INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[ChickCrazed]

I had a busy day planting trees yesterday! 23 now in the ground! My arborvitae are coming from a different source and I only pray they have not shipped already so I have some time to recover before the next phase of planting! I also seeded and fertilized my pasture. My next big Spring project will be building a railing for my deck and eventually staining it. I have stained it 2 out of the 3 years I have lived in the house. It had never been treated prior to my efforts and I can't seem to get anything to stick to the ancient wood. After a few months the stain just starts flaking off and looks awful. Does anyone have any recommendations on what else to try? I am tired of spending hours and hundreds of dollars treating it and it still looking like crap!

My next batch of chicks is getting locked down tonight!

 

[chickiefreak]

WARNING!! Cuteness alert!!!
This is my mom (flyladyrocks) with 4 of our chicks. The 2 jubilee Orps: Jubilee and Joy. Our lav: Louisa and our Split sylvia.

 

[bradselig]

I had a busy day planting trees yesterday!  23 now in the ground!  My arborvitae are coming from a different source and I only pray they have not shipped already so I have some time to recover before the next phase of planting!  I also seeded and fertilized my pasture.  My next big Spring project will be building a railing for my deck and eventually staining it.  I have stained it 2 out of the 3 years I have lived in the house.  It had never been treated prior to my efforts and I can't seem to get anything to stick to the ancient wood.  After a few months the stain just starts flaking off and looks awful.  Does anyone have any recommendations on what else to try?  I am tired of spending hours and hundreds of dollars treating it and it still looking like crap!

My next batch of chicks is getting locked down tonight!

My back deck was painted when I bought my house. The wood was aged and started splintering. I decided to use a product called Restore. It has held up very well. I need to redo the steps but of course they get the most wear and tear and I only got one coat on them. I fou d the product to be near impossible to put on vertical surfaces. So I just got a good quality paint and painted my railing.

The product is very thick and an absolute pain to use. Very messy and the loop roller needed to apply it throws the paint like crazy. But after 3-4 years of having applied it and 3 dogs on it every time they go outside, I'm very pleased.

The fisrt picture was right after I finished the last half which is why there is a color difference. The other is a closer pic of the floor.

 

[ChickCrazed]

My back deck was painted when I bought my house. The wood was aged and started splintering. I decided to use a product called Restore. It has held up very well. I need to redo the steps but of course they get the most wear and tear and I only got one coat on them. I fou d the product to be near impossible to put on vertical surfaces. So I just got a good quality paint and painted my railing.

The product is very thick and an absolute pain to use. Very messy and the loop roller needed to apply it throws the paint like crazy. But after 3-4 years of having applied it and 3 dogs on it every time they go outside, I'm very pleased.

Thank you!!!! That is really good to know! I had read about the product but the reviews were mixed after the first year and I wasn't sure which to trust. I do think that my dog's nails are most of the problem. Two of them take off like crazy bats when I let them out and their nails do a number on the surface. I'm going to try my best to keep them off of it for 30 days to give it a good chance this time.

 

[kittydoc]

The latest, and for us scariest, update to the avian influenza outbreak, is below. Besides adding chicken in Wisconsin, it has also spread to a turkey farm in North Dakota. This is the first big commercial chicken outbreak in a while, since it started on the West Coast many weeks ago, I believe. There were a few scattered backyard flocks since then, but no big flocks. Illinois and/or Michigan will likely be next, then we Hoosiers are screwed.

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2015 -- The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) in a commercial layer flock in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The flock of 200,000 chickens is located within the Mississippi flyway where this strain of avian influenza has previously been identified. CDC considers the risk to people from these HPAI H5 infections in wild birds, backyard flocks and commercial poultry, to be low. No human infections with the virus have been detected at this time.
Samples from the chicken flock, which experienced increased mortality, were tested at the Missouri Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa confirmed the findings. NVSL is the only internationally recognized AI reference laboratory in the United States. APHIS is working closely with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the premises and birds on the property will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

The United States has the strongest AI surveillance program in the world. As part of the existing USDA avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners as well as industry are responding quickly and decisively to these outbreaks by following these five basic steps: 1) Quarantine – restricting movement of poultry and poultry-moving equipment into and out of the control area; 2) Eradicate – humanely euthanizing the affected flock(s); 3) Monitor region – testing wild and domestic birds in a broad area around the quarantine area; 4) Disinfect – kills the virus in the affected flock locations; and 5) Test – confirming that the poultry farm is AI virus-free. USDA also is working with its partners to actively look and test for the disease in commercial poultry operations, live bird markets and in migratory wild bird populations.

The Wisconsin Department of Health is working directly with poultry workers at the affected facility to ensure that they are taking the proper precautions. As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F kills bacteria and viruses.

USDA will include the confirmation information in routine updates to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and will notify international trading partners of this finding as appropriate. OIE trade guidelines call on countries to base trade restrictions on sound science and, whenever possible, limit restrictions to those animals and animal products within a defined region that pose a risk of spreading disease of concern.

These virus strains can travel in wild birds without them appearing sick. People should avoid contact with sick/dead poultry or wildlife. If contact occurs, wash your hands with soap and water and change clothing before having any contact with healthy domestic poultry and birds.

All bird owners, whether commercial producers or backyard enthusiasts, should continue to practice good biosecurity, prevent contact between their birds and wild birds, and report sick birds or unusual bird deaths to State/Federal officials, either through their state veterinarian or through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593. Additional information on biosecurity for backyard flocks can be found at http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov.

Additional background
Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese and guinea fowl) and is carried by free flying waterfowl such as ducks, geese and shorebirds. AI viruses are classified by a combination of two groups of proteins: hemagglutinin or “H” proteins, of which there are 16 (H1–H16), and neuraminidase or “N” proteins, of which there are 9 (N1–N9). Many different combinations of “H” and “N” proteins are possible. Each combination is considered a different subtype, and can be further broken down into different strains. AI viruses are further classified by their pathogenicity (low or high)— the ability of a particular virus strain to produce disease in domestic chickens.
The HPAI H5N8 virus originated in Asia and spread rapidly along wild bird migratory pathways during 2014, including the Pacific flyway. In the Pacific flyway, the HPAI H5N8 virus has mixed with North American avian influenza viruses, creating new mixed-origin viruses. These mixed-origin viruses contain the Asian-origin H5 part of the virus, which is highly pathogenic to poultry. The N parts of these viruses came from North American low pathogenic avian influenza viruses.

USDA has identified two mixed-origin viruses in the Pacific Flyway: the HPAI H5N2 virus and new HPAI H5N1 virus. The new HPAI H5N1 virus is not the same virus as the HPAI H5N1 virus found in Asia, Europe and Africa that has caused some human illness. Only the HPAI H5N2 virus has been detected in the Pacific, Mississippi and Central Flyways.

Detailed analysis of the virus is underway in cooperation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information about the ongoing avian influenza disease incidents visit the APHIS website. More information about avian influenza can be found on the USDA avian influenza page. More information about avian influenza and public health is available on the CDC website..

 

[Indyshent]

@Bawk It is tough starting out to pick the breed you want. I keep seeing new breeds and I get excited all over again! Since I mostly keep a free range flock aside from the EE and lavender orps, I look for hardy, predator smart chickens. I keep 2 bantam breeds, Old English and Modern Game bantams. The OEGB are very good free ranging, but I keep them confined since they are so tiny! My MGB have a large parrot type cage in the garage, and do not go outdoors without supervision and warmer temps.
Large fowl chicken, I have a big mix, SLW, RIR, BR, WL, "red " production layers and several mixed breed birds. Sometimes I think I like the mixed birds the most, every one of them has an unusual personality all their own. My largest egg laying breed are my beilie girl and the production reds, 3 oz eggs are pretty much what they give me.
Pet breeds, I love my lavender orpington. Roosters are super friendly, all of them are lap chickens. Love the color and personality! I have a few EE girls thats favorites too. I have several RIR girls that wont hesitate to sit on your knee and ask for a treat too.

My gold comet (whatever the heck they're called these days.. t'was a bright orange chicken) and the RIR girls were super sweet and cuddly. Loved me and my youngest son the most, so I hope you've gotten to see their sweet sides too. The comet was partially eaten by some stray animal, but I'm glad my son never saw it because they were such pals.

In interesting news, I've two chickens decide that when I'm sitting down and feeding them in the yard, my head is a great perch. Yesterday, the SLW started this trend, and this morning, the cream-and-blue EE roo decided my hat was a fine seat. They're both passionate, spunky birds and great fun to have around for the moment, but they're also the most likely to nip at the newbies, so we'll see how that goes. Very pretty birds and growing up more gracefully every day

The crowing EE isn't as pretty, but he is sweet with everyone and absolutely loves oranges. I ate an orange in the yard and just tossed the rind into the compost heap (in the run), and he went gonzo for it. T'was hilarious. He's not a great fan of being picked up (much like my Wellie roo), but they're both chillax when it comes to newbies, and that's a real blessing since I have a flock of such mixed age babies.

The bitty partridge Rock is warming up to me and developing a taste for riding and snuggling on my shoulders as well. For the most part, he doesn't get picked on--except when he goes crazy and runs like a dog is chasing him. Taht's when they nip him. Nobody's lost feathers yet (certainly no bleeding), so I count myself pretty fortunate. He's growing up slowly but gracefully. Already has bright iridescent swaths on him--but still has very few feathers! He's big enough to be a pill with the bitties, but he's not big enough to keep himself as warm as we'd like so I may have to bring him back to the brooder if it doesn't start staying warm. I figured the extra socialization may pay off because I've heard of some Rock roos being right terrors and really hope to find him a good home since he's the only Rock I have.

 

[RoseMcEagle]

Hi, I wanted to give a brief intro on where I am in Indiana before going back out to rake some more and clean up fallen branches. I am about equidistant from Aurora, Greensburg, and Madison. I plan on getting back on here to learn more about you guys once working outside isn't useful anymore but feel free to message me or something.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Spring is here!!!!

But...with spring comes....POISON IVY!

I think my girls have already been brushing the vines even though there aren't any leaves yet. I moved one of my girls last night and this morning I'm having that tell-tail swelling in my face and around my eyes. I'm trying to be proactive to stop it before I get a full blown swollen head like I did last year.

It just didn't occur to me that I needed to be concerned about picking one of them up this early in the season.

You'd think that after NEVER HAVING A REACTION my whole life that I wouldn't start now. Ah well...


But I just reserved 2 Boer wethers to run in the wooded area this season. They'll be butchered before winter for meat, but I'm hoping they will tackle a lot of the PI in there. The girls are going to get to run more of the woods this year too as I have had a guy doing some ground clearing...lots and lots of fallen trees, logs, and I couldn't get in to walk through or find a bird if needed before. I'm pretty excited about that new range area!!!

Besides the goats, do any of you have any ideas for PI clearing of the huge vines that go up the trees?

Feels like I need a haz-mat team - or haz-mat suit or something. I wonder if there are professional PI removers for the huge vines?

 

[flyladyrocks]

Welcome! We spent quite a bit of time today (before the rain started) cleaning up from the storms too. Big branches and I can't believe how many tiny twigs there are! You just about have to rake. The sad part is there is still so much more out there! I'd much rather hang with the chickens.

Hi, I wanted to give a brief intro on where I am in Indiana before going back out to rake some more and clean up fallen branches. I am about equidistant from Aurora, Greensburg, and Madison. I plan on getting back on here to learn more about you guys once working outside isn't useful anymore but feel free to message me or something.

 

[RoseMcEagle]

Lol, yeah there weren't many leaves in what I was raking. Mostly nuts and small to medium sticks. The big sticks I just picked up to move to the burn pit. Haven't really started on the limbs yet. Also, one of our big oaks got struck by lightning and some of it's bark was stripped. Does any one know if we should use a specific type of paint to cover the raw wood so the tree doesn't suffer until she can grow her bark back?