NY chicken lover!!!!

[Tough Old Bird]

You guys may be right about gnats. The bites are on my lower legs and ankles. That's what made me think fleas at first because our dog sleeps under the covers right at my lower legs.
The bites themselves are small. They start out red with a pale middle. Then the whole thing turns red but stays small. The redness shrinks over a half a day or so. The bites will itch intensely off and on for a good week.
Do gnats live in the wood shavings in the coop?

My dogs are both pit mixes and are as pink-skinned as a newborn piglet. They are white (fur) and I can see their skin very easily. There is not a flea on them. That being said, I KNOW something is biting my younger dog (the thinner coated of the two). The bites are just as you explained above, and they are along his inner legs and groin. Whatever is getting him is nailing him from the grass. So it could be fleas or some kind of gnat. I do know that while watching my boys' evening baseball games this summer, there was some kind of persistent biting gnat. Almost reminded me of a black fly, but smaller. They drew blood.

TOB

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Funny you should log in. I found an egg in the corner of the coop that can have only come from a maran so it must be Helens sister. Don't want to think of if she has been laying all this time. I've not found any eggs til now.

Helen sends fondest regards to her now-laying sister!

I will post some pics of the girls I got from you later, if I find the time Rancher. They are really nice and amusing birds to be around. Yesterday, Helen thought I was doling out the bread cubes a little too slowly and decided to take matters into her own beak...she gave the paper towel in my hand a good yank and sent the cubes flying to all corners of the globe. Too funny!

TOB

 

[Glasshen]

Hi everyone. I'm catching up from sometime yesterday, and am enjoying the apple tree talk. Last year I bought 5 little apple trees, but am doing a poor job of keeping them weeded. This year they had no blossoms, hope next year they will. Some came from Trumansburg. I had gone to a workshop at Elderberry Pond, as they have been growing everything, including apples organically for a long time...

Lynzi, I have lots of bad feelings about that place. It seems to use about three Names, which I find strange, and they sold me sex links as Buff Orpingtons...and refused to admit it. I become very angry when I think of them. The people were pretty skeevy too.

I had a friend take care of my flock while I was gone, and my son took care of my newf. the flock thrived under Jessie's care, it took me a day and a half to work my way into my dogs good graces. She behaved terribly for him too. I guess she will not tolerate me being away two weekends in a row. Message received.

 

[magsrags]

Hey from Staten Island! zip 10307
Looking for some fertile eggs for 3 silkie broody girls I can't break. I need them shipped so am looking for someone as close as possible for say 1 dozen. I'm considering all breeds so if you can accommodate me this week please pm me or write to
[email protected] and let me know what you have available.
Bantams as well as standards welcome. I am looking to spend $20 + postage.
tks maggie

 

[Cass]

My dogs are both pit mixes and are as pink-skinned as a newborn piglet. They are white (fur) and I can see their skin very easily. There is not a flea on them. That being said, I KNOW something is biting my younger dog (the thinner coated of the two). The bites are just as you explained above, and they are along his inner legs and groin. Whatever is getting him is nailing him from the grass. So it could be fleas or some kind of gnat. I do know that while watching my boys' evening baseball games this summer, there was some kind of persistent biting gnat. Almost reminded me of a black fly, but smaller. They drew blood.

TOB

Skin so Soft by Avon is what my mother in law swore by for her dog. Kept off all the bugs. Not sure how or where she applied it, but her dog never got any bites and they lived in FL at the time; home of the sand flea.

 

[Cass]

Hey from Staten Island! zip 10307
Looking for some fertile eggs for 3 silkie broody girls I can't break. I need them shipped so am looking for someone as close as possible for say 1 dozen. I'm considering all breeds so if you can accommodate me this week please pm me or write to
[email protected] and let me know what you have available.
Bantams as well as standards welcome. I am looking to spend $20 + postage.
tks maggie

Welcome. Everyone is welcome here, however there is a thread for lower NY (Dutchess county and south). They might be close enough to you for you to drive and get the eggs.

I, however, will never figure out why hatching eggs cost so much more than eating eggs. All my eggs are fertile and if I had the ability to separate my flock by breed they would still be fertile eggs you could eat OR hatch. Case in point....an egg customer of mine took 4 of my eggs (that had been refridgerated) and put them under a broody hen he had. 3 of the 4 hatched. That customer paid 2 bucks for that dozen eggs.

Here is the link to the other NY thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/534036/southern-ny-dutchess-county-and-below

 

[Sally8]

For those of you that are expert on the apple trees. I have 3 that were bought 7 years ago 5 years ago and last year. The first one blossomed the first 2 years but never since. The other 2, not a blossom. We have bee's to pollinate and gets at least 6 - 8 hours of sunlight. The trees are all about 30 feet from each other. 2 are Northern Spy and the 3rd starts with a B. (My children buy me fruit trees or berry bushes for my birthday/Mother's Day.)
We have this lichen all over the trees including huge Ash and Locust tree's. I've done a lot of research on why no blossoms but I have no clue. They look very healthy. Any idea's?




Not sure why my pictures turned out sideways on here. Sorry. From what I've read, the lichen only attaches itself to unhealthy trees. I have it on everything. (The stone along our house, my clothesline, other non fruit trees)

 

[Gramma Chick]

OMG, I swear I think my silkie rooster has to go! I love him but man, he does not shut up! His crowing has gotten more and more obnoxious over the last few weeks. All day long too!

Do you think it has to do with the competition ? & his size ? He was top / only Roo before ...Now he has this Huge Rival !

 

[Lynzi777]

Do you think it has to do with the competition ? & his size ? He was top / only Roo before ...Now he has this Huge Rival !

I was going to ask that, if adding another roo to a flock causes the others to become more obnoxious. I swear every time he crows, the other one starts up. My bigger roo will crow once in the morning, but doesn't crow again until the silkie starts up. He does always follow his actions, but he never starts either.

 

[Cass]

I was going to ask that, if adding another roo to a flock causes the others to become more obnoxious. I swear every time he crows, the other one starts up. My bigger roo will crow once in the morning, but doesn't crow again until the silkie starts up. He does always follow his actions, but he never starts either.

Not sure if this is the answer you are looking for, but my neighbor's roo and mine have, what we refer to as, "CROW WARS" . Some days it's all day long, some days it's just in the morning. They can't even see each other, but if one crows the other crows in response.