Michigan

[Chickmate]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised, living in Michigan, but I am at how many women deer hunt. My aunt used to hunt with her husband, but I don't know any other women except on this forum, who do. I have had venison once that was excellent, but all other times it was too gamey for me. The one time it was made into meatballs and slow cooked in a crockpot in a mushroom sauce and was fabulous!

Grandma - I don't understand. Did Lowe's rig this thermostat up for you in the store? So you can control the heat of the lamp by the setting on the thermostat? If that's right, pretty cool.

Someone also asked where I got my FBCM from. They came from Jerry Canfield in Ada. He has nice birds and the eggs are very dark. Wynette also has them.

Someone asked about the marker I use to date my eggs. It's a permanent Sharpie that stays on even when you boil them. One of my customers says "when I use them I can pick which is the oldest and use them first! I love it!"

Chickens have been consistently laying between 9 -12 eggs per day so far. I'm really happy with how snug my coop is. I understand the need for ventilation, but it is so draft-free I think they will be pretty comfortable this winter. I have straw in the nest boxes and two bales stacked up in the run beside the pop door as a wind block. Pine shavings and straw on the floor and a heat lamp hung from the ceiling that just takes the bite off. Tarps all the way around the run will keep the snow out. All I need to get is my water heater base and I'm good.

I have to admit that all the talk about diseases has me kind of scared. I wanted to get five more pullets in the spring, but now I'm afraid to! My FBCM's had Coccidia when they were chicks that I treated and got rid of, I thought, but now I understand it's still in the soil? So if I get pullets in the spring, they will pick it up anyway? I'm getting paranoid about every sneeze and runny poop I see. Every day when I clean off the poop boards, someone has had a sloppy poop, but I never considered that they were sick. Everyone acts fine and they are all eating and drinking OK. No runny eyes or noses. I don't know if I should be worried or not.

I also don't have a place FAR away from my current coop and run to quarentine new pullets. I'd have to build a brand new coop on the other side of the yard back in the woods and it floods there all the time, infact is under water now. That would cost more than I can afford. So, I guess that means I can't add any new chickens until all the ones I have now are dead? This is more complicated than I expected.

 

[1muttsfan]

I hear they got 10" oF snow off to the north of here in Luce county

Just a dusting here.

All my birds are either hatched here (in my spare bedroom

) or purchased as day old chicks from sandhill preservation. Gives a lot of peace of mind, and confidence in giving away surplus birds that they are healthy. I really enjoy hatching chicks out, so usually rehome my year old birds when the current batch of chicks reach point of lay. Always have lots of extra chicks each year, but so far have always found a place for them (most of the cockerels go to a gentleman who raises them to eat, but they are well cared for until then).

 

[fifelakelooper]

Quote:
I wonder if you waited until spring....then built a temporary coop FAR away...out of straw bales???? It would be for 20 days--30 days....how predator proof would that be?? You can use the bales for so many things after integrating the flocks. Also...I read that after you quarantine...it is good to have two sacrificial ones.....one from each flock that you put together. That way....at the most you'd lose two. You have the winter to plan ....I bet you could come up with something.
Today I asked my nonchicken owner friend if she would watch my chickens this winter. She is going to check with her hubby when he returns from deer camp the first week of Dec. I really hope she can....then I won't have to worry about biosecurity with my flock.

 

[chicken grandma]

Chickmate -

Yes, a salesman at Lowes took an extention cord and cut it in half. Then he hooked the thermostat up in the middle. So I plugged one end into the wall and the other end into my heatlamp. Then I set the thermostat using the dial.
My heat lamp comes on at night when the temps go down and goes off by itself now in the a.m. when it warms up.

I know a thermo cube will do the same thing but I did not think that 35-45 degrees was warm enough for my young pullets and older bantam.

The extention cord was roughly $15 and the thermostat was roughly $15. And a couple dollars for a package of wire connectors and a grey plastic box to house the thermostat since it would not be placed into a wall, it needed something to cover the back.
I am posting this so that those of you who are handy or have handy family members can rig this if you want to. I thought it was an amazing idea and I felt blessed and thankful for the help.

 

[chicken grandma]

I think the FBCM from Ada that Snowflake got had coccidia also as chicks and just suffered another bout of it at 7 months old.
So no, I don't believe it is something that is easy to erradicate. And I think if you got your chicks from the same farm in Ada, then that farm may have cocci in the soil/flock/pens.

I would guess this chicken farmer knows that his chickens have coccidia but someone could let him know if there is any chance he has not figured it out.

I am always sorry to see that people sell chickens and send them to new locations when they know their flock has Coccidia. Because in selling that chicken/chicks to another person they are sending a parasite to the new location that is
to my understanding always going to be in the chickens intestinal lining and will periodically shed into the soil and can periodically cause recurring illness.

Then unfortunately, cocci live in the soil for 4 years after chickens are removed from the property. To swap these infected birds or sell them does not seem humane to me.
And basically if we in Michigan practice farming that way, instead of getting rid of it, we guarantee that it spreads.

I don't know how to safely bring young birds into a flock that carries Coccidia.

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
I wonder if you waited until spring....then built a temporary coop FAR away...out of straw bales???? It would be for 20 days--30 days....how predator proof would that be?? You can use the bales for so many things after integrating the flocks. Also...I read that after you quarantine...it is good to have two sacrificial ones.....one from each flock that you put together. That way....at the most you'd lose two. You have the winter to plan ....I bet you could come up with something.
Today I asked my nonchicken owner friend if she would watch my chickens this winter. She is going to check with her hubby when he returns from deer camp the first week of Dec. I really hope she can....then I won't have to worry about biosecurity with my flock.

Great idea Fife, but I have so many predators (especially coons and fox) around here that I don't think the straw bales would keep the chicks safe, especially in the woods. My back yard is completely surrounded by woods with the 1/4 acre pond in the middle, so not too many places far enough away from the current coop to erect something else. So, other than the Coccidia that they had when chicks, if I think my flock is healthy and am not seeing any signs of disease, could I get healthy day old chicks from a hatchery or find someone to hatch some for me and then integrate them with my flock when they are old enough?

I decided to do an inventory and found that I have 304 egg cartons. Not sure how we would work out the logistics, but if anyone needs any and doesn't mind driving a bit to get them, please PM me, I could meet you.

 

[fifelakelooper]

I hadn't read your thread closely enough Chickmate. Missed the part somehow about the coccidia from Ada. I have not read up on that (another new danger to read up on...sigh).... With that on your property....I think a closed flock is best. I knew Mareks contaminated the soil....if coccidia does for 4 years....that would pretty much ensure you just keep what you have , wait until they die...then wait another 4 years (if that is really how long it takes to eradicate) and start anew. I would imagine there is a test for that also at MSU. If you have a clean flock...then you can set up a two chicken dog sized coop on other side of house for a quarantine. ??? I've seen plans online for converting dog houses so it would be cheap. OR...if you have a really easing going hubby...put the small coop in the basement. ?? How bad do you want to add?

Also...you may want to read up on if Oxine would decontaminate your soil?
Guess I will go read up on Coccidia now...I always thought just chicks got it.

I don't like to think that any Michigan poultry owner would knowingly sell chickens that are carriers of any disease.

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
Fife - You misunderstood. I did get my chicks from Ada and they did have coccidia, but I'm sure the seller didn't know. I don't have any adult chickens with it. They had it when they were a couple weeks old, I treated it and got rid of it. But from what I have read on this thread, it stays in the soil, right? It also sounds like coccidia is pretty common in chicks which is why they medicate chick starter for it. I don't want anyone to get a bad opinion of the seller, he is a great guy, has nice birds and is very conscientious about how he cares for them.
Only two problems with my hubby letting me keep chicks in the basement. I don't have a hubby and I don't have a basement.

That said, since I don't have a hubby, I can pretty much keep chickens wherever I want, I just don't have anyplace. No basement, no garage. I kept the FBCM's in the spare bathtub when I got them at a week old, until I could get a brooder set up in the coop.

I wish I could figure out a simple and inexpensive way to set up something to house six or eight pullets that would be predator proof and away from the coop, but I haven't come up with it yet.

Edited: I did advise the seller about the Coccidia.

 

[chickflick]

I grew up in Chicago, so no hunting for me! I don't like hunting season, cuz now I can't walk the dogs in the fields out back. When I first moved to MI, I could not believe how passionate people were over hunting! I mean, GM gave everyone the day off for the first day of hunting???

Still surprises me at times with all the hoop la over hunting season.
But, good luck to those who do and be safe!

 

[1muttsfan]

Fife, coccidia is a parasite that causes illness primarily in young or immunocompromised birds (or kids, calves, puppies,ect.) Adults can carry the infestation and be healthy, because their immune system controls the parasites to low levels. I think is is safe to assume that most birds will eventually be exposed to this parasite, either from other chickens or from wild birds. Medicated feeds for chicks keep the parasite numbers down, but do not completely eliminate them. This gives the chicks a chance to develop immunity without becoming ill. Better for them to develop immunity than to be infested as older birds. Birds from sales are more likely to shed parasites due to stress, so new birds should always be isolated until they have adjusted. The only way to protect a flock from everything is to do what the large-scale producers do - complete isolation of the flock inside a climate-controlled building, with no access to the outside, and no one allowed in unless they are in protective clothing. Most flocks ae going to stay healthy, and disease-free, if they are provided quality shelter, food and water. Childen that go to day care when very young get lots of infections through exposure to other children. But when they are older they get fewer infections due to their stronger immune systems.