Hatching Eggs / Paypal CHAT Thread

[CelticOaksFarm]

I take back every terrible thing I saix about the usps today, at least. Both boxes of birds are in Tennessee. They got bumped for dry ice shippment with about 30 other boxes of live birds. They put them in a warm room last night, gave them water and grapes. The msp hub supervisor fianally found the Tennessee supervisior, told you there was a phone...., he found my boxes from reese and EVERY single bird is alive and chirping happily. He didnt check on the one from cof, but said they are all together. s She promised they are headed for the plane right now and will be here in a couple of hours. Thank you all....ill update.

she couldnt check on mine with the way i close a box for shiping lol

(double zip ties and packing tape both makes it impossible to get inside while in transit.

 

[bradselig]

Love the pic. They are super cute. And I know zilch about the genetic aspects.

Thanks! Had 3 more lavenders hatch, but still curious what these brown ones are.

 

[superjjf]

I have some roosters if anyone wants them:

Blue Ameraucana (5 Months)
Blue Copper Marans (3 Months)
Black Copper Marans (3 Months)
Blue Cuckoo Marans (2 Months)
White Leghorn (1 Month)
Lavender Orpington (1 Month)

Hatchery:
Buff Orpington (1 Month)
Barred Rock (1 Month)
Speckled Sussex (1 Month)
Black Giant (1 Month)

Croad Langshan once sexable...

PM me if you would like one. I am not NPIP

 

[tdhenson86]

Quote:
x3! I'm so sorry you're experiencing this! Keeping a closed flock and putting them in an area away from wild birds are good things to do, but don't let that keep you from enjoying them!

 

[tdhenson86]

Quote:
x2! So glad they found them safe and sound!!!

 

[krazykat0373]

ok, I have a question for the duck raisers here......how long do I need to brood these ducklings (cayugas)? I mean they are so big now, there is no way a mama duck could keep them under her to keep them warm, but they haven't feathered out at all...Am I keeping them too warm?

 

[mzstre]

I take back every terrible thing I saix about the usps today, at least. Both boxes of birds are in Tennessee. They got bumped for dry ice shippment with about 30 other boxes of live birds. They put them in a warm room last night, gave them water and grapes. The msp hub supervisor fianally found the Tennessee supervisior, told you there was a phone...., he found my boxes from reese and EVERY single bird is alive and chirping happily. He didnt check on the one from cof, but said they are all together. s She promised they are headed for the plane right now and will be here in a couple of hours. Thank you all....ill update.

Yay!!!

 

[mzstre]

  I wish you could feel the hug I am trying to give you. Just consider yourself hugged so tight you can hardly breathe. I also offer my shoulder to cry on.

Laura - I couldn't have said it better. I am so sorry. I wish I could make it better.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

ok, I have a question for the duck raisers here......how long do I need to brood these ducklings (cayugas)? I mean they are so big now, there is no way a mama duck could keep them under her to keep them warm, but they haven't feathered out at all...Am I keeping them too warm?

how old are they? by 30 days there is no heat lamp for ducklings

 

[Reyvaughn]

Well, I can almost guarantee that I can at least compete with almost anyone here for worst day. And it takes a lot to write this when all I want to do is crawl in to a hole.

I brought home some adult birds on Valentines day. They were to be the start of my Dorking program and I was terribly excited about getting them. I have had them in quarantine now for almost 2 months. Because they seemed fine after 4 weeks, I have relaxed my quarantine procedures a bit for the last few weeks…(not washing hands or feet etc) but I haven’t let them out with my others because been building a coop/separate area for them ( & didn’t want them interbreeding with my Barnevelders) Well last week one of the roosters started sneezing and got gurgly in the chest. I sat out there with them to observe for a while and realized that two of them were sniffly. So I bit the bullet and took the two birds to the state testing lab on Friday.

I just got the results today. MG.
My immediate reaction was: horror… CULL!

But I just got off the phone with the guy...Straining to understand him.
But the salient points are:

• Most (75%-90%) backyard flocks have MG(???!!!???!!!!) but because there are many strains, and many are not serious, most people don’t know they have it.
• Evidently MG is a pandemic on the east coast in house finches and many on the east coast are carriers. (Also American goldfinches, purple finches, evening grosbeaks and pine grosbeaks.) My Quarantine pen is right under the birdfeeder on our deck where we feed all of these birds BOSS. Some of it falls through and the birds go in to get it.
• Even if I destroy these birds, my flock is at risk forever because it is in the local wild bird population and unless I stop free ranging and put them in a building where they can have no access to wild birds, they can pick it up. This would mean hardware cloth small enough that a finch can’t get through and roof so that a wild bird can’t poop into the run. (2 years ago before I even had chickens I rescued a blind house finch from my garden and nursed it back to health…I just didn’t know that THAT was MG)
• MG can get passed through to the egg in a bird that is actively shedding. The PCR test indicated that the birds were not shedding much (if at all.) I have no idea if my Barnevelders have been exposed but it takes two weeks to become infected. These guys only started coughing last week. And I have had them in Quarantine…but one of the scenarios is that they got it from the wild birds here.
• Most hatcheries don’t test for MG. NPIP makes you test for Pullorium and sometimes AI but they don’t care about MG because it can’t be transmitted to humans. So you can even get it from NPIP certified breeders.

I have seen no symptoms at all in my real flock. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t have it or are not carriers. 2-5% of birds who get over the disease become carriers and this is such a mild strain that it is hard to say. Just sniffles, no morbidity. And the fact that I take really good care of my birds and they are not at all stressed EVER would allow this to hide more easily.

So at the very least, my flock is now closed. I will be waiting a month or so for anything to manifest and then have blood testing done on my whole flock. I have some hard decisions to make. If this is in the local bird population…and I know it is, there isn’t anything I can do to not eventually get it if I want to free-range my chickens.

To anyone who has hatched out chicks from me I apologize most profoundly. I tried to do the best with Biosecurity that I could. I have some reason to believe that my eggs to this point have been safe as my girls have never shown any symptoms, but there is always a chance and I don’t blame you if you are worried &/or angry.

Anyone I owe eggs to I will pay off with paypal. Please send me your paypal address.

So now I will never breed any chickens. I will keep the females for eggs and a friend will help me dispatch the males. I will not sell eggs or chicks. My chicken plans are now shattered into a million pieces.

This why you must keep your birds in a coop that is totally closed to the possibility of outside birds contact to be NPIP in PA - even though MG is not tested for. Many people believe Pollorium and AI are stupid things to test for when they are not very common anymore. Instead, MG should be a concern. I was concerned I had an MG infected bird - I actually just culled him on Easter after owning him (and kept in quarantine) for almost a year. He never had a runny nose, but he did have the raspy breathing. The owner of the bird before me had him for a year with no illnesses. The owner of him before that is a well known breeder and also claims she had no illnesses. I had no illnesses. I honestly think the way he was housed is the issue. I think he had pneumonia before and it was never treated and scarred his lungs. He got worse over this past winter. I culled him anyways. I wasn't going to take a chance. It has been a pain is the arse keeping him in quarantine for so long. Everything he has ever touched has had to be bleached and sprayed with Oxine. I had to take special precautions during feeding, watering and when I walked in and cleaned his pen.

Sadly, there are breeders out there that continue to breed and sell knowing they have or had MG in their flocks. What's worse is someone could have it and just not know. I totally stopped allowing mine the luxury of free ranging after I moved to this place over a year ago.

I am very sorry you have to go through this, Pysankigirl. Like everyone else is saying, don't stop doing what you love.

I am not sure it will work, but I was told that since Oxine AH kills everything it has ever been tested on, try using the Oxine in a humidifier and fog your birds you are concerned about. I read a bit about the MG strains and they die outside of a host within 3 days because they are an unprotected cell. Bare with me, I am trying to explain without the proper technical terms... The host becomes their protection. You would think that Oxine being breathed in would kill the MG cells. Antibiotics don't work because there is no way for it to actually attack the cells, it just helps control the symptoms. I am not sure, but I think it's worth a try.