Virginia

[ki4got]

Yeah.... I don't do prim, proper or even well dressed if I'm going to be rounding up birds in the semi dark and then spending all day out in the heat. Flip flops, hair scrunchie, floppy hat, comfortable t-shirt and ratty capris for me!! I try my hardest not to over crowd my birds but sometimes the best laid plans bite me in the arse that early in the morning.

As to swaps....
Dinwiddie swap at BT Hargraves on Saturday the 22nd from 8 - 12. We'll be behind the buildings so we'll be out of the high traffic areas for them. I'll be bringing dutch (CLB) chicks, just a few, and depending on what else hatches here in the next few days probably some quail and mutt mix chicks.
I'm in need of a silkie hen.... if anyone is coming with one, I'm in the black tahoe!

this coming weekend is spoken for... and has been since this time last year and will be for years to come. LOL the 4th full weekend in June every year is the ARRL Field Day. an annual ham radio contest. it's a 24 hour practice of emergency communications and traffic (messages) handling. we do it every year 'off the grid' aka no commercial electric power. just battery, solar and generator power. anything portable that can be used during emergency situations. we have Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to set up the radios and antennas, to be on the air and running by 2pm Saturday afternoon and finish at 2pm Sunday afternoon.

for more info you can go to arrl.com and search field day, that'll tell you all the details and history of it.

 

[Flat Rock farm]

Just so y'all know, he really does look like a tall skinny d'Uccle before he washes betwixt his toes...as his older brother, I can say that!

Good one Scott!!!

That's OK Glen we still love you anyway, with or without the poo between your toes

 

[bowen012]

Confirmed Marek's in the Silkie from the Christiansburg TSC Swap. Report back from Virginia Tech necropsy today; so the summary is a bird with coccidiosis and marek's disease from one unscrupulous seller at the last Christiansburg swap. Irritatingly so since it's evident that the seller knowingly passed along a sick bird to an unsuspecting woman and child. Hoping her flock doesn't get devastated. She kept the bird separated, but on the same acre or so of land, so who knows. No idea if anything will come of it since I'm not involved, but she's speaking with the nearest state agriculture dept to try and get a guy to stop by the next meet or two for some sort of an inspection (why this isn't done somewhat regularly anyway I don't know)...

Marek's seller description via PM to those that attend the Christiansburg swap is available.

 

[SoManyHats]

Have to agree with this. There are plenty of reputable breeders at the swaps ... I'd say the majority take good care of their flocks. Crowded conditions at a swap is not indicative of crowded living conditions at home. No one can provide the same kind of space for the few hours they're at a swap that they do at home.

I've bought some very nice, healthy birds at the swaps in my area.
As for the seller "looking sloppy" ... I personally don't bother much with the latest in fashionable chicken swap attire. I moved out of the city and away from "fashionable" and towards "comfortable."

Well it's good to know that crowded at the swap doesn't mean crowded at home. I felt really bad for some of those chickens! So how do you know who's reputable?

As for sloppy, I don't mean not fashionable! Comfortable doesn't necessarily equal sloppy either. But no big deal. Like I said - city girl (with a lot to learn).

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i'm curious what you consider as sloppy then. LOL

some consider my hair (or lack of, most times) as sloppy too, but blame god for giving me 296 cowlicks on one head. LOL

that's the one reason my hair rarely gets over 1" in length. and frequently aggravated that some people don't bother looking beyond the hair and call me 'sir'! I just politely say 'i'm not a sir, but thanks anyways.' and walk away. - kinda funny that I use the same clipper blades on me that I do on my dog!

sorry off on a tangent. i'm still curious what is considered sloppy. most of the people there, I've known for a few years now, and don't even pay attention to who's wearing what anymore. LOL chicken poop happens. especially when moving birds around during the day, from one cage to another, or to a buyer's hands. they go, they step in it, then they do their best to put it all over your shirt and anything else they can reach while trying to get out of your grasp. so no, not many I know wear 'nice' clothing. even if they change before heading out to the swap, it's not clean for long...

 

[pysankigirl]

honestly, I think I do know what she means. to me "sloppy" is probably some of the sort of scary types who honestly look like they might be making moonshine in their other hobby and haven't been to the dentist in a while. I don't think she means people who are just wearing comfy clothes

 

[Maggiesdad]

No offense taken, 'Hats - life would be awfully dreary if you couldn't have a little fun along the way!

Hey, I like moonshine and hate dentists - what are you gettin' at?

 

[sbucciarel]

Well it's good to know that crowded at the swap doesn't mean crowded at home. I felt really bad for some of those chickens! So how do you know who's reputable?

As for sloppy, I don't mean not fashionable! Comfortable doesn't necessarily equal sloppy either. But no big deal. Like I said - city girl (with a lot to learn).

I go to swaps regularly so I've gotten to know most of the breeders that show up in my area. It's pretty obvious to me who has healthy looking birds. In our area, there's only one breeder who shows up to all the swaps that has unhealthy looking birds and I think his conditions at home are very poor, overcrowded, underfed. Everyone else who regularly shows up has beautiful birds.

You still should quarantine if you already have birds before exposing your birds to new birds. Diseases and parasites are such that birds can have them without their breeders being aware yet that they do. I have never had a problem with any of the birds that I have brought in, whether it be from swaps or from having birds sent to me through the mail. Doesn't mean that it couldn't happen. I research breeders online before I make decisions and at swaps, the overall look of the birds is what I go by. I don't buy a lot because I'm interested in birds bred to standard and in the breeds that interest me, I don't find what I'm looking for a lot, but I rarely see birds that I wouldn't buy because their health and condition is suspect, and every so often I find one or two in my breeds that have serious potential to be great breeders for me and be a good addition to my flock.

Just look for robust, shiny, vigorous looking birds. Take the time to talk to the breeders. You'll see who's really interested in their breeds. Know why you are buying birds and be knowledgeable yourself. If you're buying for eggs, pick a breed known for good egg production. If you want to show, know the standard of the breed before you buy and look the chicks over to see that they meet the standard. If you don't find what you're looking for in the way of standards, there are a lot of lovely show quality stock being sold right from this forum in the Classifieds, both as eggs and chicks. I've had both shipped to me with great success.

 

[ki4got]

I do have to admit, I found a VERY nice little partridge bantam cochin girl... at $5, I couldn't pass her up. she's got decent weight, her feathers look good, BUT her feet are a horrible mess. the foot and vent feathers were caked and she has scaly mites... but the type and color outweighed the foot issues. so she's in my quarantine box, has been treated with ivermectin orally, topically will come in a week, directly on the feet.

I didn't see any signs of lice/mites though when I got her home and prepared to bathe her... just the icky feet. but she did have a bath anyways, and I think was grateful for that nice warm soapy water on her poor feet. the only other thing I question is her age. he said 9 months or so. i'm guessing x2 or 3... even so she should be an asset to my partridge program. once she's out of quarantine.

sometimes you have to make exceptions where the good outweighs the bad... she seems happy to have clean shavings and a clean 2x4 roost with ample food and water. and she can look out and see what's going on too when she's roosting, so she can see how easy she has it, that she doesn't have to deal with all the teenage roos that are harassing all the girls outside mercilessly. LOL

 

[ki4got]

and on another train of thought, my 'wild broody' became a momma today... but I had to replace the rotten board on my deck, so she got captured - not too difficult, she was in an 8" space under a wooden deck. LOL not the greatest spot, other than safety, since there's no food or water easily accessible.

she and 9 babies are now housed comfortably in one of my brooders, complete with food and water and room to move around!

not bad for an 8 month old girl. she's the only one to have gone broody outside a coop to successfully hatch her brood. tho there were 3 or 4 stinkers in her bunch. they got launched away from the house quickly, as they were already starting to draw flies.

but momma and babies seem to be doing ok, tho there's 1 that has a wet belly/umbilical area. so not sure about him.