New chicken farmer

[Tookie]

Welcome to BYC! We're glad to have you here. So sorry for your losses.

 

[sourland]

Hello, and a belated welcome to BYC.

 

[triciayoung]

Apparently there are some from what I've read. Mareks, Newcastle, and others. But that's just what I read. But It could have been bird flu for sure. We also seem to live under a duck migration path and one of my neighbors attracts all kinds of birds with bird feeders and such. One next door neighbor has chickens and they are all fine. Actually where I got the two ducks from. The white one was actually attacked by their dog when he was really young (messed one of his legs up) before I took him over so he is lame but actually gets around pretty good now. Both ducks get tons of attention now where as before they were completely neglected. Ya hopefully it was just a crazy incident never to happen again. I am a stronger chicken farmer now because of it and have changed a bunch of things so. On to the new chick's. can't wait to introduce them.

“Changed a bunch of things” must mean you suspect something. What are your thoughts?

 

[Kasper77]

“Changed a bunch of things” must mean you suspect something. What are your thoughts?

Haha well,
I took out a shelf in the coop where they would lay instead of roosting on the bars, and replaced with more roosting bars.( even tho I scraped the poop daily off the shelves and sanitized occasionally it may have still been harboring pathogens) plus they would drop and break eggs up there occasionally. Much easier to keep clean.
It was the coldest two weeks of the winter so I thought maybe being cold lowered their resistance, so I lined most of the inside of the coop with thin insulation. It is an old 6x5x5 metal shed (I'll post a pic soon when I'm done) Pic attached of original.

I sprinkled lime on the whole yard where I was letting them forage. I noticed where the washer water runs in the yard there was some green. Sprinkled clover and alfalfa around the yard hoping allot take. I haven't let the ducks and chicken into the yard since but their run is pretty big too and I made it a little bigger and added an easy open gate instead of the heavy wooden make shift one I had.
Went over the whole coop And run with vinegar then homemade lactic acid bacteria serum.

Added a sump pump to the duck pool to drain water to the garden so coop area doesn't get as wet with the daily or every 2 day draining.
I'm sure there's more.

 

[Kasper77]

My black duck at a year old just layed her first egg. Woohoo!!

 

[TwoCrows]

My black duck at a year old just layed her first egg. Woohoo!!

Congrats on the first egg!

 

[Kasper77]

Congrats on the first egg!

Thank you! I was beginning to wonder.

 

[N F C]

My black duck at a year old just layed her first egg. Woohoo!!

Congrats!

 

[janiedoe]

Congratulations! That is a gorgeous egg!

 

[Debbie292d]

My black duck at a year old just layed her first egg. Woohoo!!

Awesome! Congratulations!