Michigan

[Opa]

Chickmate, there is no need to apologize, lice can get in anyone flock no matter how clean they're kept. Quarantining any new birds is just part of responsible husandry and my new birds are kept 100 yards from my flock. Yesterday I was watching the new birds and thought I need to check them for lice as they both were exhibiting signs of infestation. I will be dusting them later today and again don't feel that you have done anything wrong.

 

[Chickmate]

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Thank you Opa. What are the signs? I would have never known they had them if I hadn't seen them on the wall!

 

[ChicwannaB]

ooooo, goodie, my incubator arrived today via UPS and I read those instructions cover to cover. Won't even think about doing that tho for awhile. Want to see for sure if my "funny sound" is a cock-a doodle-doo and who's doing it. Probably that huge one with the blue band on HIS leg. HAHA, we'll wait and see. I took IT out today and sat for awhile holding it on my lap and petting and talking softly to him, hopefully he'll know Im a nice human and won't be a meany when he grows up.
Funny, I was reading an article on the GOOD reasons to own a rooster just this morning. They are very protective of their hens, lead them to food sources, keep a vigilent eye on the sky and surroundings for predators so his hens can eat, they search out nice nest spots and then coax their girls in to check them out. As long as I don't get a complaint from either neighbor, which I shouldn't, they both have plenty of farmed field in between us and them. They are within yelling distance, but it would still be hard to figure out what they were saying, so I hope they're far enuf away from me.

hope ya'll are having a good day on the farm. Im going to my sons 28th birthday gig tonight so seeing grandchildren again.

 

[keyt1969]

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I wish any of my 7 roosters did any of that!! Well, my little serama Pretty Boy does protect all the hens. He won't let any of the really big boys near them. Funny thing is he's not even a 1/4 their size but they won't go near him. Not even our sumo wrestling Gandalf!

 

[ChicwannaB]

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I wish any of my 7 roosters did any of that!! Well, my little serama Pretty Boy does protect all the hens. He won't let any of the really big boys near them. Funny thing is he's not even a 1/4 their size but they won't go near him. Not even our sumo wrestling Gandalf!

well according to dates given me by the original owner mine is between 9-10 weeks of age, so about time he'd be making some noise and strutting his stuff!!

 

[ChicwannaB]

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I think I'll take a nice warm and breezy day and begin scrubbing and painting the inside of my coop so I can see if anything starts building up like that. White of course.

 

[Opa]

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Thank you Opa. What are the signs? I would have never known they had them if I hadn't seen them on the wall!

If you notice your birds doing an excessive amount of preening, particularily if they seem to be focusing on their tail area it calls for immediate examination. I once had a dust trombone that was ideal for applying Sevin or DE and I saw that they carry them at Home Depot. I started to get one the other day, someone I knew came up and we started talking and I walked away without buying one. Think I'll go in a little while and get one. I can use it in the garden and in the coop.

 

[Stacykins]

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Blue definitely was the most beastly chanty of the bunch! Biggest, boldest, and ready for anything! Yea, I am silly, calling them by the color of the band I put on their legs. I was waiting until they grew up to think of more fitting names since all chicks kinda seem the same until their individual personalities begin to shine! They'd be about ten weeks old now, not so much babies anymore!

 

[babigyrl22]

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Thank you Opa. What are the signs? I would have never known they had them if I hadn't seen them on the wall!

If you notice your birds doing an excessive amount of preening, particularily if they seem to be focusing on their tail area it calls for immediate examination. I once had a dust trombone that was ideal for applying Sevin or DE and I saw that they carry them at Home Depot. I started to get one the other day, someone I knew came up and we started talking and I walked away without buying one. Think I'll go in a little while and get one. I can use it in the garden and in the coop.

All this talk about pests reminded me to seek out some DE. I finally found a feed store that carried it. They came in 4lb bags for $10 and 40lb bags for $20.

I obviously chose the 40lb bag. Anywhoo....I checked the new birdies for bugs and found none. I dusted them (and myself aparently) for good measure.

When it was time to change the bedding in their coop I noticed that they managed to spill the water again.

Yeah, that was fun and smelly. At least the rain let up enough for me to move the coop out of the garage to the backyard and hose it down. This is where the new girlies (not the babies) will remain until we decide to intergrate them into the flock. The cute babies are still hanging out comfortably in the garage.

Didn't get to clean the main coop though....oh well....maybe tomorrow.

 

[poultrycrazy]

I have some silkie chicks and some mixed chicks for sale. i bought the silkies chicks moms as SQ. If your interested please pm me. Here is the ad https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=531880