INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[PeacefulWalls]

Wow! Found this duck egg this morning. I hope the girl who laid it is doing OK!

size comparison: small, medium, large, XL & jumbo chicken eggs, typical duck egg, giant duck egg!


XL chicken egg & giant duck egg


My egg scale says XL eggs are between 2 1/4 & 2 1/2 oz. My duck eggs are average 3 oz. This is 4 1/2 oz.!!

 

[Birdylady3]

Morn peeps

So whats on everyone agenda for today?

Well, cut my sons hair, head for a short drive to buy an "auracana" or two this morning and then an hour drive to buy my first pair or Cream Legbars. I hope it is a true auracana, who knows anymore, but the legbars are said to be 100% pure blood from Greenfire farms so I am excited to get this breed. Only 4 months old so no eggs for a while but hopefully start breeding them in the spring. Ive only heard great things about them.

How long do u usually quarenteen your chickens when you bring home new ones? I know the auracanas were are the local fair so they had to have their shots and such and the legbars come from a breeder with good quality control but I assume I should still quarantine.

Just wondering your thoughts.

thanks

Sounds like you have a busy day planned. I usually quarantine mine for 30 days.

 

[Birdylady3]

Well...... we were going to start working on our winter coop, but guess what???? It's pouring down rain!

Guess we will have to wait for a break in the rain. Hopefully it doesn't hang around all weekend. This is the only time we really have to get the "chicken chores" done, now that school has started for all 5 of us, with after school activities and having to drive an hour back and forth, it's hard to get these things done through the week. Guess I will just work on my Passive range of motion and study my nursing book for the test I have on Tues. or I guess I could just read a bunch of the forums on here.

I started to rain here too and then stopped

I guess it heard me say "Oh no, Not this **** again!" Study for the test 1st and then if you feel you need a break, read the forums.

 

[Birdylady3]

Tomatoes & green beans to can. Pick the soybeans (edamame) that are ready and freeze them. Pick and can red beets if I have time (going to make pickled beets -- yum!). Garlic is ready (past ready actually) to dig and start drying. Oh -- and I have to figure out what music I'm playing (piano) for church tomorrow! Also need to get to the nursing home today or tomorrow and give Mom a haircut....Glad it's a long weekend!

Wow! That's alot to do.

 

[Birdylady3]

Wow! Found this duck egg this morning. I hope the girl who laid it is doing OK!

size comparison: small, medium, large, XL & jumbo chicken eggs, typical duck egg, giant duck egg!


XL chicken egg & giant duck egg


My egg scale says XL eggs are between 2 1/4 & 2 1/2 oz. My duck eggs are average 3 oz. This is 4 1/2 oz.!!

Monster duck! *runs and hides under*

 

[Crooked House]

Thank you!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yes. I actually know someone from Germany so hear t from time to time. I also could have had a lot of help learning it if I would have taken it, but it wouldn't work out.

Yeah, I probably wouldn't've chosen German if it weren't for my dad speaking some German. I don't know if I'd want to tackle that language without someone to practice with! I have some distant cousins in Germany, but I don't think I've ever spoken to them. I guess I'll be able to, though!

Hi everyone. Just wanting to check in. I lost a bird today, noob mistake. I started getting the coup winter ready. I took down the chicken wire under the roost boards as there were no mamas/ babies using it, and I moved the nest boxes under that space. Well no hens were laying in it. They were all just making nests in the deep litter in the corners. I moved a board to block off the corners to leave them really no options but the boxes, and one hen got back behind the wood, then couldn't get out, looks like she got her head wedged and broke her neck. Needless to say, all corners are now open. I just feel sick about it. I got 4 eggs today, so I know my hens are upset about it too. A couple of them just came to sit on me and rest their head under my arm. Even the feral kittens followed me around all night and got within a couple of feet away from me, I could have reached out and touched them tonight. Feeling pretty bummed all night.


I'm sorry to hear of the other deaths, chickens and ducks. I am very glad to hear others are healing well. Sending good hatching vibes to all those eggs!


Deb

Oh, I'm so sorry! I've found that chickens are surprisingly perceptive to what people are feeling, or at least mine are. Maybe your girls could tell you were upset and that's why they were being so friendly? Mine have done the same before when I've been upset about things, chicken related or not.

These birds really have a knack for finding ways of harming themselves. Before we rebuilt the nests this summer, I had a few similar accidents with how my nests were set up. We didn't insulate the coop, so the studs still stick out, and the hens would fall back behind the nests and be stuck there against the wall between the studs. :/ It became critical that we rebuild, though, when one of my Sebrights got her hips stuck between a stud and the corner of the nests, and she must have broken her neck fighting to get loose. The sucky thing is I thought I had modified it enough that it was safer for them. That was a rough lesson to learn.

Gramma always said english is easier, german is prettier sounding words lol. She would call the turkeys ahh dumkoff ohh! and several words I didnt understand. probably the best as I was so little LOL.

German is phlegmy, not sure I'd call that prettier sounding! I think she was just calling the turkeys dumb fools or something like that.

Morn peeps So whats on everyone agenda for today?

I'm taking a day to recover from the week. I might try and dig up some poison ivy from where I want to build the duck coop, though. Mom got a spray that is supposed to be okay for animals to be around once it's dry, but I don't know if I like the thought of using it where the ducks will be living...

 

[Birdylady3]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't've chosen German if it weren't for my dad speaking some German. I don't know if I'd want to tackle that language without someone to practice with! I have some distant cousins in Germany, but I don't think I've ever spoken to them. I guess I'll be able to, though!

Oh, I'm so sorry!

I've found that chickens are surprisingly perceptive to what people are feeling, or at least mine are. Maybe your girls could tell you were upset and that's why they were being so friendly? Mine have done the same before when I've been upset about things, chicken related or not.

These birds really have a knack for finding ways of harming themselves. Before we rebuilt the nests this summer, I had a few similar accidents with how my nests were set up. We didn't insulate the coop, so the studs still stick out, and the hens would fall back behind the nests and be stuck there against the wall between the studs.

It became critical that we rebuild, though, when one of my Sebrights got her hips stuck between a stud and the corner of the nests, and she must have broken her neck fighting to get loose.

The sucky thing is I thought I had modified it enough that it was safer for them. That was a rough lesson to learn.

German is phlegmy, not sure I'd call that prettier sounding!

I think she was just calling the turkeys dumb fools or something like that.

I'm taking a day to recover from the week.

I might try and dig up some poison ivy from where I want to build the duck coop, though. Mom got a spray that is supposed to be okay for animals to be around once it's dry, but I don't know if I like the thought of using it where the ducks will be living...

I agree, I wouldn't use it around the ducks area unless the area is mainly dry.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

[COLOR=333333]Morn peeps[/COLOR][COLOR=333333] [/COLOR][COLOR=333333] So whats on everyone agenda for today?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]Well, cut my sons hair, head for a short drive to buy an "auracana" or two this morning and then an hour drive to buy my first pair or Cream Legbars. I hope it is a true auracana, who knows anymore, but the legbars are said to be 100% pure blood from Greenfire farms so I am excited to get this breed. Only 4 months old so no eggs for a while but hopefully start breeding them in the spring. Ive only heard great things about them. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]How long do u usually quarenteen your chickens when you bring home new ones? I know the auracanas were are the local fair so they had to have their shots and such and the legbars come from a breeder with good quality control but I assume I should still quarenteen. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]Just wondering your thoughts.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]thanks[/COLOR]

More than likely, they will be Easter-eggers. Araucanas in particular are very, very rare and difficult to breed for a number of reasons. If the birds you pick up have tails and beards, they are Easter-eggers. Araucanas are usually rumpless (they have no tail) and have tufts or are clean-faced. But post a picture and there are plenty of people here that can help you confirm their identification.

As for quarantine, you should always quarantine new birds, no matter where you get them, and also no matter what species they may be. I quarantine a bit differently than a lot of people say to, but I have found that it's the only way to be certain that a bird is totally healthy.

First, before picking up the birds, have your quarantine space ready. It needs to be at minimum 100 feet away from wherever your current flock roams, or closed off in a building that your flock doesn't go in. I have quarantined both in the garage and in the basement. The basement worked out better for me, though, because the girls can't go anywhere near the basement door. That's the sort of thing you should be looking for for a quarantine space.

Before you bring the new birds home, look them over. Look for any signs of respiratory illness, external parasites, and general symptoms of not being well. Don't be afraid to walk away without the new birds if you think they might be sick. In many cases, diseases in poultry leave the birds as carriers and they can never be completely cured. You don't want to bring that into your flock!

For me, the first week or two of quarantine is an acclimation period, where I let them get used to their surroundings. The stress of the move could bring out symptoms in them. Always watch out for new symptoms and check them thoroughly at the end of each week of quarantine.

At the end of the first week or two, if the birds still seem healthy, this is when I usually introduce a bird from my established flock. It's got to be a bird that you would not be too torn up about losing, because if that bird shows any symptoms, especially respiratory, you know that your new birds are carrying something. I have not seen this recommended in many explanations of the quarantine, but I personally would not bother quarantining without this step. I have read about people quarantining the full 4 weeks without this step, having seemingly healthy birds, and introducing them to their established flocks only to find that the new birds were asymptomatic carriers. This step also allows the new birds some exposure to anything your established flock might have. You need to have one of your established birds in quarantine for at least one week, but preferably two or three to be safe.

The quarantine should last a total of 3 weeks at the very, very minimum, but will preferably last 4 weeks or more. At the end of the quarantine period, thoroughly look over all the birds that have been in the quarantine. If they are still healthy, no symptoms at all, then you get to begin the super-fun task of introducing them into the flock! If they are not healthy, however, you have a difficult choice. You must either cull the new birds and try again with birds from a different source, or introduce them anyway and risk your flock becoming ill.

One last note here. If you're getting your Legbars and your 'Araucanas' from two different sources, they should be in separate quarantines. If the birds from one source are ill, then you risk the other birds becoming ill as well without knowing which birds are carriers, and then the above choice has to be made in regards to all of them, rather than just some of them. Since you probably don't have the time to set up another quarantine now, though, just keep an eye on all of them and remember that you are not obligated to take birds home if they appear ill.


ETA: I forgot to mention, take care of your current flock first in the morning, then take care of the quarantine birds, then wash up and change clothes before returning to your current flock!

 

[Birdylady3]

Ok kiddies! German lesson today is "dumkompf und schweinhund"

Dumkompf = dumbhead

und = and

schweinhund = pigdog

My grandma was born and raised in Germany