Surviving Minnesota!

  • Well good morning Ralphie. Thanks for letting me be first!
    wee.gif
    I know you gave me this as a morning gift. LOL.
 
I had an interesting chat with Dr. Shauna Voss yesterday. She is the Vet in charge of the NPIP testing and flocks in MN. I was under the impression prior to this you had to be an active hatchery to get NPIP status. That is not the case, completely.

She said you can apply to be an NPIP flock without even owning an incubator. By applying and having the inspection your eggs can be sold to someone that is a hatchery, or if you have a broody hatch them you could legally sell them at swaps or interstate.

It does require the birds be tested every year, but you do not have to be the tester, one of us that are testers could do it. If You have a broody hatch a egg you could sell or give it to a 4h member and it could be exhibited.

The inspection is not as hard or daunting as you might think. They give you suggestions and point out the risks factors you have. One of mine is raising Guineas. turkeys and chickens together. They point out the risks and just let me know they are there. I told them I am willing to live with the risk to have a free range flock. The other thing is it gives you a place to have your birds tested for free when or if they die. They will at least give you peace of mind that you do not have a terrible disease.

I am willing to the testing for you that are semi-close enough for me to do, as need be.

This conversation came about because my getting Mr T from Holm. She said it would even allow you to sell your eggs to a hatchery or with an import permit to others in different states.

For those of you underage they will put the flock in a parents name and transfer it to you when your 18. It was an very informative chat.

Just something for you all to think about.
 
Last edited:
Yes! Do you know someone who wants them?

The person I was telling you about who was also looking at Pilgrim Geese. She was interested, but now I haven't heard from her in a few days. I think she went to some sort of country fest or whatever was going on this past weekend. Anyways, I showed her your CL post so hopefully you've heard from her by now or will soon. She also has Steinbacher Geese (I think that's what they're called) and one other breed that creeps me out. Egyptian Geese maybe? Who knows. I hope you get a few sales from her. I'd love to take some myself, but my waterfowl quarters are full.


I have all kinds of turkeys lined up for next years hatch..

I have slates, a whole kaleidoscope of colors. Check Porters rare turkeys and some of mine are shown there. I think I have 4 of my turkeys shown as examples of rare colors.

I will and do have some bourbons. I do not have pure Narragansetts, I tried but failed to get any this year, but the year is young. I should have some royal palms, Holland whites, some blacks and of course with Luck Mr T!

Excellent! I did check out that website. Very cool! The Tiger Bronze variety was my favorite.

I'm more interested in Narragansetts than Bourbons, but we can chat before hatching season arrives and see what you think you'll have.

I saw a lady on CL has a breeding pair of Bourbons, but I'm not set up for any this year. Plus, it's a bit more fun to get poults sometimes.



I have some good news about my little whistling GLW..... I dosed the flock with oregano, garlic, basil and a heavy dose of ACV in their water and after 2 days she came running out of the coop in the morning to eat and there was no whistling to be had! She was breathing heavy too , the night I posted that she was sick. No whistle and breathing normal.

I am thinking maybe it wasn't respiratory and a piece of grass or seed was stuck somewhere because she perked up and lost the whistle awful quick! Still gonna dose the water with some VetRX for a few days to be sure.

Great news! At roosting time, I've also dabbed VetRX under their wings, the top of their heads, and lightly on their nostrils. I've heard of people using spray bottles with it mixed in as well and spraying their flock or the air. I love the stuff. Plus, it's a human friendly smell!
 
The person I was telling you about who was also looking at Pilgrim Geese. She was interested, but now I haven't heard from her in a few days. Maybe she got wise or she sobered up. I think she went to some sort of country fest or whatever was going on this past weekend. Anyways, I showed her your CL post so hopefully you've heard from her by now or will soon. She also has Steinbacher Geese (I think that's what they're called) and one other breed that creeps me out. Egyptian Geese maybe? Who knows. I hope you get a few sales from her. I'd love to take some myself, but my waterfowl quarters are full.



Excellent! I did check out that website. Very cool! The Tiger Bronze variety was my favorite.

I'm more interested in Narragansetts than Bourbons, but we can chat before hatching season arrives and see what you think you'll have.

I saw a lady on CL has a breeding pair of Bourbons, but I'm not set up for any this year. Plus, it's a bit more fun to get poults sometimes.




Great news! At roosting time, I've also dabbed VetRX under their wings, the top of their heads, and lightly on their nostrils. I've heard of people using spray bottles with it mixed in as well and spraying their flock or the air. I love the stuff. Plus, it's a human friendly smell!


I should have some interesting babies from Mr T next year also.
 
Last edited:
@Bogtown Chick , I didn't read back far enough - what happened to Loretta?

She disappeared without a trace on Friday.
hit.gif
Sometime between 4:30 and 7:30. Found Dixie in the big Girl coop without her and would not come out. Zero little feathers...just nothing.

Rooster arrival in about 2 weeks. But he'll be only 7-8 weeks old.

Another lesson I learned is I think more chicks per hen is a good thing. This one chick business may not have been the optimal set up. Safety in Numbers. Chaos is a good.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom