Washingtonians

[Eagle2026]

Very happy that you like the offspring of my birds.
Sooo... glad that there healthy and thriving. Nice work!
I can't take all the credit as you received them at a very bad time. (IT WAS COLD)
I'm sure that I am not the only one that is anxious to see the little chicks.
I also hope that DH gets better soo so he can enjoy them more.
Thank you agian for making the drive JUSTBUGGED.
Mike

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
Hi, sorry no contact this weekend. Had to take DH to hopital (he's ok) and the darn worm got back in my computer. We sure are a talkative bunch I've been down since Friday and have read 3 pages with who knows how many to go.

About that muscovy, please be sure to tell them that he thinks he's a chicken. He's very persistant with finding a way to be with them and come spring he'll be trying to mate the hens. He's a big boy and he could hurt them. He darn near killed one of my australorps when he trapped her on/in the fence.

Ok, back to trying to get caught up.

 

[justbugged]

Here are the baby pictures. The first ones are the babies in the bathtub, and one picture of them in the garage brooder. The chicks look very comfortable out there in the garage.

 

[weaveagarden]

Oh my gosh justbugged.

I opened the page and saw those enormous pictures and couldn't figure out what they were. I thought I had gone to some medical site. I thought they were bugs or some kind of specimen.

(Too many years working in a hospital or laboratory I think)

I posted about biosecurity and the party on our party chickenstock area. So I thought it might be a good idea to also post a link here for anybody who wants to check out the States Aviary part of the Department of Agriculture. So here you go:

http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AvianHealth/

They have a test that you can print out and send in for certification. It is fairly easy, especially after taking the tutorial. Easily all done in one day.
There are posters, calendars and pamphlets that you can send for also.
I have talked with the Veterinarian (Dr. Lyndon Badcoe) and also the Coordinator (Julie Broome). They are both very nice and eager to help us.

Basically, the main thing that I got from them regarding HPAI (highly pathenogenic avian influenza) is that keeping wild birds away from your flock (particularly wild water fowl) is very important because that is where the problems are being seen. This would also include not bringing in bacteria on your shoes and clothes

I don't think they expect us to all run around in lab coats with sterile gloves and etc. Just keep things clean and don't cross contaminate your flocks if you have more than one that live seperately.

 

[brennant]

Quote:
It was totally worth freezing my fingers and fanny off standing out there. What an awesome, awesome feeling.

I was there too... boy that was something to see!

 

[Eagle2026]

Quote:
Nice work JUSTBUGGED!!!
Those have to be the happiest chicks on the planet.

Please refer to post #4528

 

[rainplace]

Look what came in the mail for Nyrial and I today....


Cuteness in a box... yes?

And here they are outside the box for the first time.

You can see more pictures here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=276631

 

[weaveagarden]

I wish I could have ducks. They are just the cutest. Love that sable look of the Khaki Cambell's first down. I suppose they will be up for adoption if Nyrial ends up leaving us. Too cute! I absolutely can not have one.... Rats!

 

[Tailfeathers]

Quote:
Ironically I got a call yesterday from Dr. Howard asking to come out this week and pick up some eggs to take back for AI testing. The Dept. of Ag used to pay me $10 a dozen to come out once a Quarter and test for AI. I never did it, but if I remember right, they'd pay $5 per bird to swab your birds for AI. They also used to do NPIP Certification relatively inexpensively too.

Now they want to come out and test your birds for free - unless you happen to sell your eggs which I do at which time I am actually paying the State to test my birds. They have also made NPIP testing pretty much cost prohibitive for most of us. The State now charges you $80/hr and the clock starts from the time the Vet gets in his car until he arrives back at the office. The Vet is in Olympia and that's 3-4 hours from me. So consider 6-8 hours and then another 2 hours or so to test the birds (he said it's 2-3 minutes per bird plus 30 minutes on each side for prep and cleanup) and you're looking at about 8-10 hours at $80/hr each year just to get NPIP certified. Care to take a guess how many chicks I would have to sell and ship before I would even break even?

And here's the real kicker, all this just so you can help the State continue to receive Federal funding for AI and NPIP. That's right, the Federal Gov't - you and my tax dollars - already give the State funding for the AI and NPIP programs. Should an outbreak of PT occur, the State loses that funding. So, one would THINK that the State would be encouraging participation in the program and not discouraging it by making it so cost prohibitive. The only folks this hurts are the backyard flock owners because the big commercial poultry farms have no choice but to participate.

Having said all that, yes Julie Broome and Dr. Badcoe are very nice people, friendly, and very willing to help. Truth be told, I don't think they like what's going on either but they just have to do what the Legislature has forced upon them and us. My advice is to let both of them know and your Legislature that this new law they passed this year is completely unfair, bogus, and harmful to the State because it discourages participation rather than encouraging it. Unfortunately, it is often the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and I think the best thing that can happen is if the State sees a complete loss of participation in these two programs. Then they can go back to the Legislature and point to the specific cause being this new Law. Once the State realizes that they can very well lose all that Federal money with just one instance of PT and that the risk is multiplied expotentially by every person who fails to participate, then maybe they will revoke this law and make it worth our while again participate.

Btw, for those who've seen my place, they know I've got two ponds on the property. Every winter I get migratory wild ducks coming through and spending some time on the pond with my other ducks. This is exactly why the State initially was paying me to allow them to test my birds. I'm also up north and those birds are flying south. So how much does the State really care about keeping tabs on AI in this State or in this country?

God Bless,

 

[pinkchick]

Quote:
Ironically I got a call yesterday from Dr. Howard asking to come out this week and pick up some eggs to take back for AI testing. The Dept. of Ag used to pay me $10 a dozen to come out once a Quarter and test for AI. I never did it, but if I remember right, they'd pay $5 per bird to swab your birds for AI. They also used to do NPIP Certification relatively inexpensively too.

Now they want to come out and test your birds for free - unless you happen to sell your eggs which I do at which time I am actually paying the State to test my birds. They have also made NPIP testing pretty much cost prohibitive for most of us. The State now charges you $80/hr and the clock starts from the time the Vet gets in his car until he arrives back at the office. The Vet is in Olympia and that's 3-4 hours from me. So consider 6-8 hours and then another 2 hours or so to test the birds (he said it's 2-3 minutes per bird plus 30 minutes on each side for prep and cleanup) and you're looking at about 8-10 hours at $80/hr each year just to get NPIP certified. Care to take a guess how many chicks I would have to sell and ship before I would even break even?

And here's the real kicker, all this just so you can help the State continue to receive Federal funding for AI and NPIP. That's right, the Federal Gov't - you and my tax dollars - already give the State funding for the AI and NPIP programs. Should an outbreak of PT occur, the State loses that funding. So, one would THINK that the State would be encouraging participation in the program and not discouraging it by making it so cost prohibitive. The only folks this hurts are the backyard flock owners because the big commercial poultry farms have no choice but to participate.

Having said all that, yes Julie Broome and Dr. Badcoe are very nice people, friendly, and very willing to help. Truth be told, I don't think they like what's going on either but they just have to do what the Legislature has forced upon them and us. My advice is to let both of them know and your Legislature that this new law they passed this year is completely unfair, bogus, and harmful to the State because it discourages participation rather than encouraging it. Unfortunately, it is often the squeaky wheel that gets the grease and I think the best thing that can happen is if the State sees a complete loss of participation in these two programs. Then they can go back to the Legislature and point to the specific cause being this new Law. Once the State realizes that they can very well lose all that Federal money with just one instance of PT and that the risk is multiplied expotentially by every person who fails to participate, then maybe they will revoke this law and make it worth our while again participate.

Btw, for those who've seen my place, they know I've got two ponds on the property. Every winter I get migratory wild ducks coming through and spending some time on the pond with my other ducks. This is exactly why the State initially was paying me to allow them to test my birds. I'm also up north and those birds are flying south. So how much does the State really care about keeping tabs on AI in this State or in this country?

God Bless,

WELL SAID!