North Carolina

[starlingdaly]

I bought some BCM hatching eggs a few months ago. I had a ridiculously low hatch rate on them. I ended up with just one. Are they just harder to hatch then other breeds? I had much more luck with the other breeds that were in the incubator at the same time. The one I do have started out with light leg feathering but it has almost entirely disappeared now. I don't know whether they'll feather out more or not. If anyone finds a good source for BCM eggs (or better yet, blue copper!) let me know. I'm ready to try hatching some more of them. Heck, I'd be pretty happy if I could find a nice cockerel even. 

I have heard (and from my experience) that BCM eggs do not handle shipping well. I think swedish flower hens and some other breeds are like this. I have incubated shipped BCM eggs and gotten 0-4 to hatch yet I can get 100% on my own BCM eggs from my flock.

 

[starlingdaly]

My other rooster just died! Like all of a sudden turned purple and started jumping around and flapping his wings! He was fine 2 freakin hours ago! There was nothing in his pen for him to choke over or anything! Help!

Oh no

 

[sbrooks88]

He just died he started throwing up and shaking and flapping and throwing his wings around! It was freakin horrible!

 

[ramirezframing]

Sbrooks, you might want to send his body off to the state to see what's going on with your birds, might be poison or something.

 

[sbrooks88]

Idk what the heck it is! This was different than my boy monkey. It was like he was here then he wasn't! It was like he choked! His comb and waddles got dark purple and his eyes looked like glass!

 

[dutchbunny83]

Sbrooks, I'm so sorry you lost another bird!!!

 

[sbrooks88]

I need a nerve pill. I gotta go get my wisdom teeth extracted and insurance won't pay to put me out in 30 minutes and I can't reschedule and I can't help but cry abou him! Ugh! my mother n law said it sounds like poison!

 

[sbrooks88]

Maybe he had a broken neck?

 

[dutchbunny83]

Question: What do ya'll do to control flies???

It's only been warm a few days and they are already BAD!!!
I remember seeing something last year about some type of wasp larvae you get, but if your chickens free range it said they can eat them all before they mature rendering them useless & they weren't cheap.

I've tried fly traps in the past, but they weren't at all successful.

We keep our coops clean, but it seems like swarms take over my backyard while the birds free range. The house on one side of me (and we're on 1/3 acre lots that are rectangle with the longest part front to back not side to side, so the houses are close) house next to me has at least 16 dogs, I'm really thinking it's over 20 and the house on the other side has 5 big dogs, so the main problem of flies really seems to be from their yard coming over into mine. I've got to find a good way to control them in my yard though because I went out there a little bit ago to freshen all the water & they were buzzing all around me, finding all the little poo piles my girls are leaving all over the yard as they free range.

Any input greatly appreciated!!!

 

[betty snow]

We are having a problem with flies too. They are awful here. I'm getting some bug zappers.