The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You also have cattle, though, so the Scrappie numbers have been in play for a very long time, right? Did I get the name right? Yes, I recall that Wisconsin was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon with that livestock registration stuff.

Its over the top for a few chickens to be registered with the gov't. I won't do it. I don't care if I am bucking the system. I do believe it's a case where citizens should sit in judgement of the law, like jury nullification when the jury says that a defendant is technically guilty of a crime, but they find him not guilty because the law is unjust in his case. I feel that way about the NAIS. If you are a commercial person who takes cattle to market, I get you have to do it. If you have 25 chickens for your family, no way.

We no longer have cows, so it has nothing to do with that. I have to report every species we keep, and I have to pay a fee every few years. Nice huh?

 

[speckledhen]

We no longer have cows, so it has nothing to do with that. I have to report every species we keep, and I have to pay a fee every few years. Nice huh?

Why did I think you still had cows? Brain damage, I guess, sorry. Yes, it's stupid as it gets, Lisa. Do they want to know about gerbils and fish in an aquarium, too? More government overreach. I'd just be a criminal.
You know, NC instituted flock registration, but almost nobody even knows about it. I give them the link when they challenge me and for awhile, I refused to sell to anyone just over the line, but no one knows about it and that means they are not enforcing it yet. Maybe they won't ever enforce it unless this mess gets really bad. I live less than a mile from the NC line and less than 13 miles from TN so many customers would drive here to get birds from us over the years. ((ooh, watch out for the Chicken Police!))​

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I think @1muttsfan has cows currently, but I could be wrong too.

So far no inquiring about my gerbils, but I wouldn't doubt it if they asked. I comply because I don't want trouble, though I doubt there are people in the bushes or guys on the state line checking for chickens and goats. I figure it similar to how I have to buy licences for my dogs every year even though they don't drive. That wonderful government control stuff.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, the dogs must have rabies shots, of course, as do cats, so it's attached to the inoculation. I sure would not want any cat or dog here to go without that shot due to the large number of rabies cases we have in wildlife here. Seems chickens are very different. I would say there are not gov't agents lurking except that here, there are. After we had a local farmer gently log our extra lots and he pretty much took the wood in lieu of being paid, we got a notice from the county that they saw we had logged our property and wanted the taxes from our "income". So, some guy was driving the unmaintained backroads to see what he could see. They were satisfied that we didn't make anything from the wood so no tax owed, but good grief, makes you paranoid.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I guess you are right. The accessor shows up after they see improvements have been made by us. We forget to get permits. I wonder if they have noticed the change in my sheds siding? Boy I'm starting to notice I'm not living in such a free country anymore.

 

[speckledhen]

I guess you are right. The accessor shows up after they see improvements have been made by us. We forget to get permits. I wonder if they have noticed the change in my sheds siding? Boy I'm starting to notice I'm not living in such a free country anymore.

Starting to feel a bit communist around the edges, isn't it?

I'm so worried about Betsy. She is rail-thin. Lizzie, however, seems to be getting much better, though on uneven ground, she does wobble a bit. She's been jumping onto the roost bar by herself and jumping down-it's about 21" from the floor. She actually was dustbathing today when I let her outside, first time since I found her hurt. Still, it will take some time for her to recover fully, enough to go back with Atlas. I put molting Tessa in with her for company, which is not fine with Tessa. Liz is her big sister and reminds her of it, but it gives MaryJo room to make her place with Atlas.

I'm going to go to bed and read my Kindle book and fall asleep, hopefully. G'nite, Atlas fans.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Goodnight to you too.

 

[speckledhen]

Good morning!

First subject: over-helpful, well-intended, but sadly, wrong people who lead other chicken owners astray with their on-the-fly misdiagnoses. I was helping a woman whose red sexlink had been having vent gleet (or she decided from what others said, not sure) after a prolapse. So, she's been going on the assumption that this hen recovered from what I feel is an over-diagnosed condition, vent gleet.

If you recall, my EE hen, June, who has been prone to prolapse this year due to her large eggs losing shell integrity and collapsing in the tract so that she strains to expel them, was pooping out runny urates (she was not pooping normally, the vent being partially obstructed) and even yolk over the prolapse, which then dried into a yellowish crust on the exposed tissue. I had to soak her multiple times in Epsom salts to remove it in one big sheet. That's what she described as "vent gleet" which accompanied a prolapse. So, she's under the assumption that her hen had a condition that she probably never did.


Second subject. After days, Betsy still has a crop that is soured and won't completely empty. It is not hard- impacted, just some pliable doughy stuff in it. Aside from making her expel the gunk (which I can't do, having watched hens die while upchucking), what can I do for her? I've tried the baking soda in her water, and for a day, she's had copper sulfate. Out of desperation, I put yogurt in a bowl with crushed Pepto tablet, but she won't eat it. I'm out of ideas other than letting her go back with her group and hope she doesn't die.

 

[Pyxis]

Second subject. After days, Betsy still has a crop that is soured and won't completely empty. It is not hard- impacted, just some pliable doughy stuff in it. Aside from making her expel the gunk (which I can't do, having watched hens die while upchucking), what can I do for her? I've tried the baking soda in her water, and for a day, she's had copper sulfate. Out of desperation, I put yogurt in a bowl with crushed Pepto tablet, but she won't eat it. I'm out of ideas other than letting her go back with her group and hope she doesn't die.

Some people say giving a hen Monistat with help with sour crop. I'm not sure, but if it's down to that or her dying, it can't hurt to try.

Or, if you're comfortable, you can get an 18 Fr feeding tube and actually use it to suck the soured stuff up out of the crop. That way, the crop gets emptied, and no chance of aspiration. I'm comfortable with it because I've done a lot of tube feeding, but it can be nerve wracking for someone with no experience. It's really easy to tell you've got it down the esophagus and into the crop, though.

 

[speckledhen]

I can't tube feed, never tried it, so would have my doubts about getting a tube into the crop, and my husband would absolutely not help me do it, either. I don't even know what a "18 Fr feeding tube" is. I decided that I would never tube feed a chicken so I never tried to learn anything about it.
Monistat, as in putting it into the crop, you mean? I don't think I've heard of doing that, but maybe I have and just don't remember. I've heard everything else under the sun, ACV, no ACV, yogurt, no yogurt, this, that, etc, etc. It's hard to know what is right, isn't it? Carla (Allen Wranch) was the one who recommended the copper sulfate in the water for sour crop so Carla, being a very experienced breeder, I was comfortable taking her recommendation. I know Betsy is drinking, at least.

What I don't understand is why pliable stuff won't move out of the crop. It's not technically impacted. Why is it just sitting? That always puzzled me on the few occasions it happened.