"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[cajun chicken]

I got word back today from LSU......mycoplasma positive =(
Recommendation is depopulate, decontaminate and start over. The state vet is going to give me instructions for Decon and protocol for future prevention. I will let you guys know what the protocol is for informational purposes in case it happens to anyone else. I hope no one else has to deal with this but I guess mother nature has a mind of her own. Although I don't think I helped the situation going to swaps and bringing in adults and what not.....I'll probably cull the rest of the flock this weekend and start the Decontamination process. Wish me luck

Ended up culling and burning the remaining hens. Ag dept vet recommended to spray everything down with 10:1 water to bleach solution, let that dry then lime the entire yard and stir into the soil. It took about 6 bags of lime. He said I would probably be good after a week but I'm waiting a month before doing anything. In the meantime, I built a tractor and ordered some hatchery layers to be delivered in the next couple of weeks.

So sorry to here the guy wasn't up front with you. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts that it's only a random sneeze from pollon or something simple like that. The Ag vet said you can buy a disinfectant from Jeffers . I'm going to get some it is what he used to spray his boots, truck tires etc. before and after coming on my property . Pam

That sucks.....I hope it's nothing major. The stuff Pam is talking about is this - http://www.jefferspet.com/products/tek-trol-disinfectant-gallon. It's called Tek-Trol

 

[TurksPoultry]

 

[emmie325]

pretty goats

 

[TurksPoultry]

Thanks emmie, how r ur littles?!

 

[emmie325]

They are doing good

 

[emmie325]

here are some of my goats

first one is a fainter the second pic is the twin pygmys

this one is the twins mama

this is dirty mo our weather

blackjack

phantom

phirebird

glory star

legan

 

[campingshaws]

Love them!!

 

[bigoledude]

How do y'all keep your birds cool in these cauldron-like summers? And, what measures do y'all take for mosquitoes and gnats?

I am going to have some eggs in the Hideous-Bator very soon. Finally!!! Anyway, y'all know it won't be long before the chicks are old enough to live outside.

My question is concerning the coop and run during the dog-days of summer. I know about the frozen bottles in their water. I plan on having very good ventilation in the coop covered by hardware cloth. If you've ever watched NFL football games in hot climates, they use VERY FINE misters with fans to cool the players. I had an irrigation business for years and used these misters in customer's backyards to lower the temps around 10 degrees on brutally hot days. So the chickens will be able to get into the mist if they want to cool off. Of course, I will provide some shade for them. Any other ideas for keeping the ladies cool?

I've already mentioned how bad the gnats and mosquitoes get here up against the marsh. So, I was thinking of hanging rags with some sort of repellent soaked on them. Hoping the chickens will walk through the hanging rags, swiping themselves to rid themselves of the tormenting bugs. As I've written here before, we used this method in the "olden days" on our cattle and they would walk in a huge circle head-to-rump, round and round through oil soaked sacks to rid themselves of biting flies. Think it'll work?

Thinking of putting a high CFPM (cubic feet per minute) fan with a timer inside the coop to help keep the gnats and mosquitoes at bay during dawn and dusk when the bugs are at their very worst. What do you guys do for biting bugs?

Trying to keep 'em cool and bug free? .

 

[campingshaws]

Chickens will dip their feet the keep cool, so I keep hog pans of water in the shade. Sometimes they want to drink that mucky water, so you either have to keep it fresh or watch for signs of coccidia. Last year we fed lots of watermelon rinds to increase their water intake and keep them cool.

I use permethrin on the goats, and it has instructions for chickens and building applications. I would double check whatever is on the rags to make sure it's safe for poultry. They preen their feathers and could ingest residue, and also it could upset the balance of their natural oils.

Plenty of water, plenty of shade, plenty of dust baths. They'll dig holes in the sand like dogs, at least mine will.

 

[campingshaws]

Also vaccinate for fowl pox. I'm going to do that this year instead of waiting around for it. It's just such a huge pain to deal with.