Maine

[ashandvine]

Oh yes, I did mean ground hog. What else could a gopher be?

You know Kinsey, nothing says that all doz would hatch

 

[Carrie54452002]

I am located in Hartford, The combs on Icelandics are smaller, they are ideal for the weather in Maine. I can sell like 6 eggs if you would like, My birds did not have a problem with frostbite as did the bigger comb bird that I have

Oh that is not far at all! I do have a problem/question though. I had a terrible thing happen last Fall and had my small flock (5 chickens) go down to only 1 because of what I suspect was Mareks with the symptoms they had (never had a necropsy to confirm). Does everyone or anyone vaccinate or can anyone give me some advise on where to go from here? I went and rescued 4 Americauna hens to keep my 1 bantam cochin that had made it company as I had read that usually only younger birds are susceptible and they are all doing great. My problem is I don't want to ever get any more chicks that are not vaccinated due to that incident but would love to buy locally. With such a small flock you can imagine the heartbreak as every chicken was very special to me and my 3 daughters. Anyways, that is my story and any advice you pros have would be appreciated!

 

[jerseychix]

Hi Carrie,

I am sorry you lost your chickens. It's hard to know without a necropsy if it was Marek's disease. There are a couple of things to keep in mind...

1) Marek's is a herpes virus (alphaherpes to be exact). Herpes viruses hang out in the nucleus of nerve cells. The major sign of Marek's is neurological chickens that on necropsy have these weird swollen nerves

2) Not all vaccines are created equal, and not all people treat their vaccines correctly. It doesn't take a whole lot to inactivate a herpesvirus vaccine, so, if you are getting chickens from someone local, quiz them on where they get their vaccine and how they take care of it.

3) While herpesvirus don't last in the environment very long, you still need to decontaminate where they were.

I am sure others have advice too.

 

[buckabucka]

I just candled 30 eggs (day 7) and 9 are definitely alive. I saw the embryos jumping around in there, which was very exciting! I'd never seen that before. 10 other eggs had something going on. I couldn't tell if they had quit, but they didn't look the same as the others, and 10 looked clear to me. 1 looks like a blood ring, but I'm not pulling anything yet, since I am really bad at candling.

Not sure what the answer is on the chicks, Carrie. I've never vaccinated mine, but maybe other people on here do.

 

[hoppy]

you could vaccinate any chicks you get yourself- keep them up off the ground until they have immunity (this could be several weeks). the other school of thought is that turkeys will vaccinate chickens for mareks, so keeping a few turkeys around may help. they say that the chickens can give black head disease to the turkeys so be aware although I've never had a problem and i have had both domestic and wild turkeys all over the place here.

Oh that is not far at all! I do have a problem/question though. I had a terrible thing happen last Fall and had my small flock (5 chickens) go down to only 1 because of what I suspect was Mareks with the symptoms they had (never had a necropsy to confirm). Does everyone or anyone vaccinate or can anyone give me some advise on where to go from here? I went and rescued 4 Americauna hens to keep my 1 bantam cochin that had made it company as I had read that usually only younger birds are susceptible and they are all doing great. My problem is I don't want to ever get any more chicks that are not vaccinated due to that incident but would love to buy locally. With such a small flock you can imagine the heartbreak as every chicken was very special to me and my 3 daughters. Anyways, that is my story and any advice you pros have would be appreciated!

 

[hoppy]

it's not that old, but it's the only one the state could provide at the time, we'd love to have an updated list and YES, it is on one of the local bird clubs website but it is FROM the state. I'd don't see that state has posted one themselves.
do you have a link?

This list is old and there are many changes in progress regarding NPIP Certification. Anyone looking for a tester please call the state directly for an accurate list. This list is from the bird club not an official state site.

 

[kinsey228]

you could vaccinate any chicks you get yourself- keep them up off the ground until they have immunity (this could be several weeks). the other school of thought is that turkeys will vaccinate chickens for mareks, so keeping a few turkeys around may help. they say that the chickens can give black head disease to the turkeys so be aware although I've never had a problem and i have had both domestic and wild turkeys all over the place here.

I am so going to use this in my argument to get some turkeys this year.

 

[hoppy]

secret hatch babies in lock down and 1 is out!
it's going to be a dismal hatch on the shipped blue laced red wyandotte eggs, 2 in lock down out of 18.
this might just be a losing battle for me. seriously thinking of giving up my blr flock.

 

[kinsey228]

secret hatch babies in lock down and 1 is out!
it's going to be a dismal hatch on the shipped blue laced red wyandotte eggs, 2 in lock down out of 18.
this might just be a losing battle for me. seriously thinking of giving up my blr flock.

I have a beautiful blr female,so if you have a male, you can get some eggs. Just an idea.

 

[hoppy]

I have a beautiful blr female,so if you have a male, you can get some eggs. Just an idea.

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