Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[dheltzel]

I don't raise chickens for meat. I've had a few dual-purpose roosters we had to butcher because they were mean, and we did not like the meat very much. I only have chickens as pets and for the eggs.

With that said, I suggest speckled sussex, barred rocks, and buff orpingtons for friendlier birds. We have a few particular ones that are like dogs and love to be around us. I also suggest if you buy from a hatchery, spend a LOT of time with the chickens to develop a bond which will give you pet-like birds. Or (I prefer) buy chickens from a local person that raises them. Chicks are hard to care for and we have lost a few, so I like buying older birds, plus you can tell if they are kind or not, since they are grown.

Oh as far as Marek's... I'm not sure - if you want to be safe, go ahead. I have a few that are vaccinated and some not. Where are you located? There's a lot of us spread around in PA so I'm sure someone near you can help out!

One more thing... build your coop 2x or 3x larger than you think you will need... many of us have found chickens to be addicting, and ended up with WAY more than we planned

I don't find chicks hard to care for or subject to dying. Well maybe a little the first 3 or 4 days, I usually sell them closer to a week old if possible, and my customers very seldom lose them after that (except to predators). There are many advantages to starting with chicks, I highly recommend that, even for first time chicken owners. The difference in temperament is amazing. Even breeds not known for friendliness often become extremely tame when handled often, and the friendly breeds will do even better.

 

[fisherlady]

POSSUMS!

Are they any threat to chickens? We found a huge one... I mean huge enough to eat a tiny dog for breakfast! He was trying to get under our chicken coop. Cute face and all but we definitely didn't like that. Hubby wanted to shoot it but I just hit/pushed him with a broom and he ran off. Will watch to see if he comes back but I hope not!

Yes, they can be harmful and should be eliminated to avoid problems. They can raid nests, kill chicks or adult birds and carry diseases.
Yesterday I heard a ruckus from our head rooster over the camera system, looked on the camera monitor and saw a possum on camera in the run eating around the hanging feeder... called my trusted critter eradication squad leader (more commomnly known as Mindy, my english shepherd) and her sidekick, Dillon. We headed out to the coop, I told Mindy to 'get it' and she went into full out critter mode, needless to say the possum didnt stand a chance. I called her off, and took the thing out and laid it on the porch rail for a pic to send to DH who was at work and gave the dogs a treat for a job well done. Safer to let the dogs take care of it than get out my critter gun with all the birds running around....

 

[FluffyButt789]

Yes, they can kill and eat chickens, especially if there are no eggs to eat instead. They are exceedingly common and rather dense. Once one starts coming around they are not likely to learn from your efforts to dissuade them. The best thing is to kill them. Remember, they play dead, so after it is "dead", bash it's head in with a hammer to be sure. I've seen them suddenly come back "from the dead" when hit like that. They never return a second time though. My childhood dog was smart and learned that lesson once. After that, all dead possums she brought home were thoroughly dead. She never dismembered groundhogs, only possums, 'cause she was super smart.

Well call me a weirdo but I love animals and I think killing them should be a last resort. I live out in the country after all... so there's no way I'll be able to remove all predators from my area. Thanks for letting me know they can kill chickens... I didn't think they would. I scared the big one off last night so as long as he doesn't keep causing problems, I'll leave him be. We have a LOT of raccoons and skunks around as well, so I think the best thing I can do for my chickens is to lock them up securely before dark.

Hawks are a different story... they can all drop dead for all I care!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I have to voice my opinion on the Merek's vaccine. It would be great if it worked to completely prevent Marek's but unfortunately, it doesn't. From what I've read, all the vaccine does is prevent the symptoms of it. So you could have a flock, full of merek's disease, spreading it and passing it on with absolutely no knowledge of it being there. I'll have to see if I can find the article about it. I personally prefer not to use the vaccine. That way, if there was ever a problem, I would se it immediately.

 

[tlynn289]

I don't raise chickens for meat. I've had a few dual-purpose roosters we had to butcher because they were mean, and we did not like the meat very much. I only have chickens as pets and for the eggs.

With that said, I suggest speckled sussex, barred rocks, and buff orpingtons for friendlier birds. We have a few particular ones that are like dogs and love to be around us. I also suggest if you buy from a hatchery, spend a LOT of time with the chickens to develop a bond which will give you pet-like birds. Or (I prefer) buy chickens from a local person that raises them. Chicks are hard to care for and we have lost a few, so I like buying older birds, plus you can tell if they are kind or not, since they are grown.

Oh as far as Marek's... I'm not sure - if you want to be safe, go ahead. I have a few that are vaccinated and some not. Where are you located? There's a lot of us spread around in PA so I'm sure someone near you can help out!

One more thing... build your coop 2x or 3x larger than you think you will need... many of us have found chickens to be addicting, and ended up with WAY more than we planned

I'm in Warren about 1 1/2 hours from Erie. I want my children to feel as comfortable as possible around the chicks so we will spend time with them often. My husband has given me a 10 chicken max at any given time HAHAHA so our coop will only be big enough for 10 for now. If we feel we want more later we will just add on. Thank you!

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

The trapper set a fox trap today. Hoping we get the big guy tomorrow morning...

 

[dheltzel]

I have to voice my opinion on the Merek's vaccine. It would be great if it worked to completely prevent Marek's but unfortunately, it doesn't. From what I've read, all the vaccine does is prevent the symptoms of it. So you could have a flock, full of merek's disease, spreading it and passing it on with absolutely no knowledge of it being there. I'll have to see if I can find the article about it. I personally prefer not to use the vaccine. That way, if there was ever a problem, I would se it immediately.

There is a lot of truth in that and it is my philosophy also. Some breeds have proven very hardy on my farm, others more fragile. I stick with the ones that do well and that I like. The Black and Silver Ameraucanas and Cream Legbars have been very satisfactory, whereas the Welbars, Welsummers, and all forms of the Lavender Ameraucanas are less so. I'm still working with those (except no more Welsummers) and am actively selecting for hardier genes, along with crossing back to stronger varieties (lavender to black is very promising).
I haven't tested for Marek's, but as I sell almost all as chicks and Marek's is not passed from hen to chick via the eggs, my chicks are sold "clean" in any case. I like to think they are healthy and sturdy enough to survive a future exposure to any of the common diseases.
According to Merck's Veterinary Manual, Marek's is so common that one should assume every chicken over a few weeks is infected. The fact that so few ever show symptoms tells me that in a low-stress environment, most of our modern varieties have great immunity without a vaccine.
I read a research paper a while ago that suggested the industry's use of Marek's vaccines may be allowing the survival of very pathogenic strains of Marek's. A virus must tread a thin line and not be too deadly or it will die out. Good examples are HIV (never kills directly, has spread over the world) and Ebola (very high mortality, dies out in humans after each epidemic, survives in bats where it is not very deadly). The put unvaccinated adult birds with vaccinated ones and found a higher incidence of mortality from Marek's than expected, meaning the healthy looking vaccinated birds were carrying a more lethal strain of Marek's.
Because of this, I would never let a vaccinated "spent hen", anywhere near my birds, and I'm leery of vaccinated older birds in general, though vaccinated chicks would not come with a bad strain unless they were exposed to it in the hatchery (which would kill all the non-vaccinated chicks and put the hatchery out of business).

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Very well said @dheltzel. I'm leary of hatchery chicks at all anymore. I have a friend who ordered chicks from a hatchery (i don't remember which one). He didn't know about the Merek's vaccine and so didn't have his chicks vaccinated. After a few months, they all started dying off. Testing revealed merek's all through them :/ He believes that the chicks carried Marek's from the hatchery in to his flock. If they had been vaccinated, the may not have died, but he Also wouldn't have known they had it and could spread it around. I felt so bad for him the day he called and told me.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

So this morning in the fox trap, there was an opossum foot. Lol. poor thing. I don't know whether something got him, or whether he self amputated. Trying again tonight...

 

[Blarneyeggs]

I'm in Warren about 1 1/2 hours from Erie. I want my children to feel as comfortable as possible around the chicks so we will spend time with them often. My husband has given me a 10 chicken max at any given time HAHAHA so our coop will only be big enough for 10 for now. If we feel we want more later we will just add on. Thank you!

Fact: Orpingtons are the very best chickens. This is my unbiased opinion.