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

[Leahs Mom]

Another quick test.
Nope. Not working on byc. Waddya think the reason?

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, Sue! I never knew you could do that. I still see two videos, though. Maybe a BYC glitch.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I can't get it to work on byc for some reason. It's still showing suggested videos.

 

[speckledhen]

I can't get it to work on byc for some reason. It's still showing suggested videos.

Well, no big deal. There are other things that won't work on BYC, like holding down the windows logo button and the period button to get a smiley dialog from Windows 10. It doesn't work here, but works great on FB and other places.

 

[speckledhen]

There are three smileys here, but it says enter a valid message so I typed this and the smileys disappear. Bummer because I like those.

 

[speckledhen]

Must be a BYC thing, Sue.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I like using http://www.sherv.net/doctor-emoticon-1297.html for smileys.

 

[1muttsfan]

Cyn, since flaming and trolling are not allowed on byc, couldn't the moderators have a little word with him?

 

[speckledhen]

Cyn, since flaming and trolling are not allowed on byc, couldn't the moderators have a little word with him?

Already taken care of. Retaliatory comments/ratings, etc, are not allowed, never have been.

 

[speckledhen]

Geez, I posted a caution for people attending the first swap at our newest TSC in the next town, asking if they would refuse entrance to someone with obviously ill animals. It was a secondary comment to the post I made about watching out for people selling mixed breeds as pure Barred Rocks. This is the reply I got (the Cherokee County he means is NC):


Here is what I said:

And to state the obvious, also be careful going to swaps, period! The possibility of getting sick birds or walking disease back on your shoes is a real danger. We see the Tractor Supply swaps happening all the time, one for the first time at our newest one, or I think it's the first here, and I asked if someone was going to stop folks with obviously sick animals from selling or even coming into the swap. That is what should happen at *all* swaps!

All animals are healthy and happy that come to our swaps here in Cherokee County and I think unless you have seen sick animals at the swaps you have been to then you should not be prohibiting people from attending swaps, swaps are a great way for people to get involved in community to learn about agriculture and to get started in their own poultry raising. I personally have raised chickens for over 17 years and my grandfather over 60 years, I am NPIP certified and AI clean, I ensure anyone coming to our swaps have no worry about receiving sick birds or getting any type of disease, and as far as I am concerned that’s the quality of most swaps in Georgia. I just want to make sure people are not getting mislead away from swaps, they are a huge part of our community and of lots of other communities, do not want to scare people away from false accusations.

My reply to his really rather ignorant post (to assume all birds are healthy, really?)

Jack for an example, a friend in KY used to attend a swap associated with a Facebook group. It was well-managed. I remember at least one day when a man pulled up with a trailer full of chickens that were obviously ill, goopy eyes, runny noses, etc. They refused him entrance and when he became belligerent, they called a vet who was at the swap, who confirmed that he needed to leave the premises. That's the way all swaps should be run. NPIP does not mean you have healthy birds, not by a long shot. Pullorum/typhoid and AI are only a couple of diseases and not the most common we see in backyard flocks, not at all. ILT was spread over part of Washington State as well as a case I know of in Indiana by NPIP breeders who didn't want to lose money. They are not false accusations-NO one was making accusations, just giving cautions. Anyone who just " assumes" all animals at swaps are healthy and sellers are honest is not very smart. Caution is *always* in order when buying birds. If you don't practice it, you risk losing your entire flock.

His answer:

I do not disagree that people should be cautious when buying poultry from anywhere, however I do not agree that there are that many sick birds coming from swaps, not in Georgia anyway, I just do not want people getting away from swaps, due to the fact that agriculture is a dying breed and I have worked my whole life to get it to where it is now, do not need it going down hill.

I'm not sure that swaps are what's keeping agriculture alive. Seems he's giving them way too much credit. Still, why not use caution and assume that there may be unscrupulous sellers or ignorant sellers and possibly sick or carrier birds there?


I was only saying to be cautious, not to stay away from the swap, but he sure is defending swaps as having all healthy birds, it seems to me.

My answer, then I got back to showing examples of roosters identical to those sold as BRs on the FB groups, like my Deacon, another son of Isaac, like Rex. But Rex was 1/2 BR. Deacon had no Rock in him.

Jack I'm not sure swaps are what's keeping agriculture alive. The state they come from, GA, NC, TN, whatever, makes no difference in whether chickens are diseased or not. You find chickens infected with MG all over this country, in every county of every state. And I'm betting very few quarantine birds away from their flocks' breathing space for over a month, as they should if they buy them at a swap or flea market or from an individual. Even a quarantine of two or three months may not show the carrier status of of a bird. It does no one a service to put their heads in the sand about poultry disease, Jack. Some diseases are very nasty and reportable like ILT. They will kill your entire flock if one bird tests positive for that, as happened in a specific case of an NPIP breeder in Indiana. She did all the right things, bought from another NPIP breeder, quarantined that rooster for three months, and when he seemed fine, she put him with her hens and they all began to get sick. She called her tester, who confirmed that the rooster was a carrier of ILT, which the seller had to have known because the only way that happens is if he had it and recovered or was vaccinated for it, which you *never* do unless you have ILT in your flock anyway. The state killed every bird she owned, including those on the other side of her property, gassed them in a chamber in her yard, would not let even a chick or a hatching egg survive. That is an extreme case, but that goes to show that NPIP is no guarantee of health, never has been. Every buyer HAS to educate himself and use extreme caution, quarantine birds, etc. That was all I was saying. No one should disagree with that statement. ~Cynthia