Iowa Blues - Breed thread and discussion

[Hurley]

I have a Dickey cabinet incubator That I was lucky enough to find on Craig's list with a hatcher. Works well. Low maintenance.

 

[bigmrg74]

Looks like they are enjoying it!


I've got eggs cooking in the incubator, should have a big batch hatched out next week. The girls are laying like crazy, need to cut back number of birds in the main flock to make room for the next generation. They certainly are glad it's spring and are doing their best to place eggs in every nook and cranny. LOL

Yep, had them out for a while today while doing some yard work. I'm going to have to figure out how to integrate them into my main flock pretty soon, in a few weeks. I'm kinda thinking of just marrying up their playpen to my tractor, and setting some stuff around it so that the big girls can hop in and out. Probably only do that when I know I can sit there and watch em a bit.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

I have a Dickey cabinet incubator as well as a Dickey cabinet hatcher. I can attest to Connie's claims that these are extremely easy to use and very low maintenance. My wife and I love using them.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

I had something fun to share but it won't post the pics so I have to delete it. The pics appear in the body as I type but once I hit the submit button, it won't let me post the pics with the article only the words appear......bummer. I'll try again later.

 

[Candy442]

I hope everyone can keep their flocks safe from the avian flu in Iowa and Wisconsin! Just keep reading the scary news about the damages suffered .

 

[bekkanblue]

Ya, I've stopped running my dogs around the neighbors pond to minimize bringing something home that the migrating flocks might be dropping. About all I can do. Nothing here in SE Iowa yet but still. Dogs and I are going crazy, pasture running is boring!!!

 

[Dirt Farmer]

I'm not letting my birds free range any longer, and nothing will be added to my flock unless the flock of origin has been tested. By chance a tree next to my hen houses went down in a storm this winter and now I'm glad. The roof of my small house used to have bird droppings from wild birds roosting in the tree. I have the runs fairly well covered.
If you live anywhere in the Mississippi Flyway use caution. Here in the Pacific Flyway we watched it come down from Canada, to Oregon, then Washington (some duck made a U turn), and now California. I may not have the exact sequence but the point is it seemed to follow the migration. (As an aside the diagnosis of infection here was confirmed by the national APHIS lab in Ames, IA.)
On a happier note, my favorite packing peanuts are now just over 6 months old. In a couple months I'll post some pictures and get opinions on whether or not they are appropriate to propagate.

 

[IowaBlueCurt]

Personally (and this is my opinion), I wouldn't be surprised to find a number of our older breeds with the capacity to build up immunity to this flu. There are millions of small backyard flocks that are exposed millions of times over to the wild migrating birds and yet this isn't a backyard chicken *mass* issue at all. In fact the only birds that seem to suffer en-masse are confinement birds which interestingly enough have little to no contact with migrating birds.

All over the news here in Iowa we're seeing commercial flock after commercial flock succumbing to this flu and yet, I haven't seen an article or news report stating a backyard flock in Iowa has come down with the flu. I'm sure there are some backyard flocks with individuals carrying it, but where's the mass death loss? Our birds are outside, eating bugs, grass, and in the sun the way they were created to be and it stands to reason that they would be healthier and fit with an immune system capable of building immunities to this disease.

It also stands to reason that birds which are from a genetic standpoint basically clones, which have had their genes 'manipulated' (it isn't considered genetic modification by the government if they remove/add genes within the same species), are being housed in massive confinement facilities without natural light, being fed genetically modified food, and being fed a consistent supply of medication in their water their entire lives, would be un equipped to handle natural cycles of life.

My grandparents who are 79,80,89, and 94 respectively, all comment on how this sort of thing didn't exist when they were younger. And not until the larger confinement situations came on to the scene did we start to see these flus and their multiple mutations coming about. China was one of the first countries to house chickens (and quail) in factory farm environments and they were the first country to exhibit wide spread destruction from the diseases. Then it swept through other communist countries which implemented factory farm systems, and now it's here............

I'm not saying people should take risks with their flocks, but to shut them up could make the situation worse for the birds by not letting them develop natural immunities to these situations. What is even crazier is that the government in Iowa has a policy that any poultry located within one mile from an infected flock must be eradicated. So, they kill off all the backyard flocks within one mile of a confinement facility which tested positive for the disease. And they do this without checking to see if any of the birds in these backyard flocks have built up immunities to the disease. Think about it, if the disease hit a confinement which is 90% sealed off from the rest of the world, surely it has to be floating around in the surrounding flocks, jet those surrounding flocks aren't expressing symptoms. It is VERY possible the government is killing off the backyard birds which possess the immunities needed to create a vaccine for this disease to save the confinement flocks.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now.

 

[bigmrg74]

Personally (and this is my opinion), I wouldn't be surprised to find a number of our older breeds with the capacity to build up immunity to this flu. There are millions of small backyard flocks that are exposed millions of times over to the wild migrating birds and yet this isn't a backyard chicken *mass* issue at all. In fact the only birds that seem to suffer en-masse are confinement birds which interestingly enough have little to no contact with migrating birds.

All over the news here in Iowa we're seeing commercial flock after commercial flock succumbing to this flu and yet, I haven't seen an article or news report stating a backyard flock in Iowa has come down with the flu. I'm sure there are some backyard flocks with individuals carrying it, but where's the mass death loss? Our birds are outside, eating bugs, grass, and in the sun the way they were created to be and it stands to reason that they would be healthier and fit with an immune system capable of building immunities to this disease.

It also stands to reason that birds which are from a genetic standpoint basically clones, which have had their genes 'manipulated' (it isn't considered genetic modification by the government if they remove/add genes within the same species), are being housed in massive confinement facilities without natural light, being fed genetically modified food, and being fed a consistent supply of medication in their water their entire lives, would be un equipped to handle natural cycles of life.

My grandparents who are 79,80,89, and 94 respectively, all comment on how this sort of thing didn't exist when they were younger. And not until the larger confinement situations came on to the scene did we start to see these flus and their multiple mutations coming about. China was one of the first countries to house chickens (and quail) in factory farm environments and they were the first country to exhibit wide spread destruction from the diseases. Then it swept through other communist countries which implemented factory farm systems, and now it's here............

I'm not saying people should take risks with their flocks, but to shut them up could make the situation worse for the birds by not letting them develop natural immunities to these situations. What is even crazier is that the government in Iowa has a policy that any poultry located within one mile from an infected flock must be eradicated. So, they kill off all the backyard flocks within one mile of a confinement facility which tested positive for the disease. And they do this without checking to see if any of the birds in these backyard flocks have built up immunities to the disease. Think about it, if the disease hit a confinement which is 90% sealed off from the rest of the world, surely it has to be floating around in the surrounding flocks, jet those surrounding flocks aren't expressing symptoms. It is VERY possible the government is killing off the backyard birds which possess the immunities needed to create a vaccine for this disease to save the confinement flocks.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox now.

excellent point curt.

 

[bigmrg74]

I'm probably going to need to rehome an Iowa Blue cockerel here soon. Mom's putting her foot down, no roosters. Wasn't like I was that interested in breeding my own just yet. Just wanted something different in the flock. He's out of Fivewire's stock if anybody is interested.