Texas

[Ms Jellybean]

OK, here is what I read in the Natural Thread. I have always liked the idea of natural/homeopathic treatments. I do know there are times they won't work and you need to bring in the big guns, but thankfully for my family those times have been very few.

Posted by mlowen:
I just got this in my Science Daily email:

Vinegar kills tuberculosis, other mycobacteria.

Date:​

​

February 25, 2014

Source:​

​

American Society for Microbiology

Summary:​

​

The active ingredient in vinegar, acetic acid, can effectively kill mycobacteria, even highly drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an international team of researchers reports. It is possible that acetic acid could therefore be used as an inexpensive and non-toxic disinfectant against drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria as well as other stubborn, disinfectant-resistant mycobacteria. Research continues into its potential uses, from sterilizing medical equipment to being used as a common disinfectant.


And this posted by Leah's Mom:

And this posted by Leah's Mom:
I recently purchased 2 books.

One is about resistant bacteria and why herbs and other natural anti-virals/anti-biotic/anti-fungals are a better choice as they come at the problem from multiple avenues (poor language to describe) and kind-of "trick" bacteria so that they don't become resistant like they do to single strategy, manufactured antibiotics. The more I read the more concerned I become when I hear about people giving antibiotics to their animals "routinely". It is amazing the damage that is done by strengthening drug-resistant "bugs" that have very quickly become lethal to HUMANS as well as the animals - with little or no remedy. The more you read about it the more concerned you become as drug-resistant bacteria have become common at a level that is alarming.

The other book is descriptive of chicken diseases and health issues. I was just reading about TB last night in that book.

Anyhow...I am thinking I will be posting some quotes from both of those in the next few weeks. What I'm reading is very strong encouragement to continue to use natural husbandry for both prevention and cure when needed.


I'll also add -
I read some other threads here and it seems that some of the folks feel that an antibiotic is the answer for everything. It makes me cringe every time I read someone giving another antibiotic and I find that the folks that talk the most about using them are the folks whose flocks seem to be perpetually ill. I've never seen so much illness as I read about in the flocks that are given the most antibiotics. I often wish I could help folks stand back and take a broader look at the harm they're doing to their flocks over the long-run. Not to mention the greater damage to us all by adding to the drug-resistant bacteria pool.




So now I have to give the disclaimer. Yes, I'd use an antibiotic....but I'd save it for extreme situations where it is warranted, not use it as a regular thing "lightly".

 

[futterwhack]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site. My family and I live in Garland, TX near LBJ. The hubby and I are tossing around the idea of chickens. We went to Roach feed & seed earlier this to peek at their chicks. the lady at the counter said they had no way of sexing the chicks( after digging around on this lovely site i found out how to sex a chick by the wing feathers). Has anyone on here bought chicks from them? what did you get if you did buy, the seemed to be a couple different breeds? also were they vaccinated? Sorry for the ramble and thank you if anyone can answer my questions

 

[PSJ]

anyone want to post pics of their pallet coops? ive already looked them up on here, but want more ideas. looking for something practical. not fancy.

 

[hensfortherapy]

ote name="GaryDean26" url="/t/44/texas/23960_20#post_12940238"]I will be turning in my entry form today for the Fancy Feathers Poultry show that is in Dripping Springs on the 15th of March.  I try to limit my entries to a maximum of 4 chickens.  I have a pair of Marans I wanted to take and 5-6 Cream Legbars that I would like to take.  Hmm??? who to entre and who to leave home?

Is anyone else going to look at the birds or to participate in this show?
[/quote]

I am hoping to go to that show. You reminded me I need to get a Mom sitter for that day. DH might go with me. I want to take him to Driftwood Winery just down Hwy 12.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I will be turning in my entry form today for the Fancy Feathers Poultry show that is in Dripping Springs on the 15th of March. I try to limit my entries to a maximum of 4 chickens. I have a pair of Marans I wanted to take and 5-6 Cream Legbars that I would like to take. Hmm??? who to entre and who to leave home?

Is anyone else going to look at the birds or to participate in this show?

I'm going. I should have six birds--two Ameraucana pullets and four bantam Cochins.

 

[hensfortherapy]

Isn't this cute?  I love it. Wish it didn't cost so much.

That is cute. I try not to buy anything "chicken" for the house. The kids and some of my family love to buy me "chicken" themed articles. I keep chickens I don't collect "chicken" items. Except the gifts that I get. Gotta love 'em.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I'll also add -
I read some other threads here and it seems that some of the folks feel that an antibiotic is the answer for everything. It makes me cringe every time I read someone giving another antibiotic and I find that the folks that talk the most about using them are the folks whose flocks seem to be perpetually ill. I've never seen so much illness as I read about in the flocks that are given the most antibiotics. I often wish I could help folks stand back and take a broader look at the harm they're doing to their flocks over the long-run. Not to mention the greater damage to us all by adding to the drug-resistant bacteria pool.


So now I have to give the disclaimer. Yes, I'd use an antibiotic....but I'd save it for extreme situations where it is warranted, not use it as a regular thing "lightly".

I think heavy antibiotic use is standard in commercial operations--the industry might be phasing it out, but I'm not sure of that. This Thanksgiving ButterBall had a serious shortage of the big turkeys. I bet it was because they stopped using antibiotics, which I believe increases the rate of growth.

I used antibiotics on a new chicken that came with "shipping fever." She was really sick and I did take her to a couple of vets, the last being an avian vet. Two days after she went to the avian vet, we had that nasty cold front come through with 35mph winds. I battened the little coops up a little too tightly. I knew I had made a terrible mistake the next morning when I opened it up and was greeted by warm, humid air--and a couple of coughs. Were the coughs from an illness the new chicken brought (that was in quarantine, but maybe I brought something to my regular flock on my clothes)? Or was it just from my poor husbandry of not giving enough ventilation? I didn't take any chances and put them all on antibiotics.

The antibiotics I used are extremely bitter, so the avian vet had me dissolve a quarter cup of sugar in a quart of water along with their antibiotics.

The combination of a lot of unrefined sugar and the antibiotics set up their crops for a Candida (a yeast) overgrowth, which among other things will cause a crop to not empty properly.

My two Ameraucana pullets had been put in a 15' x 25' vegetable garden to take them away from the cockerels to be sure they were cleaned out for breeding and to let them grow in feathers for the upcoming shows I was planning to take them to. They were not happy to be penned after free ranging and proceeded to eat hay bedding and dried vegetable stalks, which blocked up their crops.

They almost died. For three days, I opened the garage door every morning expecting to find one or both pullets dead. They didn't die, but it took my tubing water into their crops three times a day for about 10 days and an awful lot of spinach (the avian vet said that spinach was very good for breaking up masses in their crop) before the masses finally cleared. Both were on anti fungal meds (Nystatin) for 10 days to clear the yeast overgrowth.

I blame a few things for this, not the least of which was my not immediately noticing their crops weren't emptying. The antibiotics started it all off. I wonder if they had never been put on the antibiotics, if they would have had a crop problem.

 

[hensfortherapy]

I will be turning in my entry form today for the Fancy Feathers Poultry show that is in Dripping Springs on the 15th of March.  I try to limit my entries to a maximum of 4 chickens.  I have a pair of Marans I wanted to take and 5-6 Cream Legbars that I would like to take.  Hmm??? who to entre and who to leave home?

Is anyone else going to look at the birds or to participate in this show?

Any pics? Do your Cream Legbars lay blue eggs?

 

[jajeanpierre]

Generally warm weather winds are from south and west - although we have such squirrely winds in TX that you can get wind from all directions during any season. Winter is north and west winds but even then, we get southern/southeastern winds that don't bring much warmth and so feel a little chilly.

My nest boxes have either the metallic backed air bubble wrap insulation on the walls/ceilings, or they have foam board insulation. It's a pain to cut the insulation so that it goes around the vent holes in the walls, but it helps keep the temp lower in the boxes. And with good air flow in the coop itself, even if the wind is coming from a different direction, any breeze usually can see making the nest box curtains flutter at least a little. During one bad summers when there was not any breeze and it was running about 110+ every day and 95-100 at night, I ran extension cords to the pasture and put small clip on fans in the coop to help circulate air.

What do you think of my idea of basically an open-air nest box with just wire and shade cloth for walls? It would be predator proof.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I think heavy antibiotic use is standard in commercial operations--the industry might be phasing it out, but I'm not sure of that. This Thanksgiving ButterBall had a serious shortage of the big turkeys. I bet it was because they stopped using antibiotics, which I believe increases the rate of growth.

I used antibiotics on a new chicken that came with "shipping fever." She was really sick and I did take her to a couple of vets, the last being an avian vet. Two days after she went to the avian vet, we had that nasty cold front come through with 35mph winds. I battened the little coops up a little too tightly. I knew I had made a terrible mistake the next morning when I opened it up and was greeted by warm, humid air--and a couple of coughs. Were the coughs from an illness the new chicken brought (that was in quarantine, but maybe I brought something to my regular flock on my clothes)? Or was it just from my poor husbandry of not giving enough ventilation? I didn't take any chances and put them all on antibiotics.

The antibiotics I used are extremely bitter, so the avian vet had me dissolve a quarter cup of sugar in a quart of water along with their antibiotics.

The combination of a lot of unrefined sugar and the antibiotics set up their crops for a Candida (a yeast) overgrowth, which among other things will cause a crop to not empty properly.

My two Ameraucana pullets had been put in a 15' x 25' vegetable garden to take them away from the cockerels to be sure they were cleaned out for breeding and to let them grow in feathers for the upcoming shows I was planning to take them to. They were not happy to be penned after free ranging and proceeded to eat hay bedding and dried vegetable stalks, which blocked up their crops.

They almost died. For three days, I opened the garage door every morning expecting to find one or both pullets dead. They didn't die, but it took my tubing water into their crops three times a day for about 10 days and an awful lot of spinach (the avian vet said that spinach was very good for breaking up masses in their crop) before the masses finally cleared. Both were on anti fungal meds (Nystatin) for 10 days to clear the yeast overgrowth.

I blame a few things for this, not the least of which was my not immediately noticing their crops weren't emptying. The antibiotics started it all off. I wonder if they had never been put on the antibiotics, if they would have had a crop problem.

Have you checked out the book Fresh Eggs Daily? It has a lot of natural remedies and preventatives in it. I really like the book.