Michigan

[Mom 2em All]

No offense Kate! I have three kids also- so names are not usually my choice! And her name was rather an inside joke here anyhow. Opie because he was so clumsy as a baby, and now he just looks like an Opie. He is very very quiet- some raspy sounds when he has gotten himself too far from Sadie- but other than that, silence. He is a very good duck.

We have some named and some not, here. Carmen the chicken, but then we have frizzle chicken, and naked black one..hahahahha. The ducks are Penguin, Quacker, Jax...and no name, no name, and 'big mallard, smaller two'...hahahahaha. No names have stuck so they all remain nameless.

I will be at work all day so the heat wont bother me until three o clock- no a/c in my van or home, so I will feel it then.
Everyone have a great day!

 

[CricketYang]

I woke up today thinking it was going to be a good day. Then I checked my husbands FB status and he said we lost ANOTHER turkey!! UGH Does anyone have turkeys around here? is there something going around? This is our second turk we've lost to some weird illness. I know the mortality rate for these birds isn't that great but MY GOODNESS I've no clue what to do or what I should give to them! He said the rest of the six looked fine and were walking and being their usual spunky selves but I don't want to lose another bird if I don't have to. There are so many meds out there and IDK what I should give them. The bird was just being lethargic and anti-social. Dark poop, no snots or eye boogies. They're by themselves in the coop and we haven't had any visitors go in there. I hope its not a contagious illness but I have a feeling it is bc two have already died. I'm going to go check on them and then head to the store to see what I can get.

 

[keyt1969]

I don't know much, but could it be the heat and humidity? I know my chickens are all lethargic. They were last night then pepped up once it cooled down about 10 degrees! The only ones who seem to not be suffering are the eight 2 month old chicks and all the ducks!

 

[CricketYang]

Don't think its the heat and humidity. Turkeys have lived for thousands of years in all sorts of weather. I think it might be blackhead

. In that case IDK what local vet I can take them to. Maybe MSU's vet clinic but IDK if they'd charge me or not.

 

[keyt1969]

Quote:
I just sent a msg on facebook to a friend whose parents are both MSU vet clinic instructors. I'll let you know what she says.

 

[Opa]

I noticed my birds were panting a little more than normal tonight. Even with the fan blowing the coop is quite warm. Also I lost a beautiful Delaware hen this afternoon. This morning she was fine and late this afternoon she couldn't even stand. Given how severe her distress seemed I elected to hasten her demise.

 

[wyliefarms]

Good Evening!

Took awhile to catch up on posts, it has been a busy few days! Got a lot of tomatoes canned, my plants aren't doing well so I am on the lookout for some free or cheap tomatoes. Let me know if you hear of any in Livingston County. thanks!

I am tired and need to go to bed. Having fun with the Annie practices

need more sleep though!

Hope the heat disappears soon

Sarah

 

[bethanyrae]

Quote:
Sorry to hear about your hen.

 

[bethanyrae]

I have a pair of huge hawks hanging around, so need to run my younger gals with the older ones. Which means they'll have access to each others' food. Which I think means they'll all be preferring to eating chick feed. They already roost together, so that won't be a problem. But I'm not sure how to feed them now.

My layers are anywhere from a year to 2 years old, and some are going through a molt and eggs have slowed down. Both Large fowl and Bantams.

The youngsters are:
Bantam mostly Ameraucanas: 17 weeks old
large fowl: Delaware:12 weeks and 15 weeks
Rocks: 12 weeks

I need to buy some layer mash, probably Tuesday, unless it's more important that the youngsters get their chick feed.

Or is it more important that the layers get layer food to bring them back out of their molt?

I need some information/advice. Nor sure how this works. Still a newbie.

It would not be easy to find a way to keep them separated during the day. uh. Should I really work at that at this point?
thanks,
bethanyrae

 

[keyt1969]

I was amazed today. I've been buying mash and scratch at either Mason's Family Farm & Home or a TSC. The scratch alone at either place was between $11-16. Today for a #50 bag at the Mason grainery both were $8!!! Niiice!!

I was quite worried about all my birds today with this heat. WOW. I reloaded a 1 gallon waterer 3 times! At least they're staying hydrated! Cayugas didn't seem to be bothered at all! I let the little calls go in the water several times, but they would get tired then start to pant so I'd bring them back to the porch. I'll be SO glad when this humidity is over!

I bought the supplies today to turn the "garage" back into a coop for the winter. I think these must be the most spoiled ducks and chickens on earth! I'll get pics when it's all done!

Kim-update: the "kids" are doing great! The neighbor said he was surprised that he hasn't heard them make any noise at all. Even if they did, he wouldn't care. We have dogs around here that make more noise than any ducks or chickens I'll ever have! The neighbor has loved being able to throw stuff from the garden he never should have planted. I threw some cooler water into the "pond" mid-day because although most of the day it's in the shade, toward the end of the day it's right in the sun. They LOVED that, it was like playing in the rain. Didn't you say they didn't like cantaloupe? OMG. They ate that up like it was candy!! I bought some stuff to expand their habitat too, but tomorrow I might try letting them walk around the yard to see what they do.
The neighbor next door owns a 3 acre patch of land (keep in mind, Aric's grandparents used to own 400+ here) and he was talking about next year digging a big pond on one part, then another part fencing it off and maybe getting goats. I WANT THOSE!!! lol. Aric just shook his head. But he also asked if I was interested in leasing part of it, so I might do that too! If nothing else, he says the ducks can walk back there to pick at the ground if they want so I'll probably try that sometime this week!!


Well, it's gonna be another hot one tomorrow, but in the 70's toward the end of the week and all weekend, woohoo!! Can't wait for fall, it's my favorite time of year. Even bought my first fall candle today!

Hope everyone had a great day!!