Hi, everyone! I should be doing homework right now, so I'm cruising around BYC.
I really don't have the time or energy to read the 20+ pages of posts I missed, so sorry if I missed anything directed toward me. Everyone has had the flu here over the past week, and it had me down for the count from Monday through Thursday last week. I'm still coughing but finally on my feet again. Man, that stuff really takes it out of you!
My girls are well, happy as can be. I have two hens in my room with the ducky now because little bitty Frannie wasn't acting herself over the weekend. She is one of my two Sebrights whose previous owner debeaked them, and I think she was having issues with her mouth due to food collecting in what's left of her beak. :/ She's back to herself now, though, and she and Elly are ready to get back outside if their constant shavings kicking is any indication! Set of ingrates!
I got a whopping 7 eggs yesterday, and I've brought in 6 today already. I'm STILL waiting on my Silkie hen, Marge, to start sitting so that I can put some under her and hatch out some baby Reublets. I think the weekend's cold temps put her off of the idea, so she's still taking her sweet time deciding. I had hoped she would be broody by now so that the babies would hatch during my spring break, but I think the little butt is going to hold out too long.
Brat.
Oh, I also can't say I haven't seen any frostbite this winter anymore. My Legbar's ridiculous comb grew out again because she's come back into lay, and the tips of it dip into the water when she drinks, so she has a touch of frostbite on the tips that get wet. No one else has had frostbite, though, including my Light Brown Leghorn, whose comb never shrank down this winter so I was fully expecting issues. Still have 4 of 5 windows open at all times and all the vents open for ventilation. No heat, no insulation.
A couple things I saw that I wanted to comment on.
Anyone wanting to know where to start with Marek's disease, I highly recommend reading through Nambroth's Great Big Giant Marek's FAQ if you haven't:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq You will probably find this on there as well, but just so y'all know, vaccinating birds in a flock that has already seen losses or symptoms is not going to help, and vaccinating birds older than about 36 hours old is not recommended either. It won't hurt, but it'll probably be a waste of money because it also probably won't do anything. Personally, after reading that
the vaccination can actually make birds into breeding grounds for stronger strains of the disease, I wouldn't vaccinate anyway. Marek's is impossible to quarantine for, lives an age outside of the body, is everywhere, and to be honest I'm relatively sure my flock has it as well, though I've never had any tests to confirm. Once you understand the disease and how it works, it becomes less of a gut shot to know it's here and more of just one of those things you have to accept, like the MG. Just my two cents on that topic.
Heating and whether it is 'more humane' or not. I, of course, have to disagree with the consensus that it's more humane to provide heat.
But seriously, being part of as many chicken groups as I am, you see a lot of sides to every topic, and one thing that I have noticed more and more discussion on this winter is the idea that chickens could actually be happier
without heat. This has been my thought for a long time, and being that my girls have been happy to get out of their coop every day this winter, I've come to the conclusion that the cold is seriously no biggie to them--it's the snow they begrudge. We've had hardly any snow this winter, and it has shown. Every morning, including during the cold snap, my girls have been eager to fly the coop for some fresh air, stretch their wings, eat ice from my boots, and scratch around at the old shavings down in the chicken yard. I think they have been outside almost as much this winter as they are any other time of year!
On one of my groups, there was talk about people deciding not to heat this year and comparing their birds' behavior to previous years. One person in particular said her chickens seemed a lot happier this year without heat than they did last year with heat, that they were much more active and just behaved more like healthy chickens. With heat, they moped inside all day, all winter long. This person lives in Canada. She's not the only one to have noticed this, but her location is what makes her testimony that much more potent.
Providing heat really has few benefits for our winters, and none that I can think of for the birds, themselves,
with few exceptions. It does not prevent frostbite if my flock is any indication, and may actually be the cause of some. It does not make the birds happier and whether it makes them more comfortable cannot really be said due to the subjectivity of comfort, though again, if my birds are any indication it does not add comfort, either. It
does keep eggs from freezing and may encourage more production through the cold months, so there is that... But for chickens kept solely as pets like mine, I can think of no real benefits. I mean, by all means, heat your coop if you want to, it's your coop. Just don't try to imply that your birds are happier or healthier or treated better than mine for it.
Pardon for the mini-rant there at the end. Just something to think about on the topic...
the lady said it was definite. Frankfort RK is supposed to get theirs on Thursday. We bought 3 ISA browns from Laffy and I'm thinking they gave me a rooster. It's much lighter than the other two, has no tail feathers yet while the other two have about half inch tails. Plus it has way less wing feathering and the feathers are pure white instead of white with brown spots. Siiigh lol, thought my daughter might be safe this time from picking a roo as "her own" since they are sex linked. We bought 3 black australorps about a month ago from them and 2/3 are roos.
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