Texas

[TexasLisa]

Well, she cut her head, put it in a vinegar jar. Then some relatives shot the pix, and used her Texas account to post here.

 

[RatherBfarmin]

I agree. BTW I've had one or two cats at a time for most of the past 45 years, and I've never had a rodent problem, even in older homes. In fact, when my kids had hamsters or gerbils, they learned from experience that if one escaped that was a death sentence.

LOL I can agree with that! Ours was the baby bunnies, but the cats were more curious to see what it was...rather than just killing it on sight.

 

[TammyTX]

We were at Ripley's in NYC. They had jars on a shelf and the back of the jar was open. So, you walked around to the back of the shelf, stuck your head in and have someone take your photo...presto....head in a jar. As you can see I was NOT afraid of getting others peoples germs on my face! hahaha!

....like Joaquin Murrieta. Google him.

 

[RatherBfarmin]

I know this may seem a little random, but I had a question for the egg-layers (or keepers of such lol). I am relatively new to ducks...done a lot of reading, but then again reading is a bit different from doing. As you all probably know, I have 4 ducks (2 male, 2 female). At the present time, only one is laying eggs (between 1-3 a day).

My question: Is it possible to have one seasonal egg layer and one year-round egg layer? They are both of egg-laying age (or roughly thereabouts).

Any advice or knowledge would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Nomibear]

HI Texas,
I haven't been on this page for a while

I have a dilemma. I am now up to 26 hens. The two roos i ordered this spring form Ideal passed away in a storm at about 2 weeks old. I picked up 3 more straight run chicks 2 weeks ago. 2 nights ago they just disappeared! Only sign of a disturbance was that the water dispenser was knocked over. Nothing else out of place

Is there anyone is the San Antonio area who needs to re home a Rooster? I am just south of SA. I am not looking to pay for it, but it would be in a good home with lots of girls to himself. (I have BA, EE, and Leghorns, oh, and some Cuckoo Marins) I really don't want one that enjoys attacking people either......

 

[LBejaran]

HI Texas,
 I haven't been on this page for a while
I have a dilemma. I am now up to 26 hens. The two roos i ordered this spring form Ideal passed away in a storm at about 2 weeks old. I picked up 3 more straight run chicks 2 weeks ago. 2 nights ago they just disappeared! Only sign of a disturbance was that the water dispenser was knocked over. Nothing else out of place
Is there anyone is the San Antonio area who needs to re home a Rooster? I am just south of SA. I am not looking to pay for it, but it would be in a good home with lots of girls to himself. (I have BA, EE, and Leghorns, oh, and some Cuckoo Marins) I really don't want one that enjoys attacking people either......

I sent you a PM in case you are interested.

 

[bnjrob]

Back in the 70s when parrots in the pet trade were all wild caught, a big importer went to Africa on a buying trip. He was eating a meal with the tribe that were capturing the African Greys he was buying. He asked what the meat was. Yup, he was eating African Greys!

I think some of the South American tribes eat parrots, but there is more money in capturing them and selling them on the black market. They used to use them in their ceremonial head dresses. There is a group that tries to send molted feathers to those tribes so they won't hunt the macaws. It is really awful how they capture parrots for the illegal pet trade. For many species, they just cut down the tree that has the nest of babies in it. Parrots nest in cavities, so every tree that gets cut down means there won't be that nest available for many many years (until another tree rots a hole in it).

Capturing the African Greys is pretty awful, too. They set up spring loaded nets around the wet areas the birds flock to. They'll tie a bird to a stick in the middle to act as a decoy. It's awful. I've seen those birds when they were for sale in the bird markets in Saudi Arabia. It was awful. I have African Greys, and I had never heard the noise those wild caughts made. It was a blood curdling growl.

Now you can buy pretty much any parrot that has been captive bred. The trouble is that the breeder birds are wild caughts and they are aging out of production. The captive bred birds haven't been raised with their parrots so they don't know how to breed or raise babies. The big cockatoos have a big problem because the males are killing their mates. Most parrots are pretty psychotic from the stresses of captivity. Oh, don't get me started!

If you ever get a chance to see the bird show put on by Natural Encounters at the Texas State Fair or at Animal Kingdom in Disney Orlando, go. They are really fun shows. I know the staff, I've been to their ranch and I can tell you the owner really treats the birds well, and takes care of their natural instincts. Lots of show birds have a horrible life, but his are well taken care of mentally and physically. He used to work in show business, but he just couldn't agree with the practices that would be demanded of him. For example, has everyone seen the old movie Birdman of Alcatraz? Do you remember the scene where the bird (I think it is a canary) flies to Burt Lancaster's finger? I think that was taught in a couple of days. You take a canary, tie a thread to its leg and drag it over to a person's finger. Over and over again. Finally the bird gives up and flies to the finger. Its a really horrible training method for the animal, but Hollywood demands things be done quickly. The owner of Natural Encounters refuses to work animals that way, so he refuses to work in Hollywood anymore.

Sorry for my rant.

I hear ya - rant all you want. My husband is a veterinarian and we try to avoid going to animal areas at places like flea markets and such that have exotic birds/animals/reptiles because even the captive bred ones are rarely cared for appropriately and then the number of times he has seen exotics that are illegal to sell and yet these people have them and the general consumer doesn't realize that the living thing they are buying is not legal to buy or own as a pet. It is very frustrating that there is still a trade going on for so many of these animals an people have no idea that by buying these animals, they are perpetuating these practices you describe. And then so often these poor creatures end up in worse straits because the people that bought them weren't ready for such a long life span or the specialized housing and care that they need so they dump them or let the birds fly away to fend for themselves....

 

[bnjrob]

Well, she cut her head, put it in a vinegar jar. Then some relatives shot the pix, and used her Texas account to post here.

 

[jajeanpierre]

LOL I can agree with that! Ours was the baby bunnies, but the cats were more curious to see what it was...rather than just killing it on sight.

Lately, I've seen pictures of cats snuggled up with chickens or chicks on various BYC forums. A lot of people may not realize it, but cats carry two really nasty bacteria in their saliva and on their claws. Birds (at least parrots and wild birds, so why not chickens?) are particularly susceptible to these bacteria and die very easily from just a tiny scratch. Everyone, be careful with cats around birds.

I've had personal experience with these infections. When my son was six, he became gravely ill. The doctors were sure he had leukemia or lymphoma. He was dying in front of my eyes. It was a nightmare. Yes, he did recover but now has a heart arrhythmia and a heart murmur. I don't know for sure if the changes in his heart function is from the "cat scratch fever" but he had a vasculitis (inflammation of the veins and arteries) so bad his legs looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to them.

Just be careful with cats around birds.

 

[jajeanpierre]

We had 7 younguns that were starting to roost. We had a broom handle and it was slick. My DH (the engineer) put a pool noodle over the handle. They loved t!

Lisa

That's a great idea. I was thinking of wrapping perches with vet wrap. The falconers cover their perches with that indoor-outdoor carpet that looks like fake grass. Bumble foot is a huge problem with falcons and is caused by uneven pressure when perching.