NY chicken lover!!!!

[vmdanielsen]

Does anyone know how long it takes for the state to get back to you about NPIP testing? I faxed the completed form 2 weeks ago and haven't heard a thing from them. I was hoping to get the testing done while I'm on vacation in 2 weeks.

The tester that did my flock last year, called me this spring and and scheduled. she was quite prompt.

 

[happyhensny]

Wow, lots of pages to catch up on.

Was in Albany over the weekend. The capitol is a beautiful city and we really enjoyed it. Also camped near the city in a cabin so we had the best of both worlds. Very tired today.

Girls laid a total of 80 eggs in the last 3 days. Pretty good out of 26 hens.

Four chicks from Menagerie Farm are looking great! May post pics if I can get the camera to take some indoors pics for me that look good.

Welcome to Thassa! I also have an uninsulated coop and in the winter just use deep bedding method. Have to haul out water two or three times per day, but it does save me in electric bills.

Happyhens: Got the wafer type of Mereks vaccine. It did not say anywhere that it needed to be on liquid nitrogen, so I guess I will know about how well it works in 4 - 6 months. It needs to be used within an hour of mixing. Such a waste of 996 doses. Oh well. Costs less than raising 4 birds just to have them drop dead at point of lay.

Cass: Hope things are continuing to be better and you have better chick days.

Rancher: Great to hear from you!

I emailed the Vet at Cornell and she happens to know the person that owns(?) the company that makes the vaccine so she is going to contact him and find out what is what.

The tester that did my flock last year, called me this spring and and scheduled. she was quite prompt.

Mine did too, once you are NPIP I think they really want you to continue.

Gosh I forgot to add: I have 2 Khaki and 1 Chocolate Call duck hatched and 2 Bronze Turkeys. 3 more duck eggs and 3 more Turkey eggs to go. First time hatching Calls, the first one hatched yesterday morning. Should I be worried about the others doing nothing visible yet?

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions about my broody silkie. I moved her off her egg and took it. She screamed at me for a minute causing the others to get upset and bawk. I managed to coax Stripe to the door of the run and grabbed her out. I shut the pop door and put her inside with the eggs. She refused the nest box. I put a little hay on the floor and put her eggs in there. She proceeded to dump the food dish and do a big nasty poop. I left and came back a couple hours later. She was all snuggled in on the floor with her eggs tucked under her. I opened the door and gently lifted her up, picked up her eggs and put them in the nest box and then placed her in there over them. She looked around, threw some hay on her back, arranged the eggs under her and layed down. Hopefully, she will stay on them till they hatch. I will keep her locked in while the others are out until I am sure that she knows this is where she is supposed to lay and hatch.

I candled the eggs I set last sunday and have 9 out of 14 that are developing nicely. The others were infertile so I pulled them. I am hoping for a good hatch as these are my eggs from my silkies.

Stony--Nice pic of one of your girls. Now I know what the terrorists downstairs will look like!

 

[happycountryhens]

Happyhens: The vaccine is made by Meriel who bought out that section of Fort Dodge. Usually the DVM's who work with the manufacturers can answer questions about the products. However, if the vaccine should be on liquid nitrogen, the company would certainly be remiss in not having that on their label or directions. Also, it should not say right on the bottle and on the packaging not to freeze it. It will be interesting to see what the veterinarian finds out.

Edited for tired brain making incomplete sentances.

 

[stonykill]

Stony--Nice pic of one of your girls. Now I know what the terrorists downstairs will look like!

thanks. They are very pretty girls. She is the smallest of my 3 and 4 year old RIR's. but very friendly. She likes my father. She walks in his garage all the time to visit him.

 

[happycountryhens]

Chick pics

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Happy--beautiful babies!

So this morning I find miss broodypants back down on the floor of the coop with her egg. The other one is in the nest box. I wonder if it is infertile and thats why she keeps moving it out. Sassy, her sister, laid one this am so I stuck it under Stripe. Hopefully she will accept it and continue sitting. I had to be quick putting it under her though because she has become very fierce in defending her eggs! My sweet stripe will nail your hand quicker than you can move it.

Just above freezing this morning so it makes for a quick trip to the coops to let everyone out. The terrorists downstairs are eating me out of house and home. I have to fill their feeder twice a day now. Dh is taking the week off to finish building the coop so we can move the terrorists out. They are outgrowing their box faster than we planned. I will be posting a pic album of the project when we are done. Its the woods style open air coop with slight modifications. Taking a little longer as we are using the roughcut lumber he cut from all the trees he cut down on our property.

We must have a pair of Perigrin falcons nesting in the area because I am hearing their calls daily now and the girls have been on alert while out freeranging. I heard them yesterday when I was sitting out with the girls and the silkies while they were freeranging. I put the silkies away but left the girls out and they were carrying on something fierce when I went inside to eat. I didnt see anything but the girls were under the kitchen porch making a racket. They moved back to the coop and run and hung out around there until roost time. Its always hard to tell where the raptors are as they are so good at moving from tree to tree that you cant see them until they are close. Hence the reason why nobody is out ranging unless one of us is on duty.

Off to work today. Have a good day!

 

[ladylibra]

I am still debating on which other 2-3 chickens I want to raise I keep finding myself coming back to the lavender orpington. I think they're so pretty.

i love my lav's! I have 3 more doz setting now, I set about a doz a week.

 

[Cydney83]

Thought I should take a second to say hi to everyone. I've been lurking and reading as much as I can and I love it here so far.

Welcome! Enjoy!

 

[Framac]

Anyone else battling Boodies with egg breakage? I have lost 10 of 17 eggs set in the last 2 weeks. How do you fix this. I think it is from other hens sitting on the nests to lay.