INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[hogster160]

for those of you that think you can't do the butchering thing, there is a great new article on the modern homesteaders website.  Talks about the kind of mindset needed and a couple of things to make it easier emotionally (delaying can make it harder).

Thank you, I will check them out.

 

[julie0477]

Hogster- which rural king did you purchase your chick that got sick? Mine came from Columbus and they used townline hatchery. The virus most definitely could've come from somewhere else, I'm just curious. Did you have anymore get sick?

 

[CRSelvey]

Well my lil roo ate last night. Not so much that I can tell today. He's been trying to get up today but he just can't. Both legs move and feet are forward but he just can't balance. Toes on one leg are curled a bit.

I've seperated him although I know the rest of my flock have already been exposed. . I already have my one pair of chicken shoes picked out and will always change out of my chicken clothes before going anywhere. Ugh. Just stinks.

Pginsber- I'm interested to see what your vet says. If mine does not improve in the next week, maybe two, as much as I hate it I think I'll have him put down and rule out or confirm mareks. I have too many chicken friends. I feel like I need too-- unless the vet can give me a good reason to do otherwise.

Breeders and farms with vaccinated chickens could be carrying the virus and not necessarily be aware as the vaccine is supposed to prevent the symptoms. Occasionally vaccines don't work on weaker birds or for whatever reason. This is all stuff I just read. Apparently all (or most) chickens are exposed at some point as its such a common virus so who knows really where it started for either of our birds, if that's what this is. I read the disease is reaching epidemic proprtions in backyard flocks since so many of us buy unvaccinated chicks. I sure did. Since yours are vaccinated chances are the rest of yours will be fine - mareks or not.

Strange coincidence though that so many of us are having similar problems. Makes me very uneasy.

I will pick up some vitamin b and try that.

Is it something that can be connected to the flight patterns of wild birds or possibly some food you might all be using? It would be interesting to see if there is a commonality other than this website.

My russian orloff is limping! Not bad though. Just like she stepped on something. For some reason their are a lot of bees hanging around my barn. I am thinking one might have stung her. I need to find away to get rid of them. They dont have a nest in the barn just like to buzz around in side it. 

My neighbor told me about something called the waspinators and it looks like a wasp nest. It was about $8 on amazon and I got two to see if it helped here. I have noticed the wasps and carpenter bees are gone. It could be coincidental but it seems to help.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Love your Hippo and Naso John! How do you keep those three tangs from beating the tar out of one another?

They worked it out several years ago.

John

 

[hogster160]

When we had the Poultry Fest at RacinChickins, we had a processing workshop.  I was the instructor, since I had done it back when I was 12.  I'm 68 now.

The second chicken I did took 20 minutes.  About 30 minutes from the time I grabbed him from the cage to when I dropped him into the cooler full of ice.

The way I have settled on killing them is to hold by the feet, step on the head and pull sharply to break the neck and immediately chop off the head with a hatchet and block of wood.  This seems to me to be the least painful to the chicken.  I don't mind killing animals, but can't abide causing more pain than is absolutely necessary.

John

I so wanted to go to that but 3 hours min one way. Hopefully we can get something together for us northerners lol, good to know an approximate time frame as well, although I'm expecting it to take me at least twice as long.

My hubby will be doing the killing, he seems confident that it will be no problem. Grant it when he killed the ducks, he had been out hunting. So he is watching several videos on the different ways to do the deed. He doesn't want any unnecessary suffering for them either.

I know I wasn't there, but thanks for caring enough to teach those who did go. Not everyone is willing to teach, so thanks!

Deb

 

[julie0477]

CRSelvey - the symptoms are similar to moldy food intake as well. I usually use nutrena all flock since I have all ages and ducks running around. I don't think it's the wild birds since I've had chickens here for about four years but who knows. Lots of people handle rural king chicks. I had some die of I believe cocci before they were two weeks old. They hadn't even left my brooder. First time I'd had that happen. Ive just had a rough chicken year.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

For wasps and bees, mix a half-cup of sugar with a quart of hot water. Pour it into the bottom of a gallon glass jug. Set it where the bees are most likely to find it. They go in, but can't get out.

For chipmunks, put 4 inches of water in a 5-gallon bucket. The bucket should be slick on the inside. Place a board ramp up to the lip of the bucket. Put a few sunflower seeds on the board. Sprinkle enough seeds on the surface of the water to make it seem solid. They jump in, but can't get out.

For foxes and weasels, use a live trap. Put bait on the ground. Set live trap over the bait so that it is under the trip pan. Cover trap with hay, straw, grass clippings, whatever. If you catch your neighbor's cat, let him out. He won't come back. If you catch a chicken-killer, get rid of it. I use a .22 rifle.

John

 

[hogster160]

Hogster- which rural king did you purchase your chick that got sick? Mine came from Columbus. The virus most definitely could've come from somewhere else, I'm just curious. Did you have anymore get sick?

The ee that got sick came from Meyers hatchery. No other birds have been affected like her. I had 2 BA that had ocular change, both Meyer hatchery. I did get my small girls from Niles mi rural king. Those birds came from Michigan I believe. And those 6 are just fine.

None of the chickens were given vaccines.

Deb

ETA I also use Nutrena all flock, I use it with my ff. they were on Nutrena layer then I got the turkeys and went to the all flock

 

[julie0477]

The ee that got sick came from Meyers hatchery. No other birds have been affected like her. I had 2 BA that had ocular change, both Meyer hatchery. I did get my small girls from Niles mi rural king. Those birds came from Michigan I believe. And those 6 are just fine.

None of the chickens were given vaccines.

Deb

I'm glad to hear the others are doing well.

 

[Old Salt 1945]

Marek's vaccination or not.

I ordered 25 chicks and 15 ducks from efowl.com in March. The chicks were vaccinated for Marek's.

While I was waiting for them, I bought 12 Buff Orpingtons from TSC.

I got 4 guinea chicks from Rural King.

I got 3 adult roosters from Shawna in Thorntown.

I got an adult JBG roo from somebody in Whitestown.

I have had one mysterious death. A guinea was dead in the morning a few weeks back. No sign of trauma. I double bagged it and dumped it in the trash.

If vaccinated chicks can give other chickens Marek's, then I have, indeed, been fortunate.

Knock on wood, I think it's a myth.

John