NY chicken lover!!!!

[featherz]

Quote:
I'm at the Family Health Center -I float between departments there.

You do not want to know how many eggs I have in MY fridge right now. Umm, TOO many.

I do still need hatching eggs, but I think I'll try my own worst case and we'll see if I can get a few more naked necks.

 

[Henicillin]

Thanks for the good thoughts, folks! Here's hoping they get back to me Monday and end the agony of waiting!

My goofy roosters have evidently decided that anything and everything that flies overhead when I let the crew out of the run to wander around the upper yard must be dangerous. Crow? Aerial predator call. Jay? Predator call. Tiny songbirds? Predator call. Planes? Predator call. A leaf blowing off a tree? Yep - predator call. At least they're taking their collective job as flock protectors seriously. It's pretty funny to hear them all hollering about purple finches and sparrows fluttering between the trees, though. Bunch of rookies.

 

[happyhensny]

featherz - my egg customers are driving me nuts! I haven't been getting but a few each day. Family of 5 eats a full dozen in a meal=no extras.

Hen - let's hope they don't make you wait too long.

Cass - green eggs are so neat! Many non-chick owners do not even know they exist! I bring a variety of egg colors into school in spring when I show the kids the chicks.

Happy - Any way to get rid of Marek's once it is in your coop? Sorry.

 

[happycountryhens]

Quote:
Hey, thanks for the hugs. I need them. Thought I would have to do it myself.
No, once you have it, you have it. You vaccinate or burn the place down. Sam was from hatching eggs I got before I knew we had a problem. All 25 of the new girls are vaccinated and are fine and about half are now laying. We are getting about nine eggs from them per day. Now there are only 2 birds I have to worry about with the Mereks. Sam's sister and my one Amerecauna. Doris was over 8 months old when exposed so she should stay fine. She is such a character.

Again, thanks for the hugs. It is so frustrating when you can't make them better.

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
Hey, thanks for the hugs. I need them. Thought I would have to do it myself.
No, once you have it, you have it. You vaccinate or burn the place down. Sam was from hatching eggs I got before I knew we had a problem. All 25 of the new girls are fine and about half are now laying. We are getting about nine eggs from them per day. Now there are only 2 birds I have to worry about with the Mereks. Sam's sister and my one Amerecauna. Doris was over 8 months old when exposed so she should stay fine. She is such a character.

Again, thanks for the hugs. It is so frustrating when you can't make them better.

Actually, you can get rid of it. Its respiratory, so if you only keep birds that don't get symptoms, and breed from them, you can eventually develop a Mareks resistant flock.

I don't vaccinate and am working on the resistant thing. I get maybe 1 or 2 chicks that have symptoms a year.

 

[happycountryhens]

Quote:
Hey, thanks for the hugs. I need them. Thought I would have to do it myself.
No, once you have it, you have it. You vaccinate or burn the place down. Sam was from hatching eggs I got before I knew we had a problem. All 25 of the new girls are fine and about half are now laying. We are getting about nine eggs from them per day. Now there are only 2 birds I have to worry about with the Mereks. Sam's sister and my one Amerecauna. Doris was over 8 months old when exposed so she should stay fine. She is such a character.

Again, thanks for the hugs. It is so frustrating when you can't make them better.

Actually, you can get rid of it. Its respiratory, so if you only keep birds that don't get symptoms, and breed from them, you can eventually develop a Mareks resistant flock.

I don't vaccinate and am working on the resistant thing. I get maybe 1 or 2 chicks that have symptoms a year.

Sue, the kind that I have in my flock causes cancer. It attacks the nervous system and disables it or causes cancer in random places in the body. My birds have never had a respiratory issue. Sam started by being wobbly, then one leg was only able to more forward, then the other one was only able to move backward. If you let it go, then they become unable to use their wings, then cannot breathe...well, you get the picture. I was hoping to get a resistant flock, but I now think I will need to get vaccinated chicks in. Of course I know the vaccine does not keep them from getting Mereks, just keeps them from expressing it so we are super careful to stay away from visiting places where people have chickens.

Edited to say: By the way I love, love, love your blue laced Wyandottes!

I drool over your webpage and want to turn into your driveway everytime I go through your town.

 

[CautiousVenturer]

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I emailed the Mayor, so maybe he'll want to help keep a constituent happy? I enclosed a photo of a setup similar to what I'd like, which is just a little elevated barn coop (maybe 4'x4') with a fully enclosed, attached run of probably 4'x8'. I want to dispel any paranoia that I'm trying to turn by back yard into a barnyard or commercial operation... I also reminded him that Buffalo allows chickens, so why shouldn't we?

I think I narrowed my selection to 4 hens - one each of dominique, welsummer, and speckled sussex, and maybe a puffball (read: white silkie) just because I can't help it.

 

[happycountryhens]

Quote:
I emailed the Mayor, so maybe he'll want to help keep a constituent happy? I enclosed a photo of a setup similar to what I'd like, which is just a little elevated barn coop (maybe 4'x4') with a fully enclosed, attached run of probably 4'x8'. I want to dispel any paranoia that I'm trying to turn by back yard into a barnyard or commercial operation... I also reminded him that Buffalo allows chickens, so why shouldn't we?

I think I narrowed my selection to 4 hens - one each of dominique, welsummer, and speckled sussex, and maybe a puffball (read: white silkie) just because I can't help it.

Love it - white puffballs! Silkies use mind control so watch out. Just ask rancher hicks.

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
Actually, you can get rid of it. Its respiratory, so if you only keep birds that don't get symptoms, and breed from them, you can eventually develop a Mareks resistant flock.

I don't vaccinate and am working on the resistant thing. I get maybe 1 or 2 chicks that have symptoms a year.

Sue, the kind that I have in my flock causes cancer. It attacks the nervous system and disables it or causes cancer in random places in the body. My birds have never had a respiratory issue. Sam started by being wobbly, then one leg was only able to more forward, then the other one was only able to move backward. If you let it go, then they become unable to use their wings, then cannot breathe...well, you get the picture. I was hoping to get a resistant flock, but I now think I will need to get vaccinated chicks in. Of course I know the vaccine does not keep them from getting Mereks, just keeps them from expressing it so we are super careful to stay away from visiting places where people have chickens.

Edited to say: By the way I love, love, love your blue laced Wyandottes!

I drool over your webpage and want to turn into your driveway everytime I go through your town.

I didn't mean to imply that they present with a respiratory issue. It is passed through the respiratory system, but it presents in chicks like you stated, first one leg doesn't work, then both legs, then they slowly die. Its the tumors that eventually kill the adults. The vaccine prevents the tumors, as I understand it. And you are right, once you vaccinate, you have to keep doing it, and not bring in unvaccinated birds. They say that the vaccine doesn't cause the birds to shed, but its doubltful. I guess its one of those things that we will probably never really understand.

 

[happycountryhens]

Quote:
Sue, the kind that I have in my flock causes cancer. It attacks the nervous system and disables it or causes cancer in random places in the body. My birds have never had a respiratory issue. Sam started by being wobbly, then one leg was only able to more forward, then the other one was only able to move backward. If you let it go, then they become unable to use their wings, then cannot breathe...well, you get the picture. I was hoping to get a resistant flock, but I now think I will need to get vaccinated chicks in. Of course I know the vaccine does not keep them from getting Mereks, just keeps them from expressing it so we are super careful to stay away from visiting places where people have chickens.

Edited to say: By the way I love, love, love your blue laced Wyandottes!

I drool over your webpage and want to turn into your driveway everytime I go through your town.

I didn't mean to imply that they present with a respiratory issue. It is passed through the respiratory system, but it presents in chicks like you stated, first one leg doesn't work, then both legs, then they slowly die. Its the tumors that eventually kill the adults. The vaccine prevents the tumors, as I understand it. And you are right, once you vaccinate, you have to keep doing it, and not bring in unvaccinated birds. They say that the vaccine doesn't cause the birds to shed, but its doubltful. I guess its one of those things that we will probably never really understand.

Thank you Sue. You are such a great resourse of information. That is what I understood too. I read the vaccine does not cause them to shed the virus, but the vaccinated birds can pick up Merek's and shed the virus without showing any signs of contracting the disease. The vaccine prevents the tumors - as you stated above.


I am so impressed you are sucessfully working on a resistant flock. How long have you been working on that? Do you vaccinate new birds coming in or how do you handle that?