What did you do with your flock today?

Poor JoJo! How old was he?
Did the necropsy mention any tumours in his bursas? In particular his bursa of fabricus? I'm asking as I'm wondering if the cause is lymphoid leukosis rather than Mareks. The symptoms are very similar. Another to consider is reticuloendotheliosis virus. It's rare but worth reading up on.
Mareks actually comes in 4 categories of virulence. If you have a low virulence strain, it's not as symptomatic so it would make sense only some birds seem affected. The rest are carriers, constantly shedding the virus. In addition to Silkies, Polish and White Leghorns are also very susceptible to Mareks. And gender and genetic predisposition play a large role too.
Vaccination is definitely the way to go, especially since Mareks can live such a long time without a host in the environment. Some studies have shown survival of the virus for up to 12 months in empty coops.

Nohope' s presentation of Mareks is definitely unusual. Is he walking at all?
I know! I was also right that JoJo would use they/them pronouns he had both testes and an ovary. There is no mention of bursas, just yellow nodule tumors and nuerotropism. JoJo was almost a year old—I hatched them at the middle of February last year, but he hasn’t been normal since about 16 weeks. He was a really sweet bird that got weirder and weirder, but never seemed to be sick. Just strange. He only crowed a few times at about 8 months, he always ate but never really got solidly built like Spider. I wasn’t sure what to do with him because I was pretty sure there was something wrong but he never presented as sick other than his strange chicken behaviors. No one picked on him either.

As for Nohope, he is really strong and can launch himself right out of his box or your arms…but he can’t walk. His legs are fully functional though. He uses them and his wings when he wants to be near me or needs to change position. He basically falls forward like he’s too heavy when he tries walking. It’s really weird. But he has a healthy appetite, drinks his water…and today I let him get some sun and eat some grass. He’s not emaciated like JoJo, but he’s lost some weight. He really loves French fries and bread 😆 And he ate two eggs with Greek yogurt, herbs, poultry cell, and corn meal in them plus a bunch of his regular food. His comb shows occasional signs he’s lacking full oxygenation which I’m sure is indicative of growing tumors 😢 but it’s just so slow and abnormal in its presentation.

I will look up that other crazy long named virus too, I’m unfamiliar with it! I’m already preparing to lose my other birds that are double recessive like my white d’Anver Oliver and the new bobtails I acquired :-( Breeders don’t always vaccinate so I’m sure they aren’t and apparently bobtail coloration is recessive white with select albinism…which just sounds like weak genetics :-( Maybe I’ll get lucky and they are stronger than I think, but it’s better for me to prepare for the worst. Ugh, it’s so depressing and makes me feel like a terrible failure as a chicken mom 😢😢
 

Attachments

  • 33915947-DF47-48DA-9A83-00C65B00CAB5.jpeg
    33915947-DF47-48DA-9A83-00C65B00CAB5.jpeg
    587.7 KB · Views: 2
  • 4DCAC9D4-319F-4F2E-AB1F-F36E04209881.jpeg
    4DCAC9D4-319F-4F2E-AB1F-F36E04209881.jpeg
    723.9 KB · Views: 2
Last edited:
They both look beautiful and interesting!
I have Polynesian, Micronesian and Barbadian heritage (as well as Scottish and Swedish) on my Dad's side, way back when, so I'd love to visit:love
Road trip! Or as @Popo puts it. Hen party! And I'm sure there are sharks to be seen 😄
 
Last edited:
I know! I was also right that JoJo would use they/them pronouns he had both testes and an ovary. There is no mention of bursas, just yellow nodule tumors and nuerotropism. JoJo was almost a year old—I hatched them at the middle of February last year, but he hasn’t been normal since about 16 weeks. He was a really sweet bird that got weirder and weirder, but never seemed to be sick. Just strange. He only crowed a few times at about 8 months, he always ate but never really got solidly built like Spider. I wasn’t sure what to do with him because I was pretty sure there was something wrong but he never presented as sick other than his strange chicken behaviors. No one picked on him either.

As for Nohope, he is really strong and can launch himself right out of his box or your arms…but he can’t walk. His legs are fully functional though. He uses them and his wings when he wants to be near me or needs to change position. He basically falls forward like he’s too heavy when he tries walking. It’s really weird. But he has a healthy appetite, drinks his water…and today I let him get some sun and eat some grass. He’s not emaciated like JoJo, but he’s lost some weight. He really loves French fries and bread 😆 And he ate two eggs with Greek yogurt, herbs, poultry cell, and corn meal in them plus a bunch of his regular food. His comb shows occasional signs he’s lacking full oxygenation which I’m sure is indicative of growing tumors 😢 but it’s just so slow and abnormal in its presentation.

I will look up that other crazy long named virus too, I’m unfamiliar with it! I’m already preparing to lose my other birds that are double recessive like my white d’Anver Oliver and the new bobtails I acquired :-( Breeders don’t always vaccinate so I’m sure they aren’t and apparently bobtail coloration is recessive white with select albinism…which just sounds like weak genetics :-( Maybe I’ll get lucky and they are stronger than I think, but it’s better for me to prepare for the worst. Ugh, it’s so depressing and makes me feel like a terrible failure as a chicken mom 😢😢
He is so beautiful ☹💔
 
Yall I'm sorry I need to get caught up...but in a hurry n had quick question...
I'm boiling some of my girls eggs and I put them in the boiling water and after a few seconds I heard a pop...I looked and one had burst open.
Then another popped open and they aren't even back to a boiling state yet.
What's that mean?
 
$150 MORE! 😉😉😉♡♡♡!!! The first money drop off I did was a bag of $1's and change for about 500 hours of my work and foot work efforts lol. I called it chipping away- Today my chips are bigger and I hope one day soon she will tell me we hit the $1000 mark. That will be some cat food and cats getting flown to the mainland to their new homes etc!

I think your flock is lovely and you have breeds that some people only dream of. Lots to enjoy and perfect ♡
I'm a little sad about my brooder being empty but love being able to spend more time reconnecting with my crew. With the pandemic my flock goals changed and now that we are doing better with less insecurity I can take a step back and go back to my original plan. 12 hens 😂😂🤣😂😄🤣 ok. Maybe I can never go that far back. I'm happy to not have to part with any of my sweeties and just breathe in their loveliness. That feels really good.
Speaking of which. Spider needs a leg spa day and I look forward to it ♡♡♡

So, update on the cement pedestals that I did. View attachment 3397800View attachment 3397802View attachment 3397803
Passed the chicken inspection. Put them on a bench to further cure. Would like to find the time to mosaic these. It would be fun and prettty.
That is awesome that your bags are doing SSOO well! I can’t wait to start putting mine together. Currently going through a bag of puppy food in a week so I have LOTS of those bags. I will probably practice on those first since I have so many. I got the tread for it, just need to find some time to do it.

I love the pedestals too. My mom made some mum flower pots using the plastic Halloween jack-o-lantern buckets kids use for trick or treating and then set a cup inside of that to crest the hole needed to pot plants in. We have to get some concrete in the next couple days to put in our front yard fence, if any is if left over I might try this for myself as well. A concrete block doesn’t look as pretty, which is what I currently have.
 
Yall I'm sorry I need to get caught up...but in a hurry n had quick question...
I'm boiling some of my girls eggs and I put them in the boiling water and after a few seconds I heard a pop...I looked and one had burst open.
Then another popped open and they aren't even back to a boiling state yet.
What's that mean?
Water is hot and egg is cold? I always put my eggs in the cool water and then add flame or my eggs will burst. But if this is how you have always done it and never had a problem then I'd lean towards a thinner shell? Fresh egg? I know if my eggs are too fresh they are kind of a pain to peel.
 
That is awesome that your bags are doing SSOO well! I can’t wait to start putting mine together. Currently going through a bag of puppy food in a week so I have LOTS of those bags. I will probably practice on those first since I have so many. I got the tread for it, just need to find some time to do it.

I love the pedestals too. My mom made some mum flower pots using the plastic Halloween jack-o-lantern buckets kids use for trick or treating and then set a cup inside of that to crest the hole needed to pot plants in. We have to get some concrete in the next couple days to put in our front yard fence, if any is if left over I might try this for myself as well. A concrete block doesn’t look as pretty, which is what I currently have.
I look forward to hearing about it when you can. Congrats on the fence. You guys do stay super busy.
 
Oh no! Takes the fun right out of this right of passage. It is so hard being a parent 🤦‍♀️. Then they grow up and leave and never call and you stay racked with guilt with all of the stuff you could of should of done better lol. Then you get more chickens or go on a vacation.
I have been thinking of the https://tahititourisme.com/en-us/island/marquesas-islands/
And
https://www.kiribatitourism.gov.ki/kiribati-pacific-ocean-location/

It is pretty much dh's and YouTube fault
On those both look wonderful! I've been thinking about Hawaii...lol.
Oh yikes! I am dreading that rite of passage with Aria. She’s SO easily distracted and careless 😳😳 That sounds stressful!! I’m glad you made it home safely! ❤️

Thank you for saying that! It doesn’t feel that way haha, but it’s not bad for a coop I’m sorta just throwing together! 😁
Tami's got this crazy focus that's usually awesome...unless she's trying to talk AND drive 🤣. She drives good when she's quiet 🤐. I'm so glad she's the last to teach. She turns 18 at the end of this month. All my kids were born in February 🤣 :idunno . So anyway, bless her for her patience the last couple of years. She's off to college in August.
Yall I'm sorry I need to get caught up...but in a hurry n had quick question...
I'm boiling some of my girls eggs and I put them in the boiling water and after a few seconds I heard a pop...I looked and one had burst open.
Then another popped open and they aren't even back to a boiling state yet.
What's that mean?
I boil my eggs this way too. Straight from the fridge to the boiling water, then into cool water when done...makes them a lot easier to peel. The fresh eggs usually don't crack from it. So my guess would be the egg was older or had a flaw in the shell already. :idunno
 
Water is hot and egg is cold? I always put my eggs in the cool water and then add flame or my eggs will burst. But if this is how you have always done it and never had a problem then I'd lean towards a thinner shell? Fresh egg? I know if my eggs are too fresh they are kind of a pain to peel.
They were room temp eggs.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom