Phew, I had a few pages to catch up on! School is trying to kill me right now, so don't mind if I don't post much. 
So, so sorry about everything you've had to go through!
That's one of my pet peeves. I went to a swap meet once and saw a cage labelled 'pullets' that was full of very obvious cockerels. Some people! And then there was the person with the EE cockerel on the BYC Facebook page that kept insisting that she had a pullet. Guess what? A week or two ago, they posted that they had a cockerel they were sure was a pullet. Wonder which bird that was... 
Oh, I love your setup!
I wanted to update everyone on my flock situation. I took blood and mucus samples the other week and took them over to the Purdue office by Patoka. I got the results back and my flock had been infected with infectious Coryza. NASTY STUFF. I'm guessing it was from one of the birds I had brought home from a swap at TSC. So everyone was either sick or now a carrier. The Purdue people even offered to come out to my place and look at what was going on. I said that would be great. The next day a few people came up and looked around, checking my coup and where I had food/water. They took samples of droppings and a few eggs that I had saved. My setup was fine; I was keeping things clean. By this time, even after getting meds in them, I had a few birds close to death. The one that had puss coming from an eye had passed and I had her in the fridge. The people took the dead one and asked if they could take one of the sicker ones. I had no problem with that. Two days later I get a call from a friend, who actually works in that office. He had nothing but bad news. He told me they worked through things quickly so I could make a decision on what to do with the flock. I of course only had to choices. Keep medicating the flock, never getting to use the eggs...not that I was getting a whole lot of eggs lately anyway...and I wouldn't be able to add any birds. Or, cull them all and start over after the winter. With much regret and sadness, I decided to cull. Over the last few days my dad and I put down every chicken and turkey. (I had been wondering whether the turkeys would be okay, but they suggested that we put them down as well, just to be safe.) ***Okay, not every chicken, because my braniac EE, Einstein literally flew the coop and has been MIA since the first day. I knew that girl was smart!! So we've been on the lookout for her, saw her briefly, but I think she knows better and may not come back. We'll see. :cd So all the birds are going to an ag department for research. My brother had a connection. At least they won't go to complete waste. My dad is pretty upset because he was planning on using one of the turkeys for Christmas. They were heavy things!! Now the yard is horribly empty, except for when we let the puppies out. I am slowly getting things cleaned up and put away. I have my list made for when I decide to start again. I think I will probably use one of the hatcheries and then they're all coming from the same place. This has been an awesome experience and I have learned a lot!! I think next time I will know better how to take care of things (I know you can't prevent everything from happening to farm animals...) I will continue to read through the forum and throw and insight or two in once in awhile. I have to at least have some entertainment this winter, and you all provide that! THANK YOU to everyone who gave suggestions and provided a little comfort for me! Carry on!
So, so sorry about everything you've had to go through!
I'm a major sweet tooth, so Halloween is up there among my favorite holidays (if you want to call it a holiday?). I'm most looking forward to going to the store tomorrow and picking up Halloween candy on clearance.
That's one of my pet peeves. I went to a swap meet once and saw a cage labelled 'pullets' that was full of very obvious cockerels. Some people! And then there was the person with the EE cockerel on the BYC Facebook page that kept insisting that she had a pullet. Guess what? A week or two ago, they posted that they had a cockerel they were sure was a pullet. Wonder which bird that was...
I've thought about Emus a lot, but after a lot of research, I've changed my mind, personally. They are very territorial, and I've read that they find it fun to stomp on animals smaller than them. Whether it's true or not, I don't know, but I'm not sure that I'm willing to risk it.
