Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

I tend to view the chickens in much the same way as I do the cattle: they're co-workers, and deserve respect for the jobs they do, and kindness because being unkind is bad for me. I'm into prophylactic treatment, especially anti-parasite treatment and with the cattle, vaccinations: I'm coming around to the differences between cattle and chickens having to do with reproductive potential, body size, and interspecies transmissability. On the latter point: I'd vaccinate chickens for salmonella if I could, and feed anti-coccidiosis feed to chicks because that disease CAN jump species and cause death in calves (something I know from listening to another 4-Her's demonstration over and over and over again as we proceeded from project meetings to the community club to county to district to state).

I don't like losing any animal when it's a result of a failure on my part, and need a lot of proof before I can accept it's NOT my fault. I get really frustrated when I loose breeding stock in any form: I'm a blood stock breeder at heart, and want to continue good bloodlines even if they're represented by a heifer who gets her head stuck in an eight bottom breaking plough.

But I helped slaughter my first steer when I was... maybe seven? I cleaned a hen who was diagnosed as egg bound and slaughtered before she got sick when I was five, and enjoyed the chicken and dumplings after. But I know not everyone is a farmer and try not to get snarky over these things (because being unkind is bad for me).
Well said, and being unkind is bad for us all.
I agree 100% on all you have said for your livestock...it is appropriately named, "Live-stock".......I too take it personally, and do all I can do vaccinate, irrigate, rotate fields, whatever necessary to ensure our livestock "children" will survive, and survive well.
 
My only concern is that I go to each coop multiple times. If a shower is completely necessary, I will be the cleanest person in the world for a month.
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If a shower is not required, then I will just change my clothing and call it good.
I do not shower between coops !
If I did I would be in the shower ALL DAY !
What I do is wash my boots in a bath of 2% chlorine bleach (the solution) and armed (and dangerous) with a spray bottle of either sevin or permethrin in hand (and in every coop!)
Dust down your buggy birds or give them eprinex 1 X a week, all the while spray down their coop/roost/nest boxes with Sevin.
 
This falls alongside my line of thinking too. I never quarantined either, I figure if the bird's immune system is too weak to fight off whatever it is, then I don't want that strain anyway. Same reasons I stopped medicating birds way back when.
Actually, after all of you have hashed this out (and waite a few years) you will (hopefully, if you are smart) notice that there is a "trend" and "season" to all your flocks have to deal with, from "BUGS" to CRD's (Chronic Respiratory Disease) and other diseases.
One will find after a while that the diseases and issues we deal with with, with home poultry, greatly deal with the migratory fowl and the seasons.
After a few years, You'll get it.
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Not only that, but you will (if you are smart and a serious caring animal raiser) be ready for it in advance~
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I do understand the "pet" concept with the chickens and their owners. I think I'm a little more pragmatic about them. Prob comes from my uncles and aunts farms where they didn't even bother with a coop. These were farms in the hills of Tenn and VA and GA with plenty of hawks, racoons, oppossums, fox, feral cats, owls, etc. I just don't recall my uncles getting stressed over the "possiblity" of losing a chicken to them or them getting sick.
The chickens roosted where ever and laid their eggs the same way. It was us kids that had to go hunt the eggs every day. Of course the hens had their favorite places so it wasn't too difficult to find them. Occasionally we would miss one or two.
Back then & there, our ancestors were very happy if the possums & other critters """Came Around!"""
It was more good eatin !!!!!!
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Most of my ancestors had their poultry housed in a HUGE BARN.
Yes, gramma took care of her prized birds....and I cannot say if she relished the idea of the predators "coming around" but alot of the "early Americans" did just that............including skunks, whose hides were favoured & sought after, bounty hunters and the hungry alike were after there critters we now look upon as simply "predators" and now we either feed them or just let them thrive...

Stupid, huh ? Gramma would have had an excellent coon stew~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Oh, lordy: all this talk of being a kind and responsible animal keeper, and darn it all I want to do right now is take off my work shoes and my grubby clothes and crawl in bed, but I need to give the sheep his evening oatmeal-and-apple (he's been stuck inside by the rain: he hates to get wet) (he is a pet, thank you, although not one allowed in the house) (the end of the day goodies mean I can let him off his tether and he bounces on home), go check the two cows who have looked like they were going to calve in twelve hours since March 26th, and bring Deary in out of her daytime abode, which I've yet to have time to rat-proof.

I need me an apprentice.
 
Actually, after all of you have hashed this out (and waite a few years) you will (hopefully, if you are smart) notice that there is a "trend" and "season" to all your flocks have to deal with, from "BUGS" to CRD's (Chronic Respiratory Disease) and other diseases.
One will find after a while that the diseases and issues we deal with with, with home poultry, greatly deal with the migratory fowl and the seasons.
After a few years, You'll get it.
wink.png

Not only that, but you will (if you are smart and a serious caring animal raiser) be ready for it in advance~
wink.png
Much the opposite really. The longer I've been in birds (going into my 20th year now) the more I realize the importance of having strong healthy genetics in a flock. I do agree that proper management practices are a tremendous benefit that one gains with experience (The best way to control disease other than breeding genetic weakness out of your flock? DRY living conditions). Plus, the added benefit of not medicating or vaccinating is you aren't putting that junk in your body when you eat meat or eggs from those birds. Same way it's far better to use natural methods to control parasites so you aren't using a chemical, I've actually known people to use frontline on their birds to keep them free from parasites, that toxic stuff ain't safe for dogs and it darn sure ain't safe for our birds, especially if we're eating their eggs or meat. Best way I've found, is with adult birds use cedar shavings (they aren't good if eaten, but an adult bird isn't going to accidentally eat shavings), use PVC for perches so bugs can't live in the wooden perch, and I'll make or buy a citronella and other essential oil spray that I use for flea control on dogs as well. Haven't had mites or lice for over 10 years on any bird I've owned, my new coops will follow these practices as well as having a dust bath area with DE mixed in with sand, a great idea I saw on here). I did have worms once in about 5 years ago that came with some birds imported from the midwest, but mixing diatomaceous earth in with the feed for a month or so took care of that problem (always used it for horse and cat and dog intestinal worms too)

The longer I live, the longer I raise poultry, the more I realize the old timers were right and did it the right way. Old school chicken medicine kit? A hatchet. I wish I had the strength to do that immediately, but alas I normally isolate, give some extra vitamin supplements and sometimes they surprise me by pulling out of it, which is great because that's a stronger bird.
 
Oh, lordy: all this talk of being a kind and responsible animal keeper, and darn it all I want to do right now is take off my work shoes and my grubby clothes and crawl in bed, but I need to give the sheep his evening oatmeal-and-apple (he's been stuck inside by the rain: he hates to get wet) (he is a pet, thank you, although not one allowed in the house) (the end of the day goodies mean I can let him off his tether and he bounces on home), go check the two cows who have looked like they were going to calve in twelve hours since March 26th, and bring Deary in out of her daytime abode, which I've yet to have time to rat-proof.

I need me an apprentice.
Me too
 
Much the opposite really. The longer I've been in birds (going into my 20th year now) the more I realize the importance of having strong healthy genetics in a flock. I do agree that proper management practices are a tremendous benefit that one gains with experience (The best way to control disease other than breeding genetic weakness out of your flock? DRY living conditions). Plus, the added benefit of not medicating or vaccinating is you aren't putting that junk in your body when you eat meat or eggs from those birds. Same way it's far better to use natural methods to control parasites so you aren't using a chemical, I've actually known people to use frontline on their birds to keep them free from parasites, that toxic stuff ain't safe for dogs and it darn sure ain't safe for our birds, especially if we're eating their eggs or meat. Best way I've found, is with adult birds use cedar shavings (they aren't good if eaten, but an adult bird isn't going to accidentally eat shavings), use PVC for perches so bugs can't live in the wooden perch, and I'll make or buy a citronella and other essential oil spray that I use for flea control on dogs as well. Haven't had mites or lice for over 10 years on any bird I've owned, my new coops will follow these practices as well as having a dust bath area with DE mixed in with sand, a great idea I saw on here). I did have worms once in about 5 years ago that came with some birds imported from the midwest, but mixing diatomaceous earth in with the feed for a month or so took care of that problem (always used it for horse and cat and dog intestinal worms too)

The longer I live, the longer I raise poultry, the more I realize the old timers were right and did it the right way. Old school chicken medicine kit? A hatchet. I wish I had the strength to do that immediately, but alas I normally isolate, give some extra vitamin supplements and sometimes they surprise me by pulling out of it, which is great because that's a stronger bird.
Ah yes, so you DO agree, in the medicine chest, you have a coccistat, a sharp hatchet and a good wormer.........................period.
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The rest is good judgement, wich comes in time with knowledge, as StumpFarmer has said.
After a while you just know !
We also have a very nice chopping block STUMP.

Makes good for THUMPING..................which takes out a bird in short order.
 

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