Nevadans?

[HighNDryFarm]

Quote:

OK here are the first of the bee pics. I went with a lighter colored jacket this time and also I had the smoker going.

A better look at the frame. The queen is near the bottom - the workers are clumped around her to protect her.

This is so interesting. Especially that they all hover around the queen to protect her. Did you get stung this time?

Quote: The screw caps don't use the rubber seal. There is a small red portion of the lid that I think may be rubber but it doesn't come in contact with what's inside. My only concern is that it sounds like she's recommending processing to seal the jars. The head from processing would kill the live portion of the vaccine I would think.

Picnic photos at last. Since I had the camera, no photos were taken of me. Oh darn!

If anyone does not want photos of their children (or any other photo) posted, let me know and I will remove.

Steve and Sunny. Sunny is saying "Hi Sheryl!"

My husband, Jose Efrain

Our hostess, Mandy

Missy and Russ

Mandy's son

Missy's daughter is pulling the wagon. My daughter and Mandy's younger son are standing by for a ride.





Missy's daughter pulling my son and daughter

Missy's son and my son playing soccer

What a beautiful place and everyone looks so great! Sunny you and Steve looks happy as always! Love seeing the kids have so much fun too.

 

[gaited horse]

Great pics! It's just like being there. Hey wait... I was there.

Chick update:
Dijon is feeling well enough to move about the brooder. She's still sneezing and acting sleepy, but she's made a visible improvement. All of the other chicks are coming down with it, and one of my silkies even has a crusty nose. But if Dijon is going to pull through, maybe the rest will, as well.

I have no clients tomorrow, and a HUGE to-do list. If I actually stay off BYC, maybe I can increase my chances of getting it all done!

I picked up the doe rabbit today and checked her out to see if there were any signs of pregnancy. Oh yeah. There are. Good thing Russ just has a few finishing touches for the nesting box. It's not a super good one, considering he has very limited time, but it's safe and sheltered. He can build a better one for actual PLANNED breeding.

What breed are they? Are you using a colony set up? I can get you some super easy plans for a nest box if you want t I can post them

 

[NevadaRon]

Great pics! It's just like being there. Hey wait... I was there.

Great pics! It's just like being there. Hey wait... I was there.

Chick update:
Dijon is feeling well enough to move about the brooder. She's still sneezing and acting sleepy, but she's made a visible improvement. All of the other chicks are coming down with it, and one of my silkies even has a crusty nose. But if Dijon is going to pull through, maybe the rest will, as well.

I sure hope so. You all have been through so much!

This is so interesting. Especially that they all hover around the queen to protect her. Did you get stung this time?

Nope. None even got on me this time! IDK if it was the dark coat, the lack of smoke, or just the stress of being shaken out of the hive last time (or all of the above). But they were much calmer today.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

The disease is not transferred to the egg and birds that show more resistance would make for healthier stock but I would worry about them being carriers for life after this. Even with vaccination you still have the worries of exposure before the vaccine is fully administered.

Right, that's a big concern of mine right now. They're recovering, but how will they be later? I just don't feel right about killing off these little chicks because of what might happen later. It's a dilemma.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

What breed are they? Are you using a colony set up? I can get you some super easy plans for a nest box if you want t I can post them

They're New Zealand, and I think the guy who sold us to them said they have a little flemish giant in them as well. Maybe 25% flemish. We're planning to keep 2 does and a buck, then raise the babies up for meat.

I'm not sure what a colony setup is. I bought 4 of them, expecting 2 does and a buck, and the other buck was free, so I took him to raise up and butcher. And I have 3 good-sized stacking wire cages. I paired them girl/girl and boy/boy, leaving the 3rd cage empty... and realized a few days ago that one of the girls was so young that she was misidentified. So I actually have 3 bucks and a doe, and the doe has been penned with one of the bucks for the past month. So my husband just built a nesting box to put in the 3rd cage, and he has to put the legs back on, and I can put the doe in that cage. He also has to make a roof over the cages, for protection and to keep the other animals from using the cage setup as steps to get out of the yard. We're going to keep one of her babies as a 2nd breeder, which means the daddy becomes a stew rabbit and one of the other bucks gets to stay as the stud.

I'd love plans for a nest box. Thank you. I was hoping to build something with a hinged top, up on legs, that I can set over the other cage (which is about 3'x3'x2'). Growing up, our does had 2-part cages, with the back as the hinged wooden nesting box, and a small door that she could use to enter the wire part of the cage.

 

[vegaschick]

It looks like you all had fun at the get together. I love being able to put faces to the names. I'm kinda jealous that we don't have more of a community here in the south but I did get to visit with Ke_ben on Saturday. I picked up some fertile eggs for a broody. I mentioned that I never see him post and he said the same about me! But, but, but...I'm on here lurking all the time. To bad there's no record of that unless you post. So...here I am...posting.

NevadaRon: That is so awesome. We kept two hives here in Vegas about 20 years ago. We had a neighbor who would come over and handle them for us so I never was able to experience that. I think in all the time we had them (about 5 years) we only had 2 random stings.

americanvalkyrie: I have struggled with disease myself in the past. I think that my birds must have gotten it from mice or wild birds. After culling and culling and culling...I finally came to the conclusion that since I had no idea how they got it, and kept getting it, my main responsibility was to ensure that I don't share with others. So, I have plastic booties for those visiting my flock to wear and bird netting to eliminate wild bird visits. I'm also very careful which birds leave my flock and how they leave it. Most birds are eaten. A bird that has shown ANY symptoms NEVER leaves my property alive. Full disclosure is essential! My heart goes out to you. I've been there and done that.

On a lighter note...my garden is growing! We have 40+ buckets that were all recycled! We collected from 3 Burger King restaurants almost daily for more than a month. We got recycled pipe and reused the soil from our old (5 years) raised square garden planters and in some peat, perlite, vermiculite and compost to freshen it up. We learned how to use the lid instead of using 2 buckets and we even have some buckets using collanders too, just like the global bucket website showed. My dad was a brick mason so we set up his scaffolding and have a vertical garden. We are still planting but are excited about the tomatoes, peas, beans, and squash that are already growing! I started a garden club with a group of people from church and we helped about 15+ people set up bucket gardens of their own. Everyone has stuff growing and are very excited about it. I worked at Star Nursery for 3 years and most of the plants that came back dead were from over-watering. I love that that is not possible with this system. I'm gonna get some photos together and post them so you can see what we've done. Thanks for sharing!

 

[NevadaRon]

That's why I totally enclose my runs - so that wild birds don't mix with mine and bring in diseases!

ETA: Congrats on the garden vegaschick! I just love the taste of homegrown produce, and the tremendous satisfaction that comes from growing it.

 

[chicharomirinda]

Lacey is going to take my cockerels so I am happy about that. They may be eaten at some point but that's ok. At least it's not just a random person off craigslist.

I was thinking the same thing! I went and got two 18 gauge needles today from One Stop. The owner said that vets use the same needle for a whole herd or flock (you just can't reinsert a contaminated needle into the bottle of sterile solution of course). The 18 gauge needles are huge!!! The solution does not seem thick at all but I haven't shaken it up yet. I think I'll try the smaller insulin needles to see if they work. It would be so much easier to give the vaccine with the small needles. Those big needles look very unwieldy!

I got good news from the company that sold us the vaccine today. They said that as long as the amount needed for dosing is taken out right away and the remaining vaccine is kept in the fridge protected from light that we can store it til the expiration date. In fact she said that we can even take our individual doses and store them if we put them in a sterile container right away. She said that some customers boil and seal mason jars for this purpose but I thought mason jars used a rubber seal. Are there some that don't use the rubber seal?

If this is the case I can bring folks the meds in a cooler with ice packs and then I can transfer to your sterile container with one of the large 18 gauge needles and syringe. Since traveling all over town to deliver meds would be a nightmare for me, I was hoping we could all meet in a central location in Reno for the transfer? Elizabeth has already posted the dosing instructions so that part is covered.


The disease is not transferred to the egg and birds that show more resistance would make for healthier stock but I would worry about them being carriers for life after this. Even with vaccination you still have the worries of exposure before the vaccine is fully administered.

I have some new mason jars. I can meet wherever for the transfer.

OK here are the first of the bee pics. I went with a lighter colored jacket this time and also I had the smoker going.

Lighting the smoker


Feeding time!



Examining a frame. That small wooden thing near my thumb is the queen cage, held in place by a rubber band.



A better look at the frame. The queen is near the bottom - the workers are clumped around her to protect her.

Cool photos!

It looks like you all had fun at the get together. I love being able to put faces to the names. I'm kinda jealous that we don't have more of a community here in the south but I did get to visit with Ke_ben on Saturday. I picked up some fertile eggs for a broody. I mentioned that I never see him post and he said the same about me! But, but, but...I'm on here lurking all the time. To bad there's no record of that unless you post. So...here I am...posting.

NevadaRon: That is so awesome. We kept two hives here in Vegas about 20 years ago. We had a neighbor who would come over and handle them for us so I never was able to experience that. I think in all the time we had them (about 5 years) we only had 2 random stings.

americanvalkyrie: I have struggled with disease myself in the past. I think that my birds must have gotten it from mice or wild birds. After culling and culling and culling...I finally came to the conclusion that since I had no idea how they got it, and kept getting it, my main responsibility was to ensure that I don't share with others. So, I have plastic booties for those visiting my flock to wear and bird netting to eliminate wild bird visits. I'm also very careful which birds leave my flock and how they leave it. Most birds are eaten. A bird that has shown ANY symptoms NEVER leaves my property alive. Full disclosure is essential! My heart goes out to you. I've been there and done that.

On a lighter note...my garden is growing! We have 40+ buckets that were all recycled! We collected from 3 Burger King restaurants almost daily for more than a month. We got recycled pipe and reused the soil from our old (5 years) raised square garden planters and in some peat, perlite, vermiculite and compost to freshen it up. We learned how to use the lid instead of using 2 buckets and we even have some buckets using collanders too, just like the global bucket website showed. My dad was a brick mason so we set up his scaffolding and have a vertical garden. We are still planting but are excited about the tomatoes, peas, beans, and squash that are already growing! I started a garden club with a group of people from church and we helped about 15+ people set up bucket gardens of their own. Everyone has stuff growing and are very excited about it. I worked at Star Nursery for 3 years and most of the plants that came back dead were from over-watering. I love that that is not possible with this system. I'm gonna get some photos together and post them so you can see what we've done. Thanks for sharing!

congrats on your gardens!

 

[chicharomirinda]

That's why I totally enclose my runs - so that wild birds don't mix with mine and bring in diseases!

ETA: Congrats on the garden vegaschick! I just love the taste of homegrown produce, and the tremendous satisfaction that comes from growing it.

Birds can still get in the larger wire I have on top of the run. Maybe I will put netting over that to keep them out completely.

 

[SunnyDawn]

OK here are the first of the bee pics. I went with a lighter colored jacket this time and also I had the smoker going.

Lighting the smoker


Feeding time!



Examining a frame. That small wooden thing near my thumb is the queen cage, held in place by a rubber band.



A better look at the frame. The queen is near the bottom - the workers are clumped around her to protect her.

Fascinating!!! I am such a nature show freak but this is even better cause we know you! What do you feed them, corn syrup?

Quote: The screw caps don't use the rubber seal. There is a small red portion of the lid that I think may be rubber but it doesn't come in contact with what's inside. My only concern is that it sounds like she's recommending processing to seal the jars. The head from processing would kill the live portion of the vaccine I would think.


What a beautiful place and everyone looks so great! Sunny you and Steve looks happy as always! Love seeing the kids have so much fun too.

Oh no! That was my wording then cause that is not at all what she said nor what I meant! She said the vessel that the vaccine is put into would have to be sterile prior to storing vaccine! The directions are very clear that the vaccine needs to be kept at around 40-42 degrees (don't remember the exact temperature spread but my fridge was well within the limits) and slowly brought to room temperature (exact temps are on the directions that Elizabeth posted) just before vaccinating. So sorry that I was unclear about that point!

So my plan was that folks would bring their own sterile container, in a cooler with ice packs and meet me in a central location to pick up the vaccine. Hmmm I just started to make a joke about being a drug dealer and realized that sitting in a parking lot somewhere using a needle and syringe to mete out vaccine could be construed in a negative way by curious bystanders. lol

Geez now I'm thinking that I should just pick up a few more of the large syringes (they are a dollar each at One Stop but if someone knows where I can get them cheaper...) and prepare the individual doses at home where I can control the amount of light getting to it and can keep it shook up and cold while dividing it up. That way the vaccine can be wrapped up ahead of time and tranferred right to your cooler for the ride home and you can let it warm up before you use it. I am sure bright sunlight would not be a good thing. Any extra can be kept in any cool sterile container, sealed tightly, wrapped and placed in the fridge (do not freeze!). I don't want to unwrap it now to read the expiration date but I will make sure I get this at that time.

Quote:
I can understand that as well! Such a tough situation to be in!