Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[fuzzybutt love]

Pk, i have been following other discussions about mareks that they are attempting to treat(if that is what your girl has)
A gal brought up hypercium, i.e. st john's wort. It is supposed to be extremely effective for nerve damage, several people claimed it turned some around. Another member always gives sick birds vitamin b, human pills whenever they are ill. Maybe??

 

[SillyChicken]

well didn't get the coop done like I wanted to ...it started raining...grrr...but here are some pics of the peach golden pheasants...im breeding






have a great night everyone...everything is coming for the incubators....it will be here before sat...I cant wait....yepper

wow... those are beautiful. Will you be selling chicks?

 

[preciouskitty]

I suppose anything could help! She still alive...she's eating..sometimes drinking water.
But, just laying around in pine shavings or as a lump on my ottoman is no quality of life..

If I see no improvement in mobility in the next 48 hours, I think I have resigned myself to the fact that the only right thing to do is cull her ...

Kitty keeping her company

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Aww. I understand though.

 

[birdman55]

wow... those are beautiful. Will you be selling chicks?

yepper you can pm me and we can go from there...I paid 250 for the pair....that's the going rate right now for these birds...should be picking another pair up as well
well morning...it snowed so I hope I can still dig in the ground for the last few coops...got a bunch of eggs this morning heres some pics....17 eggs today

 

[1muttsfan]

Sorry to hear that PK. (by the way did you mention that to the cat, he looks very speculative)

As far as forage in relation to decreased egg yield, speaking only for myself my birds do not get much forage, their pen is a lunar landscape, and due to predators they do not get out unless I am there, so not often.

Many animals have cycles that are related to light. Specifically, they are related to if the days are becoming longer, or becoming shorter, not necessarily to the actual length. Cats start coming in heat when the days are lengthening. Deer store fat when the days are becoming longer, and burn it for energy as the days become longer, regardless of the environmental conditions. I suspect that as days become shorter, it signals birds that their offspring may be less likely to survive a season where resources such as food are scarcer, and so they lay less. Selective breeding could probably negate that.

 

[Trefoil]

Not all scopes are expensive. I got a(n) AmScope MU series with a digital camera from Amazon about a year and a half ago. It is a fine diagnostic tool and fun to play scientist with. Prices vary like most things, but you can get a decent scope for a reasonable price. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...02394,n:499320,n:499170,n:393248011,k:amscope

Raz- do you use your "scope" to do fecals? What magnifications is needed for that? Can anyone recommend a good source for the information needed to do poultry fecals?

I suppose anything could help! She still alive...she's eating..sometimes drinking water.
But, just laying around in pine shavings or as a lump on my ottoman is no quality of life..

If I see no improvement in mobility in the next 48 hours, I think I have resigned myself to the fact that the only right thing to do is cull her ...

Kitty keeping her company

She looks pretty comfortable to me. Sorry about your dilemma.

 

[Whatshisface]

On the topic of egg production. I put lighting and a timer in this year for the first time (in a coop I built this past fall). I am here to say, this is the first time I have seen this many eggs during the winter months. Grant it, it's not as many eggs as a lot you are getting, but a few of my hens are getting a bit old, so I don't expect to see anything out of them. I know that isn't exactly scientific proof but I will certainly use the lights next year.

 

[1muttsfan]

You do not need a very powerful microscope for fecals - the vast majority of parasites, and all the ones of interest in chickens, can be seen with a 40x (40 times magnification) lens. The feces has to be processed in a zinc or sugar solution first, then examined.

You can use these instead of a centrifuge, although if you have access to a centrifuge that will improve your results
http://www.revivalanimal.com/Fecal-Flotation-System.html
If you can get just one of the units, they can be cleaned and reused.

And then you need a flotation solution, such as Fecasol

http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/fecal-flotation.html

1 gram of feces (about the amount of one section of a Tootsie Roll) is mashed together with the flotation solution. A filter is then pushed down into the container, it is filled to the top with solution, a slide cover slip set on top, then it is left for 10 minutes. The cover slip is then carefully and gently lifted off by the edges, and placed on a slide for viewing under the microscope.

 

[JackieandChicks]

I suppose anything could help! She still alive...she's eating..sometimes drinking water.
But, just laying around in pine shavings or as a lump on my ottoman is no quality of life..

If I see no improvement in mobility in the next 48 hours, I think I have resigned myself to the fact that the only right thing to do is cull her ...

Kitty keeping her company

That's so hard to decide. I just lost my Welsummer hen. She was limping, and I a convinced she had a injured joint as it was floppy joint down. I wrapped the leg and she was mobile, but I think there was an infection as she was eating and drinking fine, then suddenly in two days lost weight as if she had a fever/infection, then passed in the night.

Speaking of fevers...when my horses/dog/cats are sick we can tell right away by taking their temperature but I do not see anyone suggesting this with sick birds. Is this not something that is normally done? I assume you would take it the same way you would with a horse/dog/cat - rectally?