The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

Pics
Date sort Score sort
janiedoe said:
I'm so sorry, Barry. I've had a rough past few years with mine. I brought in three little bantam hens. They were asymptomatic but brought Mereks in. I lost a lot of younger chickens the first year and half but it tapered off after that. Now I do not bring any in or sell or rehome any. I also stopped letting mine hatch. I'm down to around 30 and most are 6 to 8 years old, the youngests few are 2.5 to 3 years old.
Click to expand...
So sorry for that Janie... 😢 It stinks to see a healthy bird go downhill so fast. Ruthie can`get up now and has the classic splayed legs part of the time. I did contact 2ndTink here after reading some posts. I ordered some of the Skullcap (Baicalin) powder sounds promising. My dw says no more chickens after these because I get too attached to them. She says she wouldn`t, I say easier said than done! I will say if we lose them all i`m not sure I want to risk going through it again even as much as I enjoy them.
 
Cynthia12 said:
Good morning! How many days now? My grandson is counting down. I have a countdown calendar for him.
Click to expand...
Good morning, Cynthia. With so many children (5) grandchildren (10) & great-grands (4) We have people coming & going from Christmas through January. I don't even bother to countdown because Christmas to us is a season not a day. 🤣
 
janiedoe said:
Good morning, Cynthia. With so many children (5) grandchildren (10) & great-grands (4) We have people coming & going from Christmas through January. I don't even bother to countdown because Christmas to us is a season not a day. 🤣
Click to expand...
I understand! See thec12 behind my name? 12 children, now 44 grandchildren, and our 14th great grandchild is due in February.
 
Bsmac said:
So sorry for that Janie... 😢 It stinks to see a healthy bird go downhill so fast. Ruthie can`get up now and has the classic splayed legs part of the time. I did contact 2ndTink here after reading some posts. I ordered some of the Skullcap (Baicalin) powder sounds promising. My dw says no more chickens after these because I get too attached to them. She says she wouldn`t, I say easier said than done! I will say if we lose them all i`m not sure I want to risk going through it again even as much as I enjoy them.
Click to expand...
I have come to terms with it. My losses have mostly been from old age this year. I feel awful when I lose one but if they are over 5 years old, I feel like they have had a good life. Anything younger is so much harder. I am very attached to mine and if I ever have another flock, it will be a much smaller one and be closed. None in, none out. I know some breeds such as naked necks and leghorns are less receptive to Mereks.
I lost two naked necks this past year. One was 6 and the other was 8. I have another NN 6 year old who is slowing down but still seems healthy. An easter egger, Gus, who is over 8 and a backyard mix, Claudie, 7.5 are both moving slowly too. One of my 8 year olds, a buff, Sissy, is still very active but doesn't lay any longer. Evie, one of my brahmas, who is 7 seems pale but is still moving about fine. All my other 7 year olds seem fine. I have a 5 yo & a 4 year old who are still active but walk with tails down and another 4yo who limps.
We are taking it a day at a time and enjoying lots of fresh greens and quality feed. I do have skullcap which I add to their feed but I haven't noticed a difference. I give no scratch, no breads, and no sweets.
 
janiedoe said:
I have come to terms with it. My losses have mostly been from old age this year. I feel awful when I lose one but if they are over 5 years old, I feel like they have had a good life. Anything younger is so much harder. I am very attached to mine and if I ever have another flock, it will be a much smaller one and be closed. None in, none out. I know some breeds such as naked necks and leghorns are less receptive to Mereks.
I lost two naked necks this past year. One was 6 and the other was 8. I have another NN 6 year old who is slowing down but still seems healthy. An easter egger, Gus, who is over 8 and a backyard mix, Claudie, 7.5 are both moving slowly too. One of my 8 year olds, a buff, Sissy, is still very active but doesn't lay any longer. Evie, one of my brahmas, who is 7 seems pale but is still moving about fine. All my other 7 year olds seem fine. I have a 5 yo & a 4 year old who are still active but walk with tails down and another 4yo who limps.
We are taking it a day at a time and enjoying lots of fresh greens and quality feed. I do have skullcap which I add to their feed but I haven't noticed a difference. I give no scratch, no breads, and no sweets.
Click to expand...
Sounds like they have done pretty well for you overall. losing young birds really is the worst and it seems like the sweet ones are the ones to get sick! Ruthie is a sweetie but I don`t see her recovering. I will likely have to end it for her. It`s bad right now with my back being crappy as I still have the other ISA brown, Judy to lay to rest. And of course the ground is frozen! I tried to dig yesterday but just made my old man back worse! Sometimes getting old stinks!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom