Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[bigmrg74]

I am pretty sure as I get older I hate the cold weather more and more

Yep. Currently have little dog sleeping on my lap, and hoping that helps to thaw things out. Its cold enough to make ya talk funny.

Picked up a bag of ear corn today to have to feed out to the girls. I've usually been tossing them a whole ear in with them every other day. Figures it gives them something to do and keeps them from pecking at each other.

 

[snowflake]

My first Sebastopol baby was born Sat night about 9:30 (first pipped the shell on Thursday afternoon---man it was PAINFUL letting the little bugger fight to get out by herself). I have tried three or four times to vent-sex and keep coming up with a girl. Tried for the final time last evening and almost killed the little thing because I held him/her too tight and probably not in the right manner. Won't try that again. Scared myself as much or more than the bird. Fortunately, it forgave me and still wants me to hold him/her and follows me around.

It's sibling first pipped the shell Sunday morning. It has a nice sized hole this morning with its beak sticking out and breathing well. It'd be another painful wait if I wasn't focusing my attention on the first one to make sure it bonds well with me so the rest may too. I put the box with the first one in it near the incubator so that its chirping may encourage the second one.

Laurie

congrats on the new hatchlings!!

X2 on no apology needed, we even talk about food on this thread,.... sure could use some brownies, or maybe a Texs sheet cake,.

the wind got to me today, haven't taken the dog for a walk yet. I don't mind the snow (

) but the wind is too much, it is almost March but the March winds usually are not bringing -10

 

[Stacykins]

I apologize to everyone. I haven't got the hang of this yet. I click to respond to a specific post and then up underneath something totally different (like this morning where I posted about my new Sebastopol babies that are hatch and find out it arrived under the loss of a baby something--I'm not sure what it was). Then previously on the thread there was a post about "A great day for my livestock vet to come out and do blood draws. Once she is done, the samples are getting packed off to WADDL to check for Johne's disease, CAE, and CL. I want to be certain my herd is free of those maladies." This sounds like what we vaccinate and worry about with our flock of 775 ewes.

Sometimes the quote function doesn't work on older browsers. It never works when I try to get on BYC at work (when it is SUPER slow and I can have internet time) because they have an ancient version of IE that hasn't been updated on forever.

I know there is a vaccine out there for CL. But the animal will register as positive their entire life after the vaccine. I haven't had any signs of abscesses in my little goat her, so I think I'd rather just check with a blood draw rather than vaccinate. They do get an annual CDT vaccine, though. Those are a lot of ewes to vaccinate, I can only imagine what that must be like!

Blood draws for goats went well. Only one had to get stuck twice, but she survived! The samples are boxed up to head to WADDL!

 

[ASilkieLife14]

Thank u all for the nice reply's

 

[ljw695]

Ditto on the kind replies.

BTW, got a call from my daughter-in-law in Bradford, PA. A city main line busted due to the intense cold so the water has been shut off to everyone. Their mayor has called a state-of-emergency and canceled school for the rest of the week. She's packing the kids up and heading for Michigan this afternoon.

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Sorry about any losses

In the spring, I hope to get started breeding some polish and cochins

Hope all is well with everyone else.

 

[bigmrg74]

Ditto on the kind replies.

BTW, got a call from my daughter-in-law in Bradford, PA. A city main line busted due to the intense cold so the water has been shut off to everyone. Their mayor has called a state-of-emergency and canceled school for the rest of the week. She's packing the kids up and heading for Michigan this afternoon.

They would be smarter to head south.

You know we're all thinking about it today. Don't mean we're going to do it, just thinking about it.

 

[jlynnet]

Finally caught up! This has been the coldest birthday I've ever had! My father-in-law shares the day with me and he said the same thing. I've had plenty of snow on that day but never such bitter cold! I lost one rooster to the cold. He liked to sit in the outside door, instead of huddling with his ladies. Lots of frozen eggs too. I'm just happy we're not at the beginning of winter.

 

[myfarm4579]

Wife just ghost done cooking bacon then got in a panic over leak over hood vent I got on roof and sure enough ice dam all around the vent my lesson learned. Keep ice away from vents. But happy wife again

 

[Juise]

Hello Michigan friends

I have a question to pose to you, if you will. Have any of you, particularly on the West side of the state, had issues with Mareks?

I haven't vaccinated any of mine before, but since I am getting some new chicks from a hatchery that offers it, I was thinking I would get them done. Then I tried to make sure this didn't put my current (un-vaccinated) flock at risk, and things got tricky. From what I can tell for the most part, it shouldn't be a danger to my older girls, for one thing they are all 2 - 4 years old, and apparently the vaccination is a different (turkey) strain than what is in the environment.

But it would seem that not everyone agrees with this and some believe the vaccinated birds can shed the virus for the rest of their lives and infect others.

So I wanted to see if I could get an idea of how much risk there is around here for Mareks in the first place. Any experience on this would be appreciated, thank you.

(And also a big hello to the familiar faces around here, long time! All you other people just get a sidelong, suspicious glance

)