Michigan

[NovaAman]

Would it be possible for only one chicken in a flock to have worms?
In a word, YES.


Another question, do chickens sometimes go bald?
My silkie Shmoo has had her blue butt hanging out featherless for what seems like forever. She shed the feathers last summer and I've repeatedly checked for lice and mites but found nothing. She's laid eggs on and off but has shown no sign of growing her belly feathers back. They all get snacks of egg, grubs and such and I try to make sure she gets extra protein, but I'm starting to think she has chicken pattern baldness on her belly.

 

[Olive Hill]

Whoa! Yes, yes, yes! It is absolutely, positively possible for one chicken in a flock to be carrying a detrimental parasite load while others are not. This is why I repeatedly preach how ineffective group FECs are.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

they all peck in the same dirt......

key word is detrimental. not none.
not bad, for them to have them per say, just a matter of preference. If she's showing symptoms, wouldn't that mean that something is weakening her? Mine had worms, though they were glowing with health otherwise. but they are caged together, unless i am there to watch over them.

too many attempts on their lives to do otherwise.

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote: Nova 14-18 weeks for BBs.

 

[Olive Hill]

they all peck in the same dirt......

Which is only one small part of what determines an animal's parasite load.

 

[RaZ]

Juise I love pussy willows and I am totally jealous because we have none here.
Look carefully when you are driving down the road. Since i got these i have been noticing them in the ditches. They are flowering now, so they are easier to spot. (Yes, i am shameless.I will go to great lengths to obtain things, though not this time. )
And yes, i know you are not supposed to touch plants on the side of the road, but over here they buzz them down anyway, so i don't feel bad. Last really cool, possibly protected flower patch i was admiring got a load of rock dumped on it for no apparent reason, other than apparently the road guy didn't feel like actually aiming for the sholder of the road and spreading the rocks.

.

Just a word of warning about collecting plants from the roadway sides.
Road commissions often spray herbicides before they mow. The stuff they use is potent and lingers in the soil and the plant for weeks. It can also kill beneficial insects that feed on the plants. Milkweed is a good example, the sprayed plants don't always die but contain enough poison to kill the monarch caterpillars before they develop into butterflies.

You are usually better off getting plants from a known source.

Off my soapbox now.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

And yes, i did consider doing solo worming, but i had put it off for the summer whilst doing "natural" worm discouragers, and in the meantime at least 2 others came down with them too. This i saw (unfortunately) with my own eyes.

 

[Totalcolour]

Home from school. We got our mid-term back.

The average score was 70% for the class. In the bio grad programme, a C is a failing grade.
We only have the final and out project left to improve the grade. I don't have high confidence for either. Especially the egg project. My hens' output has been trending downward since I started this assignment. I think they are trying to tell me I have a weakly designed experiment.

Sure is getting cloudy. I think those Washington people are sending us cloud cover for spite.

Well if we are, it's not working since ours has not dissipated one little bit! (and anyway, it wasn't me, I'm not the spiteful kind!; besides, even though i live here, I'm English, so it doesn't really count)

 

[Ferrret]

Well I'll get some deworming stuff in the morning and see if that helps her out. Any recommendations?

Fuzzy - Shmoo has been the only silkie I've had that hasn't gone broody. She'll lay her eggs then is right back out in the yard. All the others went broody on and off every few weeks and were difficult to break, but not her. I guess she's just not a momma type.
I've checked her time and again for mites and lice, even dusted her just in case much to her dislike, but I've never found any hiding on her. I figured the winter might get her body in gear and regrow some fuzz, but she was out in the snow and didn't seem to care, with her bare butt making her stand out [she's a white silkie]. My other chickens molted and regrew their feathers without problem, so her baldness is a bit worrying.

 

[NovaAman]

No kidding! Wow. And how much feed am I looking at? I would possibly have them in a run separate from the chickens... Ok.. I will have them separate. Just, what kind of feed bill will I be looking at for 4-6 turkeys? They were so dang cute! I couldn't control myself and I had to pick one up. I didn't realise it was a turkey at first.