NY chicken lover!!!!

[marquisella]

I have been catching up on post since I was away this weekend.

I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but I can't find a "nicer" way to say this, but if one is inclined to want to keep their farm animals and equipment "neat & clean" how do you think they will feel when they see their chickens, and other animals, whom have nice fresh water in their coops & barn areas,, drink out of poopy puddles? Aagghhh.... Or have to hose off their tractor every time they use it? Or how about all those cob webby things that seem to crop up overnight in the barn? Sigh.

I just about scream when I'm cleaning out the waterers and refilling with clean water, let the animals to the outside, and t he first thing they do is run to the nearest puddle & drink that dirty water.

Farming is "dirty" work. If you are a "germ a phobic" then don't plan on farming cause you will end up in the nuthouse...

Just sayin....

Oh, I forgot. There's also the mystery of how does all that "farm dirt" always get into the house on the floors, even when we change boots & shoes outside? Its a mystery...

 

[Lynzi777]

germophobic hypochondriacs!


ha ha ha the first step to recovery and change is knowing the truth ! ha ha ha ha


But seriously - you have to get out there and feel some soil you own and steward ... feel it in your hands and fall in love. I don't see how farming and germophobic hypochondriacs can meld - I am going to LOVE your updates as you settle in and start to farm .... please allow me to follow along on your adventures !

x2, for someone who wants to raise chicken indoors, I can't wait to see what ends up happening on this farm.

 

[JLaw]

Morning all. Still kinda warm out (31) and just a skim on the outside waterers this morning. My rir roo Bill decided to take a shot at me this morning as I was leaving the run. It was a half hearted sneaky one done twice. I turned around and went back in and cornered him. Picked him up and walked around the run talking to him. I explained that this behavior was unacceptable and that I do have more empty jars available for canning. I then proceeded to pet some of the girls who would let me and continued walking around the run, offering a little food to them as well. Turned him almost on his side while holding him and then did a thorough inspection of him. He is in fabulous shape. Good weight but not overweight, nice feathers, good skin and feet. Of course Thelma and Louise had to follow me around as I was doing this. I kept telling them they are chickens not dogs. I finally went to the door and put Bill back down on the ground. What was interesting to me is that Louise went after Bill, jumping at him and pecking at him. I must have lowered his ranking in her eyes. Anyways, it didnt last long as he put her in her place. H didnt come near me again but hopped up on the roost in the run and started crowing after I left the run. I didnt have to be mean to him at all. Just a quiet relaxed tone of voice and holding him seemed to get the message across. I have noticed Louise spending more time next to Bill so hopefully he has been mating her and I will get more rir chicks in the spring. I really like the hardiness of this breed. Another cold snap is coming and it doesnt seem to faze them at all. My sexlinks on the other hand, are having a rough time with the severe cold. I am going to hatch some eggs from the barred rocks (which should be black sexlinks because bill will be the dad) and see how they do. The nice part about them is that you know from day one which are pullets and cockerals.

We get that question about the flu shots at the pharm all the time. Its a dead virus. If you get sick, its because you already had something going on. Some people just dont take it well because of their immune system. I got the flu mist because of my egg allergy. Other than some nasal issues, it was fine. Not recommended for everyone though.

Have a good day everyone. Back to arctic weather tomorrow!

Wish I had a run to be able to do that but since they free range I had to pretty much attack my roo back because I couldn't corner him lol. not fun chasing stupid roo in jerk stage around yard. He has settled down but I've also caught him in coop a few times to hold him. Caught him just the other day to inspect him some I think it upset him some but he just crows as I walk away also. I wonder if its ment to say i'll get you next time or yeah you better run away lol.

Morning Everyone,
Snowing again out there! Bleh....

My silkie eggs only have 9 more days to go and are still looking GREAT!!!! I think I'm going to love this Brinsea!

Which brinsea did you get? I thought of getting one but not sure if I want that or a sportsman come tax season. As of right now I don't have room for all the chicks a sportsman would hatch not to mention don't think I could sell them all which leads me to get a brinsea20-40.

 

[Lynzi777]

Which brinsea did you get? I thought of getting one but not sure if I want that or a sportsman come tax season. As of right now I don't have room for all the chicks a sportsman would hatch not to mention don't think I could sell them all which leads me to get a brinsea20-40.

I got the mini advance, only hatches 7 at a time, less for larger eggs like ducks. I could never hatch more than a dozen at a time, I've never had any luck with selling them so I'd be stuck with them.

 

[why do birds]

x2, for someone who wants to raise chicken indoors, I can't wait to see what ends up happening on this farm.

Oh it is definitely an adventure! Will keep you all updated as we go. We do hope to have clean animals. It's nice to know that chickens can be washed. So far our 3 chickens are very clean. I washed the Silkie when it was about a week because it had some stuff on it's bottom, and the others are constantly grooming themselves and seem to be very clean. They don't seem to be more trouble than any other type of indoor pet. But when we move, if we have many chickens, they will have to stay in the barn. Another nice thing, the fruit trees border the field so we can drive to the tree, get out of the car, pick the fruit, put it in the trunk, and drive back to the road. It's almost like having a completely handicapped accessible orchard. Perfect for us as we get older!

Just my 2 cents. None of us have ever had the flu shot. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-pers...ggests-flu-vaccination-may-sometimes-backfire ~~In the new study, researchers explored the phenomenon in pigs that were infected with the 2009 H1N1 virus after receiving a vaccine against H1N2 influenza. The team, headed by scientists from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), published its findings yesterday in Science Translational Medicine. The results raise concerns about an approach eyed for developing next-generation vaccines, including a "universal" version targeting multiple strains. The interaction between the vaccine and respiratory disease, called vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease (VAERD), has been seen before, for example with formaldehyde-inactivated respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination followed by wild-type RSV infection.

I follow NVIC and on that site, one woman just lost her son, I think 4 yrs old., she had given her children the flu vaccine. He was infected with a different flu about a month later, and died of respiratory failure. Similar phenomenon as the baby pig study.

It would appear that the flu vaccine is relatively safe for most adults, although I would hesitate to challenge a child's immune system with this product. I knew a gentleman who had a guillain barre reaction to the flu shot, as an adult, that ultimately resulted in amputation. But it's all a very personal choice since most people have no bad vaccine reactions.

 

[Lynzi777]

Oh it is definitely an adventure! Will keep you all updated as we go. We do hope to have clean animals. It's nice to know that chickens can be washed. So far our 3 chickens are very clean. I washed the Silkie when it was about a week because it had some stuff on it's bottom, and the others are constantly grooming themselves and seem to be very clean. They don't seem to be more trouble than any other type of indoor pet. But when we move, if we have many chickens, they will have to stay in the barn. Another nice thing, the fruit trees border the field so we can drive to the tree, get out of the car, pick the fruit, put it in the trunk, and drive back to the road. It's almost like having a completely handicapped accessible orchard. Perfect for us as we get older!

What types of other animals do you plan on having once you move to this farm and are settled?

 

[LuvMyChicks1491]

I got the mini advance, only hatches 7 at a time, less for larger eggs like ducks. I could never hatch more than a dozen at a time, I've never had any luck with selling them so I'd be stuck with them.

How many silkie eggs do you have in there right now?

 

[Lynzi777]

How many silkie eggs do you have in there right now?

I only have 2 in there. I ordered hatching eggs from someone in OH and out of the 10 or so she shipped, only 2 ended up making it. (air cells detached, which happens a lot when shipping bantam sized eggs, all but 2 reattached but then only 2 eggs ended up developing) So when I started out, since I had my LG going, I put 7 in the Brinsea and the rest in the LG.

 

[JLaw]

I got the mini advance, only hatches 7 at a time, less for larger eggs like ducks. I could never hatch more than a dozen at a time, I've never had any luck with selling them so I'd be stuck with them.

Ah ok yeah that's just too small for me. figure if I want to hatch that few will wait for a broody if I ever get one lol. I like to hatch out 25ish at a time. Just sold 20 chicks this weekend could have sold more but I wanted to keep 4 of them. I'm afraid of hatching out like 50-90 and being stuck with them all..

 

[Lynzi777]

Ah ok yeah that's just too small for me. figure if I want to hatch that few will wait for a broody if I ever get one lol. I like to hatch out 25ish at a time. Just sold 20 chicks this weekend could have sold more but I wanted to keep 4 of them. I'm afraid of hatching out like 50-90 and being stuck with them all..

When the day comes and we build our next home, I have plans to have a barn built along with it! THEN I can hatch out more because I'll have the space for it. I can't imagine what I'd do with 25 chicks if I had that many hatch out and I couldn't sell them. But yea if I had the space, then I'd be all for hatching that many at a time.