***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[lonnyandrinda]

If you have any resp antibiotics like Tetroxy HCA or Gallymicin I would give her a round of that, or a shot of Tylan daily for 3 days.

Just finished revamping my website for the year, I've been working on it for a week and it is a TON of work! Take a look and see what you think! Hubby wants to offer a "local pickup discount" too like 15% off. Gives close friends and BYCers a better deal and saves us the hassle of shipping. www.chickenfanatics.com

And our little puppy is growing up!

Izzy (10 year old aussie mix) and Merlin (7 month old Aussie)

 

[BetsyOK]

Pryor is going to have a bantam fowl (includes silkies) show and sale March 1. This is always avery well handled event, though somewhat small--500 birds is the cutoff point.

 

[Kyzmette]

Rinda, I tried, but I can't get into it today. I saw it the other day, but now it won't finish loading.

 

[CayuseRanch]

Yeah, I was really excited when I saw it. He had just told me there was one of those "egg hatching things" left behind out there if I wanted it. I was expecting a styrofoam one or something homemade. When I saw what it was, I did my own little chicken dance! I have received a reply from one of the guys on the thread about redwood incubators, so hopefully I will have it up and running soon. Then, I can start rebuilding my flock literally from the ground up! I lost almost my entire flock this past year. First, the heavy rains caused flooding here and the pond rose over the chicken pens and drowned many of my birds. That was the first time the water had even come close to reaching the pens. Then, over the Christmas holiday, one of the grandkids left the pen open and some varmint(s) came up in the middle of the afternoon and wiped out almost the rest of the flock. Whatever it was left 7 dead birds lying in a pile and all the rest were gone without a trace. Left me incredibly frustrated, sick, and scratching my head trying to figure out what it was. Anyway, I miss my babies! I have about 15 youngsters I hatched out of my hovabator, but that's not nearly enough to satisfy my chicken addiction. At any rate, I'm hoping that the great incubator find is a sign of better things to come.......

I saw the pics on the redwood thread. Very pretty! If for some bizarre reason you decide to let it go let me know, I will have to sneak it in the house...or maybe the closet...garage...Ok..I will probably have to keep it at work...hubby will only give so much you know but if you decide not to keep it. Let me know.
As for the dead birds...sounds like dog if you ask me...I had that happen last summer lost 7 birds and while I was cleaning up the birds the dog actually came back to the scene of the crime.

 

[OkieT]

Quote: Oh, I'll keep it. I've been wanting a larger incubator ever since the last one went up in smoke when our house burned down in 2012. I don't think it's going to take a lot of work to get it going. The power cord is the only thing that is obviously messed up and everything else is still there-- even the internal wiring. I can't wait to start using it. We have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy around here; I don't ask hubby before I get something and I don't tell him after I do. By the time he discovers my latest acquisition, it's already part of the routine. Bless his heart! I doubt that he had any idea of what he was getting into when he married me!

As far as the massacre, I really don't think it was a dog, for a couple of reasons. I can see a dog leaving them piled up like that, but not carrying off completely 15 or so full grown chickens in the matter of an hour. Also, we live in an isolated spot with no stray dogs around. Our farm dogs are usually pretty alert. At first, I thought it might have been hubby's dog, but there again, she wouldn't have carried off so many without a trace. I'm really leaning toward coyotes. There is a large overgrown field that abuts our property close to where the chicken pen is and they could slip in and out very quickly without being seen. Two days in a row last week there was one walking along the edge of the pond that runs in front of our house about 9:30 in the morning. When I stepped out and yelled at him, I swear he just flipped me off and kept on walking. He was not concerned about me at all. I planned to be waiting for him the third morning with rifle in hand, but ended up having to leave and haven't had a chance to lay for him since. There are bobcats around here, too, but I doubt they would come up in broad daylight. Doesn't much matter what it was, I guess. I just can't let my chickens free range. Period! Stupid predators!

 

[Chickenfan4life]

@lonnyandrinda , that Aussie was gorgeous!!!

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Rinda, I tried, but I can't get into it today. I saw it the other day, but now it won't finish loading.

Ugh, thanks for trying. It's working for me...

@Chickenfan4life thanks!

 

[CayuseRanch]

Oh, I'll keep it. I've been wanting a larger incubator ever since the last one went up in smoke when our house burned down in 2012. I don't think it's going to take a lot of work to get it going. The power cord is the only thing that is obviously messed up and everything else is still there-- even the internal wiring. I can't wait to start using it. We have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy around here; I don't ask hubby before I get something and I don't tell him after I do. By the time he discovers my latest acquisition, it's already part of the routine. Bless his heart! I doubt that he had any idea of what he was getting into when he married me!

As far as the massacre, I really don't think it was a dog, for a couple of reasons. I can see a dog leaving them piled up like that, but not carrying off completely 15 or so full grown chickens in the matter of an hour. Also, we live in an isolated spot with no stray dogs around. Our farm dogs are usually pretty alert. At first, I thought it might have been hubby's dog, but there again, she wouldn't have carried off so many without a trace. I'm really leaning toward coyotes. There is a large overgrown field that abuts our property close to where the chicken pen is and they could slip in and out very quickly without being seen. Two days in a row last week there was one walking along the edge of the pond that runs in front of our house about 9:30 in the morning. When I stepped out and yelled at him, I swear he just flipped me off and kept on walking. He was not concerned about me at all. I planned to be waiting for him the third morning with rifle in hand, but ended up having to leave and haven't had a chance to lay for him since. There are bobcats around here, too, but I doubt they would come up in broad daylight. Doesn't much matter what it was, I guess. I just can't let my chickens free range. Period! Stupid predators!

Very similar to my situation. My husband came home from coffee and let the chickens out to free range. He went inside and started making breakfast. About 30 minutes later, I woke up and let the dogs out. As we were going outside, I noticed our neighbor dog leaving the property and it looked like his head was held funny. It made me curious and I started walking across the property and came across a dead bird, then another and another. All together there were 4 dead birds, three missing. I believe he killed them and was coming back and getting them one by one. I think a coyote could do the same thing. I don't know, but I think a wild animal would not take the time to hang around human smells killing multiple animals. Kill however many you can carry off and flea the scene. But that's just my opinion not even an educated guess.

Edited to add that the dog looked like it was holding its head funny because in its mouth was my buff roo and he was a buff colored dog.

 

[OkieT]

Quote: I know it's had me scratching my head, whatever it was. I wish I'd had a trail cam out there because I hate unsolved mysteries! I guess it was possibly hubby's dog, but that was a lot of carnage for one dog in a short amount of time. Not saying she couldn't have, but it boggles the mind! I never would have thought it would be coyotes in the middle of the day either until I saw that one passing through so fearlessly. He wasn't more than 75 ft. from where I was standing and could have cared less. I'm guessing he's never been shot at and could certainly see the bugger slinking into my yard for a chicken dinner. But, the left behind body count doesn't make sense. So, that takes me back to the dog theory. And around and around my little brain goes!

I guess it just goes back to that I'm going to have to accept the fact that I cannot ever let my chickens free range if I want them to survive. That really sucks, too, because they love it. Betcha they love life more, though......

 

[CayuseRanch]

We only let ours free range when they are home. When it gets dark early it works out great. They are really only outside the time it takes to do chores and next thing you know they are inside in the coop for the night. Occasionally I have a foolish roo that hides out and is wandering the property in the morning.