South Carolina

[WestKnollAmy]

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bunny shows are free to go to. they usually start around 8 to 9am and go til they are done (usually 2-4ish for a double show)

Polo Road Park
730 Polo Road
Columbia, SC 29223

Here is Zippity. His dad is 2.76lbs, small but heavy. Mom was around 3.5lbs. Zippity will probably be around 2.5 to 3lbs full grown.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n60/lbanimals/byc/2011-10-23_19-03-11_155.jpg
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n60/lbanimals/byc/2011-10-23_19-01-07_626.jpg

OMG! Look how adorable. I can't believe you still have him, he is just so pretty!
No, I am not going to take him! LOL I know you will sell him Sat. He is really nice!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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It wasn't that bad outside, I didn't think, yesterday. Maybe just me but I put my youngsters outside and they did fine. Although I did bring them in once the sun started going down and shadows fell on the pen.
She may have gotten too chilled but to be safe go ahead and check a stool sample. In the meantime, I always treat with Dandelion Root to help the body get back in balance and I add Niacin, too. I give these mixed in a bit of 100% juice (no citrus) and use a syringe. Do not use any dairy products while treating either.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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So sorry about Lil Fred and the wry neck!

Glad to hear more have improved though.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I always liked this page of info because of the title. So many people keep "closed" flocks because they don't want to bring in anything and then they take their birds to shows. I find it terribly funny because they bring home just as much as they would pick up by bringing home new birds and quarantining.
Even ones that do not show and keep closed flocks do not quite get the idea that they will pick up diseases from wild birds, creatures wandering through and even just airborne through the neighborhood.

Thanks for posting this link, Joy.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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My only Serama hen lives with the Silkies. But she is also a "wonder" bird.
She was very sick as a baby and I really thought she would die. I nurtured her as best I could and everyone that was in the sick pen with her died so I thought for sure she was a goner. She came from a place that had a lot of problems, I later learned and I thought many times I just needed to put her out of her misery but she was such a fighter.
Her eye swelled up as big as her head and I thought she would probably be blind in it but she finally recovered and has been healthy as all get out for the past 3 years. She lays very well, has hatched numerous chicks of her own (crossed with my Silkie) and others. Has raised them and they are the picture of health years later, too.
She has no vision problems and has glossy feathers. Though Seramas can fly well, she seldom ventures out fo the Silkie pen. When I have tried to move her she flies right back to Gabriel. Blast it, her eggs look just like the Silkies so I have a heard time not hatching some of her mixes.

Now my Silkie pen that she is in does have the shed coop that is insulated some what but I find Seramas to be pretty hardy birds from what my friends all have and how they keep them.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I have four little hens and they seem fine. Of course, I haven't checked today! How old are yours?

Did you know you can tell if a hen is laying or not by feeling their pelvic bones? I had no idea! And if they're too fat.

The one piece of advice he kept repeating over and over was this: You will always have in your flock what you tolerate. Mean roosters, non-laying hens (both of which he says are genetic), poor combs, etc. If you keep it, you'll always have it. I thought that was interesting and an eye opener. I think I have a lot of non-laying hens. He said don't keep consumers that are not producers!

Welcome to the wild world of chicken handling, Susanne. Sounds like you learned a lot of useful info.

Most folks do not understand why I pick up every chicken at least once a month and go over it. I am not a teacher so I have a hard time explaining what is in my head. I weigh every chicken every month, I feel it all over for many things and look it over and record that I have been over this bird. I don't need to record it if I take it out though but I can look back in my notes to see what has been happening with it. Record keeping is a huge bonus to a farm. I am amazed at the folks that admit they do not keep detailed notes on their flocks or birds.
Yes, I have "free loaders" but they are pets that have provided me with years of service and are allowed to stay for my enjoyment of a pet but I still limit myself. Or try to.
The biggest thing I read on all my chicken forums is folks that have too many roosters. I say ti as nicely as possible. You will always have problems if you keep them. Roosters are here for eating. I always wondered why God gave us so many when we didn't need them. The answer is food. High protein, life sustaining food. The downfall of many farms is not using what God gives for living. But as I say this, I must admit, I have eaten very few of my hens.
As DH says "There are 2 kinds of chickens in this world. The kind that makes us breakfast and the kind that makes us dinner." Although he is the first to help me add to my breeding flock of bantams that I sell eggs from for hatching so he is missing another kind of chciken there, the kind that makes money.

My systems are not perfect but they work okay for me. I am always looking for a way to improve all that I do though!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

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I hear from so many people, not just in our state, that their birds have laid worse this fall than any other year. Scary!

 

[Larkspur88]

Hmm. Well I think it was a fluke.

I'm still interested in Zip! I must convince my husband to go to Columbia saturday. His first reaction to a bunny show was h no. He's too manly he thinks

 

[huckleberryfarm]

Quote:
I have four little hens and they seem fine. Of course, I haven't checked today! How old are yours?

Did you know you can tell if a hen is laying or not by feeling their pelvic bones? I had no idea! And if they're too fat.

The one piece of advice he kept repeating over and over was this: You will always have in your flock what you tolerate. Mean roosters, non-laying hens (both of which he says are genetic), poor combs, etc. If you keep it, you'll always have it. I thought that was interesting and an eye opener. I think I have a lot of non-laying hens. He said don't keep consumers that are not producers!

Welcome to the wild world of chicken handling, Susanne. Sounds like you learned a lot of useful info.

Most folks do not understand why I pick up every chicken at least once a month and go over it. I am not a teacher so I have a hard time explaining what is in my head. I weigh every chicken every month, I feel it all over for many things and look it over and record that I have been over this bird. I don't need to record it if I take it out though but I can look back in my notes to see what has been happening with it. Record keeping is a huge bonus to a farm. I am amazed at the folks that admit they do not keep detailed notes on their flocks or birds.
Yes, I have "free loaders" but they are pets that have provided me with years of service and are allowed to stay for my enjoyment of a pet but I still limit myself. Or try to.
The biggest thing I read on all my chicken forums is folks that have too many roosters. I say ti as nicely as possible. You will always have problems if you keep them. Roosters are here for eating. I always wondered why God gave us so many when we didn't need them. The answer is food. High protein, life sustaining food. The downfall of many farms is not using what God gives for living. But as I say this, I must admit, I have eaten very few of my hens.
As DH says "There are 2 kinds of chickens in this world. The kind that makes us breakfast and the kind that makes us dinner." Although he is the first to help me add to my breeding flock of bantams that I sell eggs from for hatching so he is missing another kind of chciken there, the kind that makes money.

My systems are not perfect but they work okay for me. I am always looking for a way to improve all that I do though!

We talked a lot about processing yesterday. He kept calling them carcasses (alive or not). I politely asked if we could maybe say body or something like that. Carcass just has a nasty sound to it. I realized yesterday that we really need to think about eating our roosters instead of giving them away. It's good food and I need to just be okay with it. But I still don't want to do it myself!

 

[Jackie B.]

Ok totally random: I'm now up to 5 losses in 3 weeks with the hawks and I've had it. I have a huge 10 x 30 pen set up that bumps right up to my coop, I just need to cut a hole to make a pop door. My question is this: do you think chickens will use a doggie door to go in and out of? I know chickens are very "special" and not the brightest but I have a smaller cat door I never set up in the house and I want to try it.

Thoughts?