Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[Totalcolour]

Sounds like he was likely someones pet they couldn't afford anymore with him being very obedient. I hope you get him.

Animal inspector was just here and gave the thumbs up! Yes, they said he was a stray. I too prefer to spay/neuter when they are older.

So now it's off for doggy stuff for the new guy. We will probably get him on Monday or Tuesday).

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

YAY!!! make sure to post pictures when ya get him. and remember at first he'll likely be nervous going into another dogs territory.

 

[tammyfarms]

Hi guys,
I have a question. I have 3 hatchery birds which were vaccinated for Mareks. I just hatched 4 eggs and these little guys are in the brooder. I did not intend to vaccinate them, but am now wondering if the vaccinated ones can be carriers of Mareks. If you've already addressed this subject, forgive me for not reading back far enough.

Hi Vickie!!! Great to see you on here! I haven't moved yet, just visiting from NC and getting to know folks in preparation for retirement.

yay! The thread is back! For those who were following:
1. don't have to cull all my chickens per State vet and Seattle chicken specialist vet.
2. Will have to wait 3-6 mos for infection to completely run it's course through the population, then, because they will always have antibodies in the blood, will have to spring for nasopharyngyl swab PCR testing to show they are clear.
3. They advised getting any new chickens now, as MG is very prevalent in wild populations, and is NOT generally fatal on its own (esp if ckns older, all my problems have been in young ones) and once it's done, it's done. That way can clear everyone at the same time.
4. Any new chickens will be tested on arrival for MG/MS/PT/Newcastle/AI (skip AI/PT if NPIP sourced)
The investment will be minimal compared to the heck I went thru over the last week or so figuring out what to do/who to talk to.

Will be adjusting/upgrading my biosecurity. Still limited by what my kids understand, and the lot size, but we do what we can.

Useful information!
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts_waddl/avian.aspx Dr. Rocio Crespo is awesome, and they do return calls and answer questions *at length*
http://www.bellevuecrossroadsvet.com/ Dr. Bruce Singbeil best 75$ consultation ever. Over an hour on the phone answering questions.

When I've recovered from the whole thing, will probably start a new thread with copies of the tests / emails and summaries of the phone conversations...

LOVE my Wa peeps!

Aleta, Thanks for the awesome summation of information and the resources. Great idea to post on a new thread for anyone in the future searching for how to deal with MG. So sorry you went through this, and thanks for being a resource for anyone who may go through it in the future! Thanks!

Just wanted to show off the Hamburgs, they are now over a month old and then a pic of my little mixed breed babies born around the same time

mslnm, cute babies! I love the light lemon colored one!

I second your applause for Dr. Crespo! - she gave a talk/seminar at the Mother Earth News fair in June & I learned a TON! And she really loves chickens, you can tell. It's great to have her as a resource here.

Good to have the vet recommendation also!

Thanks for the update -- another lesson in isolating new stock?

One comment I took away from Dr Crespo's talk was along this topic - your chickens may appear healthy (ok be healthy) in your own environment, while the new chickens may appear, or be healthy in their existing environment. But each separate environment has its own set of microorganisms. Bringing new chickens onto your soil introduces their microorganisms into your flock, perhaps to its detrement. I think of it as similar to the drinking water issues humans occasionally have when vacationing - those individuals who live there have no problems with native water, but you do until your body adjusts.

I know some do not isolate new chickens, & I understand that & if that works for them great. But personally, if I have a small flock of treasured (however one defines that personally) chickens, I would want to follow some guidelines for isolating new stock to reduce the chance of spreading illness, and potentially devastating loses.

I've seen chickens at shows - albeit in the 'for sale' section, that exhibited mild signs of respiratory disease. That chicken may be shedding germs that could be picked up by a chicken in close contact. You would not necessarily know the chicken you bought had been in a cage next to it, exposed & not yet ill, bringing those germs to your flock. This observation, along with the on site advice from one of the very knowledgeable & well-regarded folks on here (who confirmed my observation of possible illness & provided suggestions on quarantining new stock) has made me a bit of a germophobe when it comes to this. Buyer beware.

I also want hardy chickens that thrive & don't need to be coddled, but I don't need to expose them to, say fowl pox, to prove they are tough enough to survive it. You know?

Chickiemomy, thanks for this information, I have posted and told folks this same info and they react as if I have a beak growing out of my forehead! This is such an important part of raising chickens and why quarantine is important.

One more note about quarantine - when you have new birds in quarantine you may want to add in one of your birds as a "test case". If either flock has something that isn't noticeable until the birds get together you can quarantine them separately and have no reaction, until you put the birds together. When the birds are then exposed to each other the problems then show up and next thing you know your whole flock is sick.

I realize this is not practical for everyone because of land/space restrictions, we all do the best we have with what we have. I don't mean any disrespect to anyone who cannot quarantine or who has only a small space between quarantine and "regular" coops. Come to think of it, I think we all do the best we can in all situations for our animals.

 

[tammyfarms]

Today is my birthday and the gift I picked out for myself is six splash Orpington chicks! I got some more BBS eggs to hatch but since I am mostly getting blues and blacks, with just one splash that turned out to be a cockerel, I decided I might as well get some chicks with the coloring I want.

The woman who sold me my two Frizzle hens with a splash Silkie rooster (and kept one hen to hatch eggs for her so now they don't even seem to know each other anymore) has a splash Orpington rooster so we are going to trade when she decides to make the trip here. I did not want to buy anything else from her but she said she was looking for a splash Orpington rooster so I told her I have one. She then proposed a trade and I agreed so I will have an unrelated splash rooster to run through whatever splash pullets I get from this batch of chicks and from the blues and blacks I will keep when I can sex them. For some reason my Orpingtons are harder to sex than other breeds I have hatched but by keeping them longer I am falling in love with the breed. I have some lavender Orpingtons but they have larger tails than my BBS so they look different. Is the confirmation different on lavenders because it is a project color or is it just me who thinks they look like they look different? I hope they are lavender Orpingtons and not something else because I trusted the seller I got hatched chicks and hatching eggs from. I plan to keep pullets but I don't know how the colors will mix with a splash rooster so I might need a blue or black rooster over lavender, based on what I read about the genetics.

Now I am going to have to find a way to sell cockerels or butcher them myself but at least I will have a nice flock to produce hatching eggs for many years. I am going to have to separate my ornamental chickens from my production chickens so that means finding a coop (my current one is a converted playhouse I got for $25 and then paid another $25 to have it delivered) or building a custom coop. Since my husband is a carpenter waiting for a union job offer, we can easily build a coop but money is the issue. I will start weighing my options and deciding how to keep separate flocks. The coop we have was designed for my Easter Eggers so I think I will end up moving the Silkies to a new coop. I have a fenced area I can use as a pen but then I won't be able to let them free range with the other chickens in the yard so I may have to fence off a section of the yard for them too. I actually have a large doghouse that would accommodate a Silkie pile overnight but I would have to add on nest boxes like we built onto the playhouse coop. Anyone have recommendations about a coop design for Silkie and Frizzle chickens? I have someone who has offered me $35 for Sizzle pullets but my Frizzles are not laying anymore, nor are they even both staying with a Silkie rooster. The one I just brought home has hooked up with my blue rooster who gets chased off by my red and my splash roosters so I may have to pen the three together and form a new trio. I never thought I would ever have ornamental chickens but they are popular for backyards and I can't afford a home on acreage so I am making due with my own backyard in order to be a homeowner instead of renting property.

Happy Birthday!
Are you a freecycle member where you are? Also, check with print shops (The Printery here in Pt Townsend ALWAYS has pallets made of nice hardwoods, and about a third have decent plywood on one side. 1/8" hardware cloth on Amazon is the cheapest I've seen anywhere out where we are.
good Luck!
As to that last point, I COMPLETELY understand. In order to sell as NPIP, you have to have 30 adult birds to test for AI every 90 days 9or is it 30?) Anyway, too darn many and too darn often, sooo. I'm wondering if there's anyone remotely in Port Hadlock area that might have space to share or rent? I'm nosing out the possibilities... It would need to be close enough to 'commute' every day to care for the animals. PM if you know someone with a 'retirement lot' out this way...

Happy Birthday Duck Drover! I was going to recommend the same thing that AletaG did. Since your husband is a carpenter, there are often sources of pallets available. I have seen people use them intact or tear them apart. There is an article on here about building a pallet coop. Freecycle is a great idea too! You can often pick up wood and all sorts of stuff. Also home building sites... just ask! If you drive by places that have pallets stacked up, it can't hurt to ask, the worst they can do is say no. You could also put an add on Craigslist in the wanted section. You would probably have better luck with raw materials than with a coop - plus I would be concerned about biosecurity. Although you could also look on Craigslist for a dog house, playhouse, etc...
Good luck and I hope your husband gets the job!

BTW, I already told my husband I want crested cream legbar hatching eggs for my birthday... in October. A lady is driving from MD to FL in November and will be dropping them off YAY!

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
The German Shepherd Dog forum has a lot of info their specific growth and don't recommend spaying/neutering until age 2 to make sure they are done growing. I think I'll follow their recommendations for any large dogs. Zeus our Aussie/heeler mix is 50 pounds if he's been hitting the catfood, but we had to wait until he was a year and a half to neuter him, since he broke his leg bad as a 4 month old puppy and the vet wanted as much growth out of the leg as possible. With his temperament, we really didn't need to get him done. He's always been a sweet little cuddle bug.

 

[Hinotori]

Quote:
That is great! Congrats!

 

[BarneyChick97]

Has anyone ever used the DE on or with ducks? I have the chemical poultry duster for lice/mites, and of course, you can't use that on waterfowl. Just wondered if there was any other options....

thanks

 

[Stumpfarmer]

'Well, we just got back from the animal shelter, where we put in an application for a mixed breed dog - Back Lab/'Mastiff. We introduced him to our Airedale girl and they really hit it off well. The only thing I don't like is that he is entire, and will have to be neutered. Not a big issue, but he's about 4 years old so already has some "male" traits. He was such a gentleman though, willing to play with our girl, but obedient for me (sat when asked).

I really hope we get him, he'd be a good influence on our girl and someone for her to have as a companion when we go away (very infrequently). She gets very anxious about being separated. 

This boy is a bit shorter than ours, but "BUILT" so is probably a bit heavier - good thing, since she's a big bouncy baby. He's not really pretty since he has the big mastiff head, but a charmer. Keep your fingers crossed for us - I really like him already!

I've yet to meet a mastiff which wasn't perfectly aware of how scary they are, and did everything in it's power to make sure it kept its manners and behaved kindly.

On the other hand, the more I think of it, the surer I am that I need a Corgie.

 

[HereChikyChiky]

I posted a while ago about one of my hens that I thought could be a rooster. Everyone who answered my post seemed to think hen. Then she started making this crazy crowing sound so I thought she is a he. The other two hens have since started laying, and Crazy Scarlett has begun squatting consistently when I go to pick her up. She is incredibly loud and starts early in the morning and squawks and screams throughout the day. No such noises from the other two hens, just a little muttering before and after laying. I check for eggs from Scarlett when she starts the noise but nothing. I'm afraid I'm going to have to rehome her to the country before the neighbors revolt. Here is what she sounds like:

 

[Sweetlilbaby]

The German Shepherd Dog forum has a lot of info their specific growth and don't recommend spaying/neutering until age 2 to make sure they are done growing. I think I'll follow their recommendations for any large dogs. Zeus our Aussie/heeler mix is 50 pounds if he's been hitting the catfood, but we had to wait until he was a year and a half to neuter him, since he broke his leg bad as a 4 month old puppy and the vet wanted as much growth out of the leg as possible. With his temperament, we really didn't need to get him done. He's always been a sweet little cuddle bug.

My puppy's name is Zeus!! he's an australian shepherd/ German shep./APBT mix. He's currently 6 months and one vet wanted me to neuter but my trusted vet told me wait til he's at LEAST 2 years old because we don't even know how big he might get. We don't know if he's large or medium.