door. I never expected to see that in a trap, especially one so well camoflaged and out of sight. I later learned that vultures have a very good sense of smell, something most other birds don't have at all.

 

[JudyK]

Right after I let my birds out to free range yesterday afternoon, I saw a dark shadow and ran back out to see a buzzard. There were a few more on top of a dead tree. They didn't seem to have any interest in my birds. Now, you got me concerned. I see them frequently but didn't think they would be a problem. As far as mosquitoes, they have been horrible at my house and we missed most of the rain everyone else got. The chickens went through the pox a month or so ago, probably because the mosquitoes are so bad.

 

[ItsAZOO32]

Yeah my birds just got over the pox too.. no symptoms for a couple of weeks now so I think they all made it through ok. The mosquitoes are still pretty bad by my place although I do have a drainage ditch behind my property..

 

[ChobeeChickenMommy]

MY DOMINIQUE EGGS CAME THIS AFTERNOON!!! My hubby is getting our makeshift incubator warmed up & ready to put them in tonight!!!

I'm like my 5 year old on Christmas morning right now. lol...

The guy I bought them from did an AMAZING job on packing them, none cracked or anything! I bought 15+ & he sent me 18 too! I'll update & post bator pics once we get them in there tonight!

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Candle each one in a dark room before you set them. This is to double check blown air cells & look for fractures not visible by just looking as you unpack. Good luck on the hatch!

 

[seminolewind]

I've noticed the vultures, and I'm thinking that the youngsters are out there practicing. And who knows, maybe vultures follow hawks to clean up the kill.

Yes I've noticed the friggen mosquitos. Mine are small, but there's alot of them.

 

[ChobeeChickenMommy]

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Oh ok. I can do that. Thank you! Our new plan is to put them in first thing tomorrow morning around 5:30 when we get up & going for the day. We made our incubator out of a cooler, totally free! We even already had a digital thermometer that showed humidity & temp that I used in my kids rooms when they were babies to make sure the temp in their room was ok to help prevent SIDS (yes, I have OCD when it comes to my kids & making sure things are perfect when they were babies... lol)... So we plan on getting the temp & everything good tonight & then put them in once we know we got everything right. I am so eggcited. lol..

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

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For my future reference...what do you do for chickens with the pox? and how do you know they have it?
As for buzzards..the funniest thing I ever saw...out on the airport access road where they have that huge sign "Welcome to SW Florida"
About 12 vultures lined up on top of the sign

 

[ItsAZOO32]

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For my future reference...what do you do for chickens with the pox? and how do you know they have it?
As for buzzards..the funniest thing I ever saw...out on the airport access road where they have that huge sign "Welcome to SW Florida"
About 12 vultures lined up on top of the sign

It's actually easy to tell they have it..

They get these white spots/bumps.. they turn black eventually. Think Chicken Pox but on chickens not people. which is Fowl Pox not Chicken Pox. LOL

I honestly didn't do anything but put vitamins in their water but have heard that betadine on the pox can help prevent secondary infection. It's a virus and will pass in its own time. You just have to worry about them getting the wet variety which is internal and can cause suffocation. Basically (like chicken pox) they are immune once they have had it so that's good. It is spread by mosquitoes so it seems pointless to isolate the ill birds here in Florida unless you are taking it inside