Illnesses and Defects

[thaiturkey]

I live in a sub tropical desert climate too. I've suffered very /very/ little loss. Only three chickens in the past nine years!!!
I've found that during the monsoon they can become a bit droopy, and I've had to medicate twice for something. It was respiratory so I combated it with terramycin, tetracycline, and ornacyn b plus.
Always worked for me.

My chickens free range in the backyard but mostly stay under the palm trees or under the coop during the summer months. always make sure they have enough water. I feed them ordinary chick scratch and whatever scraps are from my table.

It can get up to 120 degrees fahrenheit here!

Free range and a warm climate. That must surely be part of the answer.

I still wonder if in-breeding of special breeds is also part of the problem.

 

[loveourbirds]

line breeding does contribute some to the problem, especially where genetic problems are concerned. when we breed for show, we sort by this method. 1 health, 2 type, 3 spur position, comb shape, etc, then color. but at the same time we cant see inside the chicken, at our farm we haven't had a lot of problems with tumors or cancerous growths. but I do believe that if a pullet has a tumor, she can pass on a higher likelihood of her offspring having a tumor.

we do occasionally mix in another roo of show quality into our stock to increase some genetic diversity and lower health issues. at times we will even mix in a bird of another breed if that breed was used in creating the breed we are working with. when we do this the first generation of mixed chicks are always the fastest growing and best as far as health. of course people who buy birds for show from us do not want these mixed birds, but after 2 or 3 more generations you can still see their influence on the health of the flock.

but, in the end we all die including birds. it doesn't matter if we freeze, starve, get cancer, or get eaten. as responsible breeders/owners it is important to do all we can to keep our flocks (and ourselves) healthy to the best of our abilities. I guess that's why we are on here.

 

[thaiturkey]

I've occasionally thought about keeping a particular breed but where to find them here? I've never seen any or heard of any.

 

[loveourbirds]

recent laws have made it harder to import/export chicks, but im sure there is someone around you who has certain breeds... do you have a breed in mind?

 

[thaiturkey]

I know nothing yet of the fancy breeds but I like bright colours. I've found this website but there's nothing inspiring on there:

http://www.thai-farm.com/chickens/

 

[loveourbirds]

whats available in America may not be available to you, but if you find a breed you like, I may be able to find it somewhere that you can get it.

 

[Zrcalo]

They've got quite a few VERY nice exotic breeds here

http://www.sabong.net.ph/forum/

I know its a fighting site, but some of the prettiest birds are fighting birds!
I've had old english game, shamo, and hatch. Absolutely stunning birds. I have an oeg bantam duckwing, a black crested white polish, and a scicilian buttercup. At the other place I have two mixes and a large game rooster of unknown origin.

http://www.rakkai.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=3

http://www.kaipama.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=39

There are quite a lot of thai sites!

here is some with laying hens:
http://www.bestchum.com/SoldPageI.html

 

[thaiturkey]

I rather like this chap below. a Yokohama. Image from BYC.

Fighting cocks are common here. An example of a law that goes ignored. They are beautiful birds but probably a handful as pets.

 

[Zrcalo]

possibly. My hatch was pretty tame. Didnt fight any of my other roosters. But he was rather flighty.

Over here fighting breeds tend to be very expensive. A regular hen will sell for $15 while a fighting cock will sell for $300.

I'm sure there are some people near you that breed the more exotic chickens. You'll probably have to shop around.

http://www.phat555.com/

that look more like it?

I was thoroughlly amused when google translate led me to the wiki page for the god/ess (?) Gaia.. and that one of their offspring was "the arizona republic"
does อีอาเกีย mean "arizona republic"? Or is google messing with me? (I live in arizona)

 

[thaiturkey]

I get 'ERA someone'!

Google translations can be quite bad. Over here we have Thai websites that also have an English version taken straight from Google. Many are incomprehensible.

Some neighbours have fighting cocks. My wife may agree to have a word with them but she hates cockfighting.

Thanks for the link.