NY chicken lover!!!!

[marquisella]

Quote: My granddaughter uses a nebulizer a lot, she was diagnosed with asthma at 10 months & has had problems every since. Just letting the "mist" the neb makes flow to the face works well. When she was in the hospital that is how they did it, didn't put in her mouth. Shes 4 now and holds it herself to do it. It helps open their airways so they can breath easier.

 

[vmdanielsen]

Thanks for the info ChickPrincess and Cass. Neither one of us were very familiar with it, but we do know little girls temperment! If she doesn't show improvement within the next couple days, we will try the nebulizer. And something with my insurance said it needed to be delivered, can't just pick one up at the nebulizer store.
Now for the lighting question. The hormones are related to day length, although the extra feed/water consumption helps. In horses, mares don't have heat cycles in winter and the hair coat grows/sheds with daylight. That is why they start shedding in February even though it is still frigid. The thoroughbred industry also uses supplemental lighting for breeding, so the mares can be bred for January foals. Thoroughbreds and some other breeds designate January 1 as the official birthday, regardless of actual birth date. So when racing, a January foal is more desirable than a late spring foal.
And I wear long sleeve tee, sweatshirt, jeans, insulated bibs, hooded sweatshirt and carhart jacket. And knit gloves because I like to keep my hands flexible to pick up eggs or buckle blankets. since I'm home today, I'll be making a water and egg gather trip today.

I do know that horses are seasonally polyestrus and that a great many thoroughbreds are "foaled" on January first because if they were foaled on December 30th they would have to celebrate their first birthday on the following Jan 1 (making them a year old for racing purposes in 1 day).

 

[stonykill]

I absolutely agree with you on what we have done to chickens! Mine are outside now, huddled together standing on one foot looking at me as if I ordered this 0 degree weather....

OK, another question then. If it is sunlight they need, why does lighting with a bulb(what do people use incandescent? Fluorescent?) work??

I don't use light. Here is why. I feel the chickens need their natural break. I compare it to a bulb needing to winter over before reflowering. My feeling is adding light is simply going to shorten the number of years a chicken lays eggs.
With that said those that do use lights say it takes a few weeks to work. The chicken needs to adjust to the added "daylight" hours. And I would think it would have to be incandescent. Flourescent bulbs don't like to work in the cold.

And yes humans have ruined chickens. I raise my flock like our forefathers did. Trying to help them be chickens...normal chickens.

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

I don't use light. Here is why. I feel the chickens need their natural break. I compare it to a bulb needing to winter over before reflowering. My feeling is adding light is simply going to shorten the number of years a chicken lays eggs.
With that said those that do use lights say it takes a few weeks to work. The chicken needs to adjust to the added "daylight" hours. And I would think it would have to be incandescent. Flourescent bulbs don't like to work in the cold.

And yes humans have ruined chickens. I raise my flock like our forefathers did. Trying to help them be chickens...normal chickens.

Stony I like your philosophy. The reason I got into chickens in the first place was to have a more natural food source, not from an egg vending machine. Humans are like that too, our schedules demand us to be so busy that we don't slow down when we have decreased daylight, so we tend to get tired and have lowered immune systems in the winter because we are so out of touch with our natural circadian rhythm. (I'll stay off my soap box)...But I do realize that having a larger flock cost a lot more than my tiny 4-6 birds, and that selling eggs helps pay for feed.
Do you sell fertile Sumatra eggs? If someone goes broody this spring I would love to try that breed. I hear rumor they lay blue eggs?!

Chickprincess I'm glad to hear Horeo was picked up. I'm assuming it has calmed down a bit in the coop? I forgot to mention earlier that I have used pine tar for picking with some success. It deters picking bare spots for a while but is messy to apply and you have to do it more than once a week.
Buddy is getting pretty randy, the girls refuse to come down out of the nesting area for fear of being "courted". He was just chasing them trying to get his way but now he's learning to bait them with food and dance.

 

[marquisella]

Quote: I'm going to disagree a little here...just my opinion.

We, humans, have manulipated chickens, yes. But saying we have ruined them is not necessarily true.

Ancient chickens were mostly wild jungle fowl. Our forefathers domesticated them and for centuries have used them to feed themselves.
Normal, no. Natural chickens, maybe in the jungles of Brazil still, but they wouldn't lay more than a couple of eggs, only in the spring, and I don't think they would be good eating.

About bulbs for lighting, incandescent are best, because they also throw out a little heat to warm up the air on a day like today...

 

[stonykill]

Stony I like your philosophy. The reason I got into chickens in the first place was to have a more natural food source, not from an egg vending machine. Humans are like that too, our schedules demand us to be so busy that we don't slow down when we have decreased daylight, so we tend to get tired and have lowered immune systems in the winter because we are so out of touch with our natural circadian rhythm. (I'll stay off my soap box)...But I do realize that having a larger flock cost a lot more than my tiny 4-6 birds, and that selling eggs helps pay for feed.
Do you sell fertile Sumatra eggs? If someone goes broody this spring I would love to try that breed. I hear rumor they lay blue eggs?!

I have around 80 chickens and 11 ducks and still won't use light to increase egg production.

Blue Sumatra eggs are almost as rare as hens teeth. Of all of my Sumatra hens only 2 lay blue eggs. I may pick up a few more when some of the young pullets come into lay, but I'm not going to count on that. Their eggs are normally either white or some brown color.

Yes I do sell fertile Sumatra eggs.

 

[rancher hicks]

I just gave away 10 dozen eggs. (Local food pantry...they can't make them part of the month's food for a family, but they can put them on a table and tell folks to take anything they can use.) I haven't been home on weekends for this entire month, so my regular customers haven't been able to stop by and get eggs. The very SECOND I am home for a weekend I am making a wooden sign and hanging it out front. I had foam board signs, but the snow plows ruined it the first time it snowed enough to need plowing.

With 10 dozen gone I have room for the 2 dozen that have accumulated since I gave them away on Sunday. I think I need to eat more eggs. Or start baking, instead of picking up treats at the supermarket

I got me a small fridge from the neighbor next door to hold eggs for $40. Of course I don't have enough eggs to put in it as they sell pretty quick. I've got one egg for me today. Unless I got out and see what's there.

But good garden o' peas it's cold.

I've got 18 for a person coming to get them to hatch. Not something I do but they're just trying out their incubator. I hope they show, even though their area got some snow.

Anyhow, get yourself a fridge and put it where your customers can get at it and have them leave the money when you're not home. IF you trust them.

 

[rancher hicks]

Got home later tonight, took little girl to the doctor since she has developed a cough. Start of bronchitis.

Hubby hauled lots of water to the barn, all the snow blew away to use the sled. Horses are spending the cold snap in the barn with blankets. Chickens all came out of the coop looking to get a drink. And 2 of the 3 eggs froze and broke. Only a couple more days of the extreme cold nonsense.....

No frozen eggs, but cold for sure. I go out a few times when I'm home to check.

Now you watch that bronchitis make sure she gets some rest. No TV just keep her in bed. Perhaps some soothing music.

 

[stonykill]

I'm going to disagree a little here...just my opinion.

We, humans, have manulipated chickens, yes. But saying we have ruined them is not necessarily true.

Ancient chickens were mostly wild jungle fowl. Our forefathers domesticated them and for centuries have used them to feed themselves.
Normal, no. Natural chickens, maybe in the jungles of Brazil still, but they wouldn't lay more than a couple of eggs, only in the spring, and I don't think they would be good eating.

About bulbs for lighting, incandescent are best, because they also throw out a little heat to warm up the air on a day like today...

there are protected wild chickens in Fla. Some links call them ferrel, some wild but they live their daily lives without humans doing things for them.

Ruined is the wrong word sure, but I use it because most chickens simply can't survive without humans as we have over domesticated them. We had a steer once. Stupidest critter I've ever had. Absolutely dependent on me to survive. Then I see this show on tv showing some kind of African bovine get attacked by a lion, the herd chases the lion off then goes to take care of the assumed dead bovine. They licked the wounds and after an hour or so, the wounded bovine stood up and walked away with the herd. My steer would get stuck in the corner of a building

.

So this is why I say we ruined chickens. Hardly any chickens are able to survive without us. Compare your average domestic turkey to a wild turkey. We raised 30 turkeys a year for about 10 years. Stupid birds. Wild turkeys are quite smart. Over domestication ruins natural instinct. But if raised in the correct way, these instincts return over generations.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well I thought you were talking to me !
Coz I have gold comet s / sexlinks & a RIR - she wasnt sexed so does that mean she might be a full red ?

(Your "Tetras" "Golden comets" and the like are sex links simply for the reason the hatchery can tell the boys from the girls just by looking at them. They then toss the boys down a chute and grind them up alive.

Further your Rhodebars and any of the "Bars" are also crosses that hatch feather sexed. Though in this case the roosters and hens of the "breed" can be bred together. )

she may very well be RIR. You got a pic?