Oregon

[LeslieDJoyce]

Yes, well some risks will lose you your entire flock.  I have a friend who is a long time breeder (20 years plus) of my breed of choice, and he lost EVERYTHING recently, even though he quarantined...at some point his biosecurity measures weren't enough...he even had to cull an 8 year old hen that he went out in a hurricane to rescue...broke his heart...and mine...our country will likely never see the likes of those birds again....
Point I'm trying to make is, keep long term consequences in the front of your mind, rather than "what you want right now"...it could literally mean the difference between life and death for your entire flock.  

Thank you! Around here we have a fair number of discussions about several of your points. Doing the absolute best I can for what is already here is very important to me. The birds can't feed, water, or protect themselves. I feel I made an agreement with them that I would take care of that stuff for them if they will be their adorable selves and maybe lay some eggs.

We did adopt 5 older birds before I understood about the risks and put my foot down. I'm relieved we haven't had any negative consequences. But it is enough. There are 100 other birds here to consider.

 

[Suzierd]

Yes, well some risks will lose you your entire flock.  I have a friend who is a long time breeder (20 years plus) of my breed of choice, and he lost EVERYTHING recently, even though he quarantined...at some point his biosecurity measures weren't enough...he even had to cull an 8 year old hen that he went out in a hurricane to rescue...broke his heart...and mine...our country will likely never see the likes of those birds again....
Point I'm trying to make is, keep long term consequences in the front of your mind, rather than "what you want right now"...it could literally mean the difference between life and death for your entire flock.  

Cloverleaf I'm very glad you brought this up. I read about all the shows, swaps and auctions everyone talks about and honestly I just cringe at the thought of all the exposure. I don't think I could bring myself to even set foot in a place where so many people are bringing their chickens, and so many people think their chicken just had a little cold and it's all gone now and they take it to the show or swap. And even worse Mareks. I realize most people think I'm to paranoid.
Do you quarentine every time you bring your birds home from a show? If so how long? Thanks very curious how people manage to avoid this terrible chicken disease's.

 

[countrybuffs]

I just need some quick advice---I need the best treatment for an egg-bound hen, is it just sitting in a warm water bath? Years ago when I raised canaries, that is what I did for one. Thanks.

 

[countrybuffs]

I do not put artificial light in my coop. A hen has a finite number of eggs she is able to lay in her life. If you push her to lay more eggs per year by providing artificial light, she won't lay as late into her life. When given artificial light, yes, she will lay like crazy for her first 2 or 3 years, but if allowed to do it naturally, she'll lay a few less eggs per year, but will lay until she's 5, 6, or even later. I've heard of birds laying until they were 10 or more when allowed to do it naturally...

I agree with this. I kept a light on for my first hens, ( actually it was a red heat lamp high above their roost because I thought they might get cold!) they did lay a lot of eggs but now at 3 years old they have practically quit altogether!

 

[Suzierd]

I just need some quick advice---I need  the best treatment for an egg-bound hen, is it just sitting in a warm water bath? Years ago when I raised canaries, that  is what I did for one. Thanks.

I've also heard people say to put some olive oil in the vent and help massage the egg out in the warm bath. Best of luck.

 

[PNWGirl]

Quote:

KNOCK KNOCK OK hey hope ya don't mind but since I see a few new peeps her. I thought I would try to share a few top secret ideas I stole on one of my midnight shopping trips.

1) It is always wise to try to bribe neighbors with a few fresh eggs now and then.

2) PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS. When using a portable light make sure that the fixture is rated for the size bulb or more. IE IF it says 100 watt max. DO NOT PUT a HEAT LAMP in this. When using heat lamps ONLY use them in the porcelain fixtures rated heat lamps. The cheap lamps are plastic etc.They can melt and cause a fire.

My former feed supplier lost her entire huge barn, all of her breeding hogs and her entire feed business. The best we were able to determine was it was caused by a faulty heat lamp.

Please don't let us hear how one of us has had a fire related to a light failure. Yes I know those "brooder lights" seem pricey but what value do you put on your flock, your coop/barn, your house and MOST OF ALL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
Please be safe!!!

I have a friend who lent me one of her heat lamps and while the bulb was 250 watt, the "lamp" was a regular drop lamp with a 100 watt limit. She could have burned down her garage. She never noticed the little lable with the watt limit and went for the cheaper item.

Also do not depend on the clamp, of the heat lamp, for hanging. Those fall off every day and will set your shavings on fire in a skinny minute. A true brooder heat lamp will have a hanger on it. That is what you should use, to be safe.

Sheila

 

[countrybuffs]

I've also heard people say to put some olive oil in the vent and help massage the egg out in the warm bath. Best of luck.

Thanks, I thought maybe mineral oil.

 

[Nelson-90]

Yes, well some risks will lose you your entire flock. I have a friend who is a long time breeder (20 years plus) of my breed of choice, and he lost EVERYTHING recently, even though he quarantined...at some point his biosecurity measures weren't enough...he even had to cull an 8 year old hen that he went out in a hurricane to rescue...broke his heart...and mine...our country will likely never see the likes of those birds again....
Point I'm trying to make is, keep long term consequences in the front of your mind, rather than "what you want right now"...it could literally mean the difference between life and death for your entire flock.

that breaks my heart and yes its hard and you are rigth about the long term consequences

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: Either will do. But in the long run, a hen that gets egg bound is not good...it's not like a song bird that lays a few eggs and stops...unless you get out some gigantic freak egg, I would be extremely worried about her doing this repeatedly, and her quality of life...

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote: I have a couple thoughts on this...I used to be super paranoid about Mareks, until I did a little research...yes, Mareks is not technically an airborne disease, but a lot of people consider it to be airborne, because it's released in the dander, it can be carried for miles on the wind, and it is literally everywhere. I choose to not vaccinate for it, as I would rather breed resistant birds. I have had a few birds with Mareks-like symptoms, and I have culled every one of them. I have not had them necropsied, so I do not know if this is actually what I was dealing with. I NEVER attempt to rehabilitate a bird that has ever shown any symptoms. I have discovered that people who say that they have never had a bird with Mareks either 1) vaccinate EVERYTHING, 2) they are relatively new chicken keepers, or 3) they just don't recognize it for what it is when they see it.

Mareks aside, my real concerns when showing, or bringing in new birds are infection laryngeotracheitis (ILT) and mycoplasma, basically the miriad of upper respiratory diseases known as CRD, or Chronic Respiratory Disease. IF there are sick birds directly around my birds at a show, I will quarantine those birds when I get home, BUT the way my place is set up, and my lack of space, it would be nearly impossible for me to effectively completely quarantine when I get home. Generally, I house all the birds that I show in one general area when I get home, and hope for the best. Honestly, if I ever brought anything nasty home from a show, I'd be in a world of hurt. So far so good, and continuing to cross my fingers...

Some day I will have a set up that will allow for effective quarantine, and until then, I'll keep hoping that my luck holds out...

Also, something else to consider is this...yes, there is always risks associated with exposing yourself and your birds to other people's birds, BUT MOST OF THE TIME people that go to big shows, like the one coming up next month in Salem, bring healthy birds. I've seen more sick birds at the county fair than I ever have at the bigger shows. Of course, that being said, there was an outbreak at the Stockton show last year, and a big Oregon breeder of LF Cochins lost her #1 cock bird, because she brought the bug home with her from her bantam Cochins...there's always a risk, but it has so far seemed to be minimal. Also, if you ever see a bird in a show with outward signs of illness, report it ASAP to the showroom superintendent, and demand that it be removed from the showroom at once.