Michigan

[fuzzybutt love]

sounds to me they're just like us. If we could pass on our resistance to flu's and colds.... In italy it is common practice to feed chicks cooked egg yolk instead of "chick feed" . I wonder if that would boost the antibodies? If there truly was a way to "breed resistance" by culling than you would have no fear of exposing your birds. (You'd think, after all the generations of breeders doing it) It is an organism causing these problems, and I believe that any bird who is exposed will get it. I believe that it's kinda too late to stop it; too many wild birds have gotten it. Even if we all killed our flocks, any bird who has been there will pass it on to his fellow friends, who travel also.... And so if you have outside chickens who are exposed to dirt you have sickness, eventually. In the old days people didn't take birds to the vets. they ate the sick ones. they didn't know about carriers and that their whole flock had it. they didn't cull whole flocks; that would have been economic suicide....... I feel that since this has gotten so far already our best bet is research about developing that elusive resistance. It won't be a single generation thing, but it is hope anyway. At any rate there are vaccines online too, just expensive. I just don't personally want to be the one-man protest in an already infected area.

 

[Olive Hill]

You're greatly underestimating the wisdom of those who came before us. Sound chicken rearing practices go back many, many generations and largely boil down to common sense. No, they didn't take their chickens to vets -- yes, they did breed resistance by culling. Not taking the chickens to vets was part of that. It remains an option in developing a solid plan today, but you have to understand the rest of what went with that practice; not taking actions that aid chickens in coming through illnesses that would otherwise kill them. With modern understanding of diseases we're afforded other options for maintaining flock health, mixing those options in wild abandon with methods of years past without a sound scientific reason for doing so is when problems arise.

If there is truly an endemic issue in your local area you should be working with a veterinarian to identify it and develop a plan for eradication. A nearby auction house is not a valid excuse for keeping sickly birds. If it were 90% of rural America would be without healthy chickens. Everyone in the MidWest lives within a wild bird's traveling distance of an auction house; most of us probably live within the direct path at least a portion of those wild birds will take at any given point in time.

When my children tell me that everyone else is doing something I find unfit for them to be doing I don't give in just because it's the predominant theme among their peers; I tell them that we behave in the way that is right even if it's not popular.

 

[Chickmate]

Peep was up walking around as soon as I turned on the light this morning. She gobbled down the last bit of cold oatmeal left from last night. I made her a scrambled egg and it was gone in a matter of minutes. So I made her a second and she is working on that too. She doesn't seem to have any problems. I guess I got my Christmas miracle.

I'm so happy she seems to be recovering Taprock. Sometimes it really is worth trying to save them.

 

[RaZ]

Kind of along the same thing....I was watching TV last night and realized that every commercial for a new drug had far more contraindications than the alledged benefits of said drug; "call your doctor is symptons worsen; may cause depression; may cause suicide", etc.

Seems that the cure is worse than the disease but marketing is a powerful tool and far too many people are looking for the wonder drug for every little thing, be it for themselves or their animals.

What we really need is a cure for hypochondria.

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
I'm so happy she seems to be recovering Taprock. Sometimes it really is worth trying to save them.

Or maybe not.......

.......just read Olive's post.

 

[RaZ]

Chickens just went into lockdown!

All 6 girls are in the coop with the run door closed. Just as a precaution. I hope the hawk gets a nice meal, there are tons of tasty sparrows here.

 

[Chickmate]

Quote:
Is that a Cooper's?

 

[RaZ]

Yes, a Cooper's hawk. I call him Gary. He has been aound for the last 2 years. I watched his parents teach him to hunt. It was fascinating.

 

[Olive Hill]

Gary is beautiful!

 

[Stacykins]

Yea, Gary is quite a looker! Sucks that your chickens have to be locked up, but hey, that is how we coexist with birds of prey while having prey animals as livestock!

Very excited, tomorrow I am driving with my mother to visit my maternal grandmother. I haven't been able to get away to go visit her in MN for a few months, and I just love spending time with her. So yaaaay! Unlike my paternal grandmother who is a seething cauldron of negativity, Grandma Bea is so wonderful to be around. And this gives me a chance to do chores for her that she can't physically do anymore, like hanging pictures and dusting up high, which I know need done.