INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!
- Thread starter Chaneys Ranch
- Start date
- Jul 1, 2013
- 147
- 35
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AMWCHICKIN I wouldn't have "met" all of you wonderful people if it hadn't been for chickens. I read through the Heritage LF posts, and while informative, it upset me. It kind of seems like some of the people posting had no heart. If I would have no choice in putting down my entire flock, it would be one thing. I understand the extra work and risks I am taking in keeping them all. I may end up putting down a couple if they don't respond to treatment, like the one that had puss dripping from its eye; I almost did it the other night because I couldn't bear to watch her sit there and struggle. But I thought, no, I'll give her a chance.
HERITAGE LARGE FOWL THREAD A discussion of Mareks Disease (MD), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), and bio-security that just finished on the Heritage Large Fowl thread might be of interest to all on this thread, but to amwchickin and pipd in particular. The upshot of much of the talk between those mostly showers and breeders, as I read it, seems to be that MD and MG are everywhere, and it is inevitable that chickens will contract them, so there is no sense in taking bio-security measures or culling sick birds. Some believe that the strong will survive and will produce stronger progeny, while those birds who need meds to survive or who survive poorly should be culled. A few saw no reason not to take these survivor birds (who carry and spread disease) to shows or sell them, since they believe that the diseases are unavoidable anyway. It all seemed like a great way to ensure the spread of disease The discussion runs on the Heritage Large Fowl thread from page 1588, post #15873, through page 1595.
Reading AMW's comments, I felt tearful. Here was someone who had invested time, money, and effort into her chickens, and genuinely cared for their well-being as individuals. She would do what had to be done - either cull or accept quarantine - with what was best for her birds uppermost in her mind. Many of the Heritage Large Fowl thread members (HLFTM) felt the same way and were willing to accept the same consequences. Some of them had invested decades in developing their flocks, and had decades of the work of others preceding their own work. But other HLFTM were unwilling to give up their investments or their show careers and tried to justify their attitudes with a 'survival of the fittest' philosophy. When they put their philosophy into action by showing or selling communicable disease-carrying birds, they impinge on the rights of others. They endanger the flocks of others and put a domino effect into place where the next owner may unintentionally infect other flocks. All of this sets more bird owners up for unnecessary heartbreak. Yes, these diseases occur and may be acquired naturally via wild birds, but that is far different from purposefully infecting birds. Owners and breeders who knowingly sell or show disease-carrying birds should have their NPIP status revoked and be banned from all poultry clubs, associations and shows for life.
HERITAGE LARGE FOWL THREAD A discussion of Mareks Disease (MD), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG), and bio-security that just finished on the Heritage Large Fowl thread might be of interest to all on this thread, but to amwchickin and pipd in particular. The upshot of much of the talk between those mostly showers and breeders, as I read it, seems to be that MD and MG are everywhere, and it is inevitable that chickens will contract them, so there is no sense in taking bio-security measures or culling sick birds. Some believe that the strong will survive and will produce stronger progeny, while those birds who need meds to survive or who survive poorly should be culled. A few saw no reason not to take these survivor birds (who carry and spread disease) to shows or sell them, since they believe that the diseases are unavoidable anyway. It all seemed like a great way to ensure the spread of disease The discussion runs on the Heritage Large Fowl thread from page 1588, post #15873, through page 1595.
Reading AMW's comments, I felt tearful. Here was someone who had invested time, money, and effort into her chickens, and genuinely cared for their well-being as individuals. She would do what had to be done - either cull or accept quarantine - with what was best for her birds uppermost in her mind. Many of the Heritage Large Fowl thread members (HLFTM) felt the same way and were willing to accept the same consequences. Some of them had invested decades in developing their flocks, and had decades of the work of others preceding their own work. But other HLFTM were unwilling to give up their investments or their show careers and tried to justify their attitudes with a 'survival of the fittest' philosophy. When they put their philosophy into action by showing or selling communicable disease-carrying birds, they impinge on the rights of others. They endanger the flocks of others and put a domino effect into place where the next owner may unintentionally infect other flocks. All of this sets more bird owners up for unnecessary heartbreak. Yes, these diseases occur and may be acquired naturally via wild birds, but that is far different from purposefully infecting birds. Owners and breeders who knowingly sell or show disease-carrying birds should have their NPIP status revoked and be banned from all poultry clubs, associations and shows for life.
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Thank you for all the suggestions. After reading this I am going to change a few things. I actually had a pair I bought at the show have CRD, they were an older pair. The hen died, but the cockerel hasnt. So I am going to have to call him as much as I hate to say it. Luckily I had seperated them from everyine else, because I thought they were acting a little odd, I guess my gut feeling was right this time.
Pipd ~ Oh, I remember that dress because I had responded that my BR named Tweedy suggested that your BR wear a tweed patterned dress!Agree to disagree. I agree.
It makes me feel better to know you have a backup plan, though I was posting that more to show that even if one keeps their chickens as pets, one doesn't necessarily have to heat their coop for them. Many people do not have a backup plan for if the power goes out, which is when things can go badly in a way that most don't think of. I have heard of chickens dying from the cold after being used to heat for most of the winter. That is one of my largest concerns.
The other is fire, and I'll tell you why. In the era of my chicken-keeping time known as 'Before I Knew Better', I did a lot of stupid things. One of them was to have a heat lamp in my coop without much thought as to cleaning dust off of it or securing it so it couldn't fall down. I thought I would be smart by using a 60 watt bulb instead of the usual big 250 watt bulbs in the lamp--you know, less of a fire risk, right? Unfortunately for me, this did not stop that little bulb from shattering one night. I don't know when it shattered, but it left live wires open for the rest of that night, which could have easily ignited the dust in the air. I thought nothing of it, just cleaned up the bulb and removed it.
Then earlier this year, someone who, though I don't know all that well, I have a lot of respect for in the way she keeps her birds, had her barn burn down with all of her chickens and a few other animals inside. That was very eye opening to me. Again, I felt deep respect for her as she got up, dusted herself off, and rebuilt--I feel I would have been crippled by it all. And then I thought of that shattered light bulb and how close I came to the same scenario. I researched and researched and researched some more, at which point I came to the conclusions that I am frequently posting here.
I don't want someone to have to have their coop burn down--or for someone to have a close call like I did--in order for them to learn from this experience. This is very real, very scary stuff. So while I am completely against the use of heat lamps (even with those lightless heat bulbs--the ceramic part can fall off and pose a fire risk as well!), I suppose I can't see anything hazardous about the way you heat your coop in regards to fire risk. Just remember to check the length of the cord frequently and dust out the outlets every time you unplug it and even more frequently than that--chickens make a lot of dust!
Mine are solely kept as pets as well, so I do understand wanting to baby them a lot--that's why my girls now have a nice sunroom for natural heat without having to worry about power outages or electrical fires. Need I repost the picture of my barred Plymouth Rock henny, Cricket, in the pink dress?I think I will anyway.
Last year I used one of those clamp lamps with a ceramic heat emitter. I don't know why someone hasn't come up with an all in one design for a clamp lamp since they can easily come apart. (That's why I decided to use a small flat panel heat emitter this year). Most people use this type of lamp for brooders, so this info may help others:
It is good to bring up the fire hazard again. Aoxa here on byc had a barn fire last year (probably who you're referring to). It was an "in your face" wake-up call for me and many others. I've never used heat in the hen house but I do have heated bases for the water. If I end up brooding w/out a broody I think I'd use an ecoglow which I think is much safer.
Wondering if you heat your water...I can't leave mine without as I work and the hours I'm gone don't work well with just changing out the waterers.
Oh..anyone want to read about Aoxa's barn?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/745178/fire-safety-in-your-chicken-coop-barn-important
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/les-farms-the-barn-of-all-barns
Love it!We raked up some leaves yesterday and threw them in the chicken run. I guess leaves are like crack for them!
Yes, that's who I was referring to.
I love my EcoGlow! This was my first year using one and I think it was well worth the cost! The babies loved it, they easily figured out where to go at night, and I didn't have to try and teach them the day/night cycle like I had to when using a heat lamp. The only complaint I had was that the chicks got on top of it and left droppings everywhere, and the raised lettering made it a little difficult to clean.
Guess who started that trend?
She's come a long way since she was a naughty little fluffball.Anyway, as far as the function it was intended for is concerned, it is about the best thing ever! I'm done with heat lamps for good!
I do heat my water in the wintertime. As I said a while back, I use a heated bucket that gets no warmer than just above freezing. I check it thoroughly before I start using it every year and I dust the outlet and go over the entire length of the wire probably about twice a month, if not more, when it's in use. I also don't keep it plugged in at night, mainly because I empty it so that there isn't a great big source of moisture in the coop on freezing cold nights.
Now I've read about frostbite from birds falling into open water sources like my heated bucket, though, so I'm thinking I might pull it apart and use your instructions (was that here or the DIY thread?) to convert it into a heated base for a gravity waterer.
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CCC...Chickens I wanted to let you know that both of your pups have been rehomed to great homes with children and younger parents full of energy. I sent you a message about another person really really wanting a puppy. If you still have one I'm sure she would like it.
I put them here and at the DIY thread. That's what I'll use again this year. I do think they're much safer fire-wise than the cookie tin or the light bulb in block. Especially since the say that most of those are done are "rigged" with put-together wiring, etc.Yes, that's who I was referring to.
I love my EcoGlow! This was my first year using one and I think it was well worth the cost! The babies loved it, they easily figured out where to go at night, and I didn't have to try and teach them the day/night cycle like I had to when using a heat lamp. The only complaint I had was that the chicks got on top of it and left droppings everywhere, and the raised lettering made it a little difficult to clean.
Guess who started that trend?She's come a long way since she was a naughty little fluffball.
Now I've read about frostbite from birds falling into open water sources like my heated bucket, though, so I'm thinking I might pull it apart and use your instructions (was that here or the DIY thread?) to convert it into a heated base for a gravity waterer.
I'm one of those that doesn't want an open waterer because of the frostbite concern. Especially in winter when they stay in more often and might step in a waterer while "fleeing" away from someone else
Wish that wasn't a concern. Otherwise I wouldn't have had to take everything apart. So going to put this:
On this on one of the bases that I posted here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/730582/indiana-bycers-here/16100#post_12204212
Whoops - forgot to ask how many you've brooded under the ecoglow at a time?
I've only used it once thus far, as it was a Christmas gift last year. I had 8 chicks (2 bantam, 6 LF) under it and there was plenty of room for the first few weeks. Seems like right around 3 or 4 weeks old, they couldn't all fit under it anymore. (I don't remember for sure on that, so don't hold me to it!) They didn't seem to be as dependent on the heat source as with a heat lamp, though, so it didn't do them any harm when they were too big for all of them to fit underneath it at once.
ETA: Thank you for the link, by the way. I'm gonna take a closer look at that bucket and see what I can do.
I had 8 chicks (2 bantam, 6 LF) under it and there was plenty of room for the first few weeks. Seems like right around 3 or 4 weeks old, they couldn't all fit under it anymore. (I don't remember for sure on that, so don't hold me to it!) They didn't seem to be as dependent on the heat source as with a heat lamp, though, so it didn't do them any harm when they were too big for all of them to fit underneath it at once.ETA: Thank you for the link, by the way. I'm gonna take a closer look at that bucket and see what I can do.
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