Illinois...

[Faraday40]

We would love a trail cam but sadly can't afford it right now. We believe it's the fox we have previously seen take birds. It would already have been SSS'd except that we have never gotten a clear shot at it. The danged thing has no real fear of people and has to go. It's quite large, bigger than my 18 lb sheltie, though I'm sure it's a fox not a coyote. That doesn't mean there couldn't also be a coyote involved as well. We also saw a badger(95%) positive one night but haven't seen it since. We lost 5 birds in the last week with a possibility of more in the form of our juveniles which we have not been keeping a nightly count on. Think 25 obnoxious teenagers that never stay still. Lol we did cull the birds that brought the respiratory illness into our flock(-7). The bodies and all their bedding were burned the quarantine run and the equipment were all heavily bleached. We treated our flock with antibiotics(oxytetracycline) with the worst two birds also receiving a 7 day treatment of injections of tylan 50. The flock is now exhibiting no symptoms and appears fully recovered. The juveniles never exhibited any symptoms. We are still planning to have a few necropsied done to see if anything is found and see if they flock will be carriers. I am hoping judging by the quick response to antibiotics and fast recovery that this will not become something chronic or make the flock carriers. We would have done the necropsies already but we are a little short of the money needed right now. A week or two should do it.

We have been being incredibly careful to keep the chicks in the house that haven't been exposed to the illness healthy and unexposed. Including wearing specific clothes outside and washing our hands and shoes/boots, before coming inside where we change and promptly wash our hands and arms again. We have also been doing all the baby chores before dealing with the outside birds.

Many of the flock never exhibited any symptoms of illness including all the juveniles.

We are wondering if the cockerals we've been growing out are still okay to eat, of course after the antibiotic withdrawal period. Would a respiratory illness make them inedible, does anyone know?
Love it!!! What were her egg sexing results? Tell her Congratulations!!!!

After measuring (the latitude vs longitude), calculating a ratio, & closely observing the end, DD made predictions that the more rounded eggs would be female. Then she incubated the eggs& for many she had to grow them out for 4-5 wks. After all this, 26 of the experiment eggs hatched & only 10 predictions were correct. That's less than half - 38%. I think she would have had better accuracy if she flipped a coin.

 

[jerryse]

After measuring (the latitude vs longitude), calculating a ratio, & closely observing the end, DD made predictions that the more rounded eggs would be female. Then she incubated the eggs& for many she had to grow them out for 4-5 wks. After all this, 26 of the experiment eggs hatched & only 10 predictions were correct. That's less than half - 38%. I think she would have had better accuracy if she flipped a coin.

Egg shape is hereditary . A hen lays the same shape all her life . The reason to not set round eggs is to keep the normal shape genetics in the flock . Lots of old wives tales about shape of eggs and sexing .

 

[MikeTodd]

Hello all! Member here from Japer County Indiana but I work fulltime in Kankakee. Hopefully you will let me join in the fun since I spend 60 hours a week in Illinois.
The wife and I have finished our coop and will finish the run this week. We currently have 40 birds ranging from 6 weeks to 17 weeks old. The younger birds are in a seperate pen in the coop where the larger chicks can get out and mingle with the older hens if needed. We have a mixed flock that ranges from BO, BE, RIR, cochins, brahmas, EE mixes, 1 silkie, a few bantams and three black velvet OEGBs. We will be thinning the flock some soon since we will not be able to keep all 40.

 

[chickendreams24]

Hello all! Member here from Japer County Indiana but I work fulltime in Kankakee. Hopefully you will let me join in the fun since I spend 60 hours a week in Illinois.
The wife and I have finished our coop and will finish the run this week. We currently have 40 birds ranging from 6 weeks to 17 weeks old. The younger birds are in a seperate pin in the coop where the larger chicks can get out and mingle with the older hens if needed. We have a mixed flock that ranges from BO, BE, RIR, cochins, brahmas, EE mixes, 1 silkie, a few bantams and three black velvet OEGBs. We will be thinning the flock some soon since we will not be able to keep all 40.

I'm sure they'll welcome you since they welcomed me and I'm from Wisconsin.



Bummer about the results @[@]Faraday40[/@]

She should try it again next year and compare results.

In other news two of the three silkies from my most recent hatch died last night of unknown causes. I believe they may have been monkey piked by the full size chicks but I can't be sure. One was a paint and I'm not sure what the other one was could have been white or a very light paint.

 

[cavemanrich]

Hello all! Member here from Japer County Indiana but I work fulltime in Kankakee. Hopefully you will let me join in the fun since I spend 60 hours a week in Illinois.
The wife and I have finished our coop and will finish the run this week. We currently have 40 birds ranging from 6 weeks to 17 weeks old. The younger birds are in a seperate pen in the coop where the larger chicks can get out and mingle with the older hens if needed. We have a mixed flock that ranges from BO, BE, RIR, cochins, brahmas, EE mixes, 1 silkie, a few bantams and three black velvet OEGBs. We will be thinning the flock some soon since we will not be able to keep all 40.

You are only required to spend 40 hours per week in Illinois, so you are OK

SO WELCOME,,,,,,

ILLINOIS
Is the above pix of the Black velvet OEGB.??? I have Bantam OEGHens but they have a different hairdo.

 

[MikeTodd]

Nooe, that is a Silkie Mix. I do have 3 Black OEGBs though!

 

[Faraday40]

Nooe, that is a Silkie Mix. I do have 3 Black OEGBs though!

I too was wondering what that cutie was. Looked like silkie but diff feathers.
and

 

[beckyrasdf]

On the off chance anyone in the western suburbs of Chicago is interested in a rooster...

We have a sweet Australorp Roo, 16 weeks old, eats from our hands and tolerates being lugged around by our 2 year old He was supposed to be a hen, but there was a mistaken gender identity when he got shipped out to us haha. Our neighborhood doesn't allow roosters, otherwise we'd keep him in a heart beat!

We live in St Charles, and would be willing to meet somewhere if anyone is interested.

 

[Faraday40]

Thank you to everyone who has been an online cheering section for our daughter's projects. When she went in yesterday for the judging of her last few projects, she saw that BOTH of her poultry projects were up in the Best of Show area. Talk about an excited little girl! Now my sweet girl must decide which project to bring to state. Our county has a rule that a child may only bring one project to state, so more children have the opportunity to go. I know this because a few years back one of my students won 6 Best in Show trophies & had to figure out which 1 was going to Springfield.

I can't wait to see how the rest of her items did. The fair officially opens today, but we cannot afford the daily admission, so we'll probably find out on Fri. (The 4H kids are free, but their adult drivers are not. LOL)

 

[MeepBeep]

The fair officially opens today, but we cannot afford the daily admission, so we'll probably find out on Fri. (The 4H kids are free, but their adult drivers are not. LOL)  

I hear you, the Lake County fair opens today, I have not been there in years...

The $10 a day to get in (or $35 for all 5 days) is not stupid expensive but the fact that I know I will be dropping another $40, $60, $100 each day on the family once inside the gate, is quite the party pooper...

Maybe I'm just cheap in my old age...