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

[getaclue]

I'm sorry about Spike. I'm not sure exactly what to make of his condition. A stroke, maybe?
Years ago, my dad and I were watching the weather about a hurricane. The fool was out in it, down in the Florida Keys. The wind was fierce, the rain hammering down, the water level was much higher than normal, and the waves were so much higher than usual, pounding the beach with tremendous force. The weatherman was warning everyone not to go out in that horrible weather. I mentioned to my dad that if I were a weatherman, I would not be out in that mess. The camera crew could stand on the balcony of my hotel room, and take a shot of the rain, and wind, then one of me safely inside, where everyone should be. Lead by example. I also mentioned that the way they were going about reporting their segment, they would probably be the only casualties. I sympathize with the guy.

 

[getaclue]

 

[1muttsfan]

Well if his degree was in Journalism or Public Relations he maybe should get a refund! Obviously it was not in Meteorology because those guys LOVE to talk about weather

 

[speckledhen]

Brandy's crop has recovered, it seems. Took some work to get it there, but no more dough ball. Bad thing is she has lost her place in the group like she always did when she raised chicks.
I changed Georgie's group's heat lamp from a 150w reptile bulb to a 250W because she is winding down her life and seems very cold. The moment that red light came on, she saw it and walked right under there to get warm. She knows what the red light means, for sure.

Spike is still acting weird. I put him on the roost last night or he would have hunkered down on the floor in the cold by himself. It was too easy to catch him, but he stayed up there overnight with his peeps and was at least warmer than he would have been.

Oh, this is great! Ladyhawk sent me this Tiktok clip of this hen getting the best of a hawk after her chicks. Love those tough hens! And Unmute the sound, too!
Hen Wins!

 

[getaclue]

I'm glad Brandy's doing better. Hopefully Spike will improve too. The first onslaught of cold can bring out health issues.

 

[1muttsfan]

Looks like one tough game hen!

 

[speckledhen]

They're usually pretty tough gals, I hear. But, it sure is nice to see one be that successful in thwarting a hawk attack!

 

[getaclue]

I swear people on some of these threads can't, or don't read. A person on one of the threads was worried they might have MG in their flock, but couldn't afford to test yet. Yes, they want to sell chicks. I mentioned that MG is usually not that big of a deal, and to treat them, remembering which birds had gotten sick, then later on when they could afford it, have them tested. No, they couldn't sell chicks yet, until they got the birds tested, but there are several Mycoplasmas, and other respiratory illnesses, not just MG. Many are highly treatable, without recurrence. It would be a shame to destroy the entire flock, and it only be a treatable bronchitis. After testing, IF it were MG, then they could decide what to do. Either close the flock, OR dispatch them, disinfect, wait the length of time, then start over. Boy did I step in it.

ALL anybody seemed to read was that I said it wasn't that big of a deal, then they stopped reading. From the comments, you'd think they all knew for certain it was MG. From the comments, you'd think they were making it sound as bad as Coryza, or Marek's. Sheesh.

 

[speckledhen]

Cheryl, all people see are two or three main things that can happen with chickens and nothing else, a sort of tunnel vision. I have seen so many non-textbook issues (lucky me) and issues that can be mistaken for other issues. One example was my Buff Brahma Caroline.
One weird summer a few hens in one group got a fungal infection and I treated it by misting with Oxine in a vaporizer a few times each day. Everyone recovered quickly, no antibiotics given because I figured out that it was fungal and they would not help.
Then, about two weeks later, I saw bubbles in Caroline's eyes. She had a small head and had odd malformed nares, in my opinion, but I thought she may have contracted something sinister. But, before I culled a very loved 5 year old hen, we did call the state vet-not the one who is there now, but the good one that apparently retired and the entire department went to pot afterward. He said what happened was that she had contracted a secondary bacterial infection in her sinuses and to treat her with Tylan and she would be fine, that by her age, she was resistant to something like MG and it was highly unlikely to be that. So, first the fungal infection could have been mistaken for something contagious. Second, I would have unnecessarily killed a perfectly fine hen, who did go on to live until almost 10 years old. No one else was affected because it was exactly what Dr. Bohannan said it was. Tumors in the body or leg issues don't automatically mean Marek's Disease, either, but what do they always yell first thing? People just never research anything. They just go into panic mode.

 

[getaclue]

Very well put. You state things so much more eloquently than I do, but you understand me, and the gist of what I'm trying to convey.