The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[cluckcluckluke]

HI guys, new here. I think Natural stuff is great so am just trying to get as much into it as possible.

 

[Leahs Mom]

HI guys, new here. I think Natural stuff is great so am just trying to get as much into it as possible.

Welcome! Good to have you

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Welcome! Good to have you

Thanks

!!

um..Are there fights going on at the moment?
I read some more of this thread and you ( Leahs mom ) are you angry at some one? I read what you said but didn't get the first part.

Sorry, just want to know

.

 

[Melabella]

Why isn't there a emoticon that shows the smiley spitting out water all over the computer screen from shock and laughter?

In other news... tomorrow is my birthday and I asked for a grow-out pen to be built adjacent to my current run.

CountryGirl!!!!

Have a great day!

MB

 

[Leahs Mom]

I just realized (with the help of PG) that my "venting" yesterday may have seemed like it was aimed at a particular person or people on this thread so I wanted to be sure that y'all know that it wasn't!!!!

I had been conversing with the 2 folks that got the "not so healthy" chickens and was very upset about "breeders" that are unethical and don't care who they hurt. I am angered that people seem to have no conscience about such behavior and don't care who it hurts.

So my "vent" was aimed at them

This photo seems appropriate here...

Now that PG pointed it out to me, I realize that LW had just posted about how he doesn't separate birds when he gets them new and it might have seemed that I was aiming that at him. Truth is that I had been working on that post before I read his!!!

And I know, LW, that you get so many birds at a time that it would be impractical for you to do things different. Your setup is totally different than mine and others! It may also have sounded like I think EVERYONE has to follow a specific "bio-security" method so I want to clear that up and say again...my vent wasn't meant to make anyone feel that way or that they couldn't post how they do things!!! If it felt that way to anyone I just want to clear that up!!!

And.....
the remark at the end of that post (vent over...bottoms up) was really supposed to just be humorous on the double meaning of "vent"....(in case anyone was wondering...)

 

[Leahs Mom]

um..Are there fights going on at the moment?
I read some more of this thread and you ( Leahs mom ) are you angry at some one? I read what you said but didn't get the first part.

Sorry, just want to know

.

No...not at all!

I was just upset because I keep hearing about unethical people selling sick birds to folks in general. Then this week, 2 people I know had it happen to them.

I don't even know the sellers from which these folks got their birds! I just keep hearing over and over how people have been getting started pullets or adult chickens and find out they're unhealthy. Delisha, Mumsy, Aoxa, and a few others on this thread have seen it going on at the shows and I also hear it's prevalent at swap meets as well.

Just frustrating to me that they'd take advantage of anyone at all...but in particular a high school student so I was just venting.

 

[dcba flock]

...

I just realized (with the help of PG) that my "venting" yesterday may have seemed like it was aimed at a particular person or people on this thread so I wanted to be sure that y'all know that it wasn't!!!! I had been conversing with the 2 folks that got the "not so healthy" chickens and was very upset about "breeders" that are unethical and don't care who they hurt. I am angered that people seem to have no conscience about such behavior and don't care who it hurts. So my "vent" was aimed at them

This photo seems appropriate here...

Now that PG pointed it out to me, I realize that LW had just posted about how he doesn't separate birds when he gets them new and it might have seemed that I was aiming that at him. Truth is that I had been working on that post before I read his!!! And I know, LW, that you get so many birds at a time that it would be impractical for you to do things different. Your setup is totally different than mine and others! It may also have sounded like I think EVERYONE has to follow a specific "bio-security" method so I want to clear that up and say again...my vent wasn't meant to make anyone feel that way or that they couldn't post how they do things!!! If it felt that way to anyone I just want to clear that up!!! And..... the remark at the end of that post (vent over...bottoms up) was really supposed to just be humorous on the double meaning of "vent"....(in case anyone was wondering...) [/quote I completely agree with where your coming from I just had to cull all of my adult birds that became sick from some newbies (which I quarantined and after 5 weeks and making all mine sick still were not ill). When I contacted the chicken peddler (not breeder) he indicated it never happened before and I have since heard of at least one other person that had the same experience! He did send me a refund but it was devastating to my family and all because someone's trying to make a buck!

 

[aoxa]

Would anyone like to hazard a guess as to the sex of these two? They're the same as I've posted before, but I am more confused than ever about them. I have a feeling I'll know when I see an egg (or not LOL). They are now 9.5 weeks old.


This is the one that I had previously thought was a girl:



same bird as above. Tail is usually up a bit more and is longer than the other one's.



This is the one that I had previously thought was a boy:


This is the first bird, better shot of the most bedraggled tail I've ever seen:



bird number 2


bird number 2 again:



This photo has nothing to do with the sexing, I just like how Feather (the SLW) looks like an emu and how Snow (the New Hampshire) is checking them out.



Thanks!

I think both are girls

I'm late chiming in as usual, but since I have a reasonable amount of experience with incubating and hatching (over 2000 keets/chicks/poults/quail chicks combined) I figured I'd add my 2 cents about shrink wrapping and sticky chicks that was discussed a half a dozen or so pages back...

The highest risk of shrink wrapping is after the eggs have externally pipped, have already been in lock down with high humidity... and then the incubator is opened for some reason. If the ambient humidity in the room is lower and the temp is cooler than the humidity and temp are inside of the incubator, (which is often the case) then opening an incubator lets a rush of cool, dry air into the incubator that exchanges with/replaces the warm moist air in the incubator, and does this inside the eggs as well. That is what dries out and shrinks the membranes. The membranes were moist, and then quickly lost moisture and shrank when the cold dry air rushed in. This is why incubator instructions always clearly state not to open the incubator until the hatch is completely over.

Shrink wrapping can also happen to eggs that have only internally pipped, but is a little less likely and less damaging since the air and humidity can't exchange as quickly thru an un-pipped shell. This is why we can get away with waiting to lock down eggs until they have internal pipped and we can also candle prior to lock down without doing damage. (Like Delisha, I also wait until I see internal pips before locking down... I have never had any shrink wrapping issues doing this).

And as Delisha mentioned high temps can also cause shrink wrapping, especially in forced air incubators with fans when there is not enough humidity in the incubator. Moisture is continually being lost at a time when the chick needs a little extra moisture to keep the membrane from becoming leathery/tough, when the chick needs to stay slick enough to spin in the eggs and also when the extra moisture is needed to keep the shell a little softer.

Sticky chicks are usually caused by overly high humidity during incubation that did not allow the chick to grow as large as it should have or let the egg lose enough moisture as the chick developed, so at hatch time those chicks are coated with more liquid (albumen) than they should be. A sticky chick's movement is restricted, tho the stronger chicks usually manage to hatch ok (just extra sticky), but the weak chicks will expire trying to hatch because they just don't have the strength. if they can't spin, and can't zip, they expire. Sometimes tho that extra sticky liquid can clog the chick's nostrils (aka drowning the chick), and the sticky liquid can also cause the opening of the internally pipped membrane to glue down onto the chick's nostril shortly after they have pipped internally, suffocating it.

Thank you for explaining this. I must have had one of those rare situations. I eggtopsied a % of those eggs and they were internally pipped and the membrane was white and caked to them. I don't know what happened, but it stopped me from ever opening the incubator again before there were a good # of chicks that had to be removed.

I've also been told by Jamie that if I remove chicks from incubator, a nice bottle of warm water spray set on mist (very fine mist) will help minimize the humidity loss when you open it.

No pips from the chicks yet, though I thought I saw some rocking (hard to notice with the shelf liner). It's even harder to notice when you are looking for rocking

I've hatched roughly 500 chicks last year. My genesis did me well. Paid for itself easily!

Tonight I am angry at the "chicken world" and I want to vent.

(And I don't mean chicken butt.)

But I don't just want to vent for venting sake. I want to vent to put an exclamation mark on what Delisha has said about how to introduce new birds into your flock.

In the past WEEK I have conversed with TWO people who picked up new "started birds". This is the story of those 2 people.

Story 1
A young lady who is in Indiana and is in High School still. She is young and loves all animals. She has started a flock of chickens and they are a great hobby for a young lady. She got some beautiful new chickens as a breeding pair and an extra. Everyone on the Indiana thread of BYC encouraged her to keep them separate even though she thought they looked healthy and happy. We explained to her the issues that Del just mentioned. Thank God she listened to us.

Within a day or 2 and more contact with these birds, she found vent gleet on one, bumble foot and a very infected toe on another.... There were several other issues as well. Although we encouraged her to return them she wants to "rescue" them. The rest of her flock is likely in danger from these birds condition.

Story 2
Some friends here in my area wanted to get some "pet chickens" but they didn't want to start w/chicks...they wanted started pullets. Found a "family hatchery" that sounded good on their website. Good lines of birds, etc. Drove 3 hours 1 way to pick up 6 14 week olds. They didn't know what to look for, just trusted the people.

Got home and several days later found lice or mites (not sure which yet), bare spots and irritation in various places, and a suspected case of vent gleet on one (hasn't been confirmed yet). They haven't examined the feet and legs yet so I don't know what they'll find there. I think they'll do full exams tomorrow.

****
The lack of integrity and just plain unethical behavior that I keep hearing about in the "chicken world" feels rather deplorable. Adding that to what Aoxa, Del, Mumsy, and others have shared with us that goes on at swap meets, and I'm just plain wary of purchasing chickens from "so-called-breeders" unless someone I know recommends them personally.

Vent over. (Or...to LW...BOTTOMS UP!)

I worry mostly about respiratory diseases more than anything else. I have quite a few friends in my area who had birds that got 'colds'. Remember chickens do not get colds.

Chickens do sneeze (think dust in noses), but they should not have runny noses or congestion. The sneezes between a sick chicken and a regular healthy chicken is different. They should not have rattly breathing. They should not have foamy eyes or swollen eyes.

If any birds you purchase have any sign of a cold, CULL. And now. Disinfect and either contact the seller and demand your money back, or accept your losses. But ALWAYS contact the agricultural board in your area. There are some serious poultry diseases out there, and in my opinion they should know that so and so is selling infected birds.

ILT is serious in our area. It's a reportable disease. If you do not report it there are big consequences.

 

[ajlynco]

I have 6 black stars and only 5 are laying. Does anyone know a good way to determine which hen isn't laying?

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: I am the same way to!!!! My Mom gave me $$ for a weeping cherry tree I would like for my front flower bed. She says I am easy to buy for cuz she knows if she buys me flowers or trees or something for one of my endless home projects I am one happy girl