Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[stoopid]

Rich, have you thought about guineas? They are totally insane, noisy, neighbor annoying beasts. In a comical way. But they eat all the ticks. Very well.

 

[smkchick]

AACCKK! The first thing I heard about this morning was a video of chicken cruelty by the farm McDonald's used to deal with for its eggs. Here's a link

but I don't recommend watching it. It's pretty disturbing. Made me want to go out and hug my girls. But of course chickens don't do hugs...

I'm glad McDonald's dumped this company, but I'm sure the one they use in its place will be just more of the same. Now I really can't wait for my girls to start laying.

 

[gfletch]

Just passing on some information that might be helpful to others in central Suffolk Country ...

While I was at my dog's vet this week, I figured I'd ask whether they handle chickens, should the need ever arise. I was pleasantly surprised to get a positive response. One of the vets at the practice does, indeed, have expertise in chickens and other farm animals.

So, if any of you other Long Islanders are in the Islip area, and ever need care for one of your birds, check out the Sunrise Veterinary Group on Sunrise Highway in West Islip. Dr. Thode is the one with the specialty, so you just need to make sure to ask for her if you're going in with a chicken. My dog really likes her, so if George, Tammy, Loretta, Conway, Emily or Amy ever need care, I'm confident Dr. Thode would do a great job.

Have a great weekend,
George

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
George,

Thanks for posting this. This is a very important post and I hope many see this and take the information down. There are few vets who will treat poultry.

I wish I could put it up on a sticky somewhere. Maybe the moderators will see this and add a sticky for members to post vets that will treat their chickens.

Also, good to see you dropping in here. Hope all is well with you and the chickens.


Al

 

[ChickenAl]

Quote:
Suzanne, I haven't had the guts to want to look at this yet, but it does make me glad to know ours are safe and happy.

Factory chicken raising is a pretty disgusting business. I know it is necessary to keep a lot of birds in a small area to make a profit to keep a business running You would think there would be some government oversight to make this a more humane enterprise.

 

[smkchick]

Quote:
Especially since the deadly salmonella outbreak a few years back was traced to a chicken factory with conditions similar to those in this place.

My house had a revolving door today! A friend from my old school dropped in, as did my daughter's boyfriend's mother with her grandson. Then my brother, his wife and my niece stopped by with my mom and her friend to check out the chickens. My brother is very interested in raising a backyard flock, although my sister-in-law is not so happy with the idea. They had neighbors whose flock was attacked by foxes and the whole experience turned my sister-in-law off. They live outside of Buffalo in a more rural area than here. They keep bees and do a fairly big vegetable garden every year. My sister-in-law is a nutritionist and very into the whole local eating thing. I suspect they will wind up keeping chickens. My brother was very interested in BYC.

They all enjoyed meeting the girls. My mother and her friend have met them before but were amazed at how fast the chicks have grown up. It was fun showing them off!

 

[gfletch]

Thanks, Al. I figured it might come in handy for someone, someday. I like your idea of a thread listing vets who handle poultry. That would be a good addition to the forums.

All is well with my chickens. Sometime in the next month I'm going to try to re-introduce the two new members to the rest of the flock after last month's disastrous attempt! First I want to get a new, larger coop (we seem to have already outgrown the current one!). Then I think I'll put the two new ones in the new place first, let them get acclimated, then introduce the rest of the flock.

George

 

[smkchick]

George, great idea about the vet information. Let's just hope we don't need it. Although we have our human illnesses on this thread, our chickens seem to do okay! (knock wood)

Here's a picture of the pecking order in my yard...

 

[gfletch]

Nice! Great looking birds ... what breed is the red/buff one next to the Barred Rock with her back to the camera?

 

[smkchick]

Quote:
She's a Golden Comet. 8 weeks old. My little Shirley.