INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

1st Sebright Egg!!!

We're all very proud of our little "Trouble". Not only did she lay her 1st egg, but she's doing great in her training.
When DD or I hold out an arm & say "UP" she hops on eagerly. Today I've been calling her from farther away & she will fly about 2-3ft to land on my arm. (You have to remember that this is a crazy, independent, young pullet, so just having her come when called is a big achievement.) My end goal is to have her fly several feet feet & land on my arm when called........ Beats chicken chasing!


BTW- Trouble looks much larger in the pic due to the camera angle. DD is holding her forward, so Trouble & the egg look bigger in proportion.

 

[Mother2Hens]

I'm so sorry! Likely your adult hens have already built up an immunity. I would make sure you vaccinate Lacey before she goes out though!
Thanks for your input!

@chick rookie 's Lacy is still upstairs in quarantine. I've changed clothes, showered, and everything when I have visited her and then my flock and vise versa. I am, of course, worried about her because it just seems impossible to control microscopic organisms.

All of my hens are adults, and the three that died in the past month all had no obvious symptoms. Since I had my voice treatment last week, I am still whispering, so when the vet called this morning, I couldn't really talk. He said there will be more info coming from Purdue, but so far Marek's is indicated (or something to that effect).I am so confused and in shock. I know there have been people on this thread who have gone through this, but Marek's has been mentioned so many times, that it's difficult to do a thread search. I'd really like to read some personal experiences from our members. I plan to find some veterinarian/medical types of articles online tonight.

If anyone has any experience with Marek's, please share. Thank you!

Here's the History:

Eliza ~ Orp ~ Age 2
Brought to vet since she suddenly had a bad limp. Treated for scaly leg mites. Found dead at bottom of coop the next day on Jan. 7.

Adeline ~ Orp Age 2 ¾
A week later found dead at bottom of coop on Jan. 16. Looking back, the only symptom I can think of was that her comb was pale. After Eliza died, she was depressed.

Screech ~ Bantam Cochin ~ Age 1½
Found dead in her sleep in coop on Feb. 4.
I had lucid moment and decided to have a necropsy done! Should have done so with the previous two hens. It just didn't occur to me.

Next? The only remaining one that I've noticed symptoms is Bonbon ~ Orp ~ Age 2½
When she flies up to perch at night, she rocks a little as she breathes.

My other four hens have acted normally so far:
Daytime Flock Leader: Tweedy ~ Barred Rock ~ Age 4
Nighttime Flock Leader: Lacey ~ SLW ~ Age 4
Roadrunner ~ EE ~ Age 4
Smalty ~ Silkie ~ Age 2

@amwchickin ~ Have you dealt with Marek's? I remember something bad happened to your flock and luckily Einstein was away at that time.

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[funnyfarmmom]

Back to meat birds...

Do y'all order straight-run or pullets on the Cornish X?

The local place I spoke about earlier also has Freedom Rangers available.  I'm thinking I might try half and half and compare.

I order straight run, but all pullets is cheaper. You can also order all cockerels but its a little more expensive. Kinda backwards from what we are used to

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Not a good day—or year. I received a call from my Avian veterinarian who said that preliminary results on my recently deceased Screech (who he sent to Purdue) indicate Marek's, but more info will be coming. I guess that explains three chicken deaths in a month. I didn't expect that news because I hadn't seen any symptoms. I feel sick from the report, and I have to drive to Bloomington and back to get meds to my DD at IU.

@Leahs Mom ~ I agree about your "humane" comment! As you know, my coop is consistently 15 degrees higher than outdoor temps. Last year, I bought a 11 X 16 side mount sweeter heater ($95 plus shipping). I like that it is safe, but it does not emit the heat described on their site. I also use a traditional 250 watt infrared clamp lamp in which I use wire to hold all of the lamp components together and also to secure the clamp onto a coop beam. It's not a perfect solution, but there are risks and benefits to everything.

Keep us posted. Wow thats a hard thing to hear.

Back to meat birds...

Do y'all order straight-run or pullets on the Cornish X?

The local place I spoke about earlier also has Freedom Rangers available. I'm thinking I might try half and half and compare.

Its a good idea. That way you can experience both, and make your own choices.

1st Sebright Egg!!!

We're all very proud of our little "Trouble". Not only did she lay her 1st egg, but she's doing great in her training.
When DD or I hold out an arm & say "UP" she hops on eagerly. Today I've been calling her from farther away & she will fly about 2-3ft to land on my arm. (You have to remember that this is a crazy, independent, young pullet, so just having her come when called is a big achievement.) My end goal is to have her fly several feet feet & land on my arm when called........ Beats chicken chasing!


BTW- Trouble looks much larger in the pic due to the camera angle. DD is holding her forward, so Trouble & the egg look bigger in proportion.

Adorable picture! Congrats on the egg.

Quote: I order straight run too, or get chicks that bin.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Have had the flu or something last few days, ugh. Still running a fever, aches etc. So far the critters are holding out well with this cold snap.

 

[flyin-lowe]

JC
Being from Pendleton did you see or know that the hardware store on 67 (toward the prison) is going out of business? I stopped in last week and they still had quite a bit of stuff left. I am sure it is getting picked clean but I got a killer deal on the last two rolls of hardware cloth they had left. I also bought an entire sack full of clasps, hinges, latches, etc. Everything in the store was at least 50% off. Some stuff I noticed was still a little more then what you can get at Lowes or Menards. These smaller stores are high priced on some items. It would be worth a stop if you haven't been in already.

 

[pginsber]

Not a good day—or year. I received a call from my Avian veterinarian who said that preliminary results on my recently deceased Screech (who he sent to Purdue) indicate Marek's, but more info will be coming. I guess that explains three chicken deaths in a month. I didn't expect that news because I hadn't seen any symptoms. I feel sick from the report, and I have to drive to Bloomington and back to get meds to my DD at IU.

M2H: Forgive this graphic question. If you have a chance to speak with the vet again, I would ask what preliminary results lead her to believe it was Marek's. I would press her if she actually visualized tumors anywhere. Eliza's sudden limp might be indicative of a tumor pressing on a nerve--potential Mareks'.

My understanding: Marek's is in our environment from wild birds, etc., and our flocks can build an immunity to it naturally or via vaccination. Either it kills them when they're young, they build immunity, or tumors grow slowly inside them (quasi-immunity) the vaccine is not 100% successful.

I had my chicks vaccinated for Marek's and still lost one at about 4 months: sudden paralysis and eventual euthanasia. Unknown reason for paralysis, could be injury or could be Marek's. Any Marek's blood test would come back positive because she was vaccinated as a chick, so that was not a helpful test.

Even though I had a pullet suffering an unusual sudden paralysis which could be indicative of Marek's symptoms, we've since broody hatched 4 clutches of chicks and not vaccinated the last 3 against Marek's. No chick deaths.

I'm a layperson. My post is my personal experience, nothing more.

As I'm working on coop 2.0 temperature regulation is what has given me the most frustration. I want to use a cup watering system inside the coop, so obviously keeping that above freezing is going to be a priority. I think what I've decided on is using a heat lamp to keep the temp around the water storage and plumbing from freezing, and if some of that warmth bleeds over to the chicken side then so be it. Currently the plan is for this to be in the area of the nesting boxes as well, which I like as I've lost a couple eggs to freezing this winter, so it could eliminate that.

I can see where it may cause some diva birds to think sleeping in the nesting box is a good idea, but that seems an easier problem to fix than frozen water system or eggs.

Tmarsh83: We've had good luck keeping a nipple system thawed using heat tape. The birds don't peck it, and it's wonderful! Any chance something that like could be tooled to work for you?

 

[Leahs Mom]

M2H: Forgive this graphic question. If you have a chance to speak with the vet again, I would ask what preliminary results lead her to believe it was Marek's. I would press her if she actually visualized tumors anywhere.

@Mother2Hens and @pginsber

I agree that you should press.

I've heard from several sources that vets often say "marek's" with nothing to prove it. I even know one that had labs done and they said Marek's but there was no actual evidence - even in the labs.

Not sure why some are so quick to conclude Marek's when there isn't concrete evidence..... but it does seem to be somewhat common to jump to that conclusion from what I've heard.

 

[SIMZ]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for Barred Rock hatching eggs or around 6 chicks that will be ready between Feb. 22nd - March 11. I'm in the Wanatah area and could travel up to an hour. Anyone nearby have these breeds?

Thanks!

 

[flyladyrocks]

Okay folks, could use your help! Our new silkie roo Olaf has a toe problem/infection? I first noticed it yesterday, and it doubled in swell since then. I was sick as a dog Wed. but since he is inside being quarantined before going out to meet his girls, I think I would have noticed. He spends a lot of his time perched on the edge of his pack-n-play home and we talk often. I am so in love with this boy! He is sooo sweet. Got him from @ellymayRans 3 weeks ago, he is originally from @Indyshent

Here is his toe