Where I live the power is sketchy a lot of the time (Alabama, you know!) I have a little thing-a-ma-bob that plugs into my truck’s cigarette lighter. (Showing my age here. It’s a power port or something like that now.
) Anyway, you can plug a regular 110v plug into it and wah-lah, electricity. I have used it many times for my incubator. Works like a charm and isn’t very expensive.
I've been really fortunate. I have a hen that seems to get sour crop once a year but other than that I don't even wear the same clothes that I wore when going to friend's houses that also have chickens, and now I hatch all of the chicks that I add to my flock personally so I know exactly what I'm putting in there. I also sell some of the chicks so I like to know for sure that I'm offering healthy chicks and chickens to people BUT even though I didn't completely finish reading through everyone's comments on the thread I will say that I don't feel we have all the control over what our chickens come in contact with even though I try really really hard. Especially here in Georgia, surrounded by trees and wild animals. Squirrels help themselves to the chicken food often and wild birds visit the yard that my chickens free range...so I think that it's inevitable that you eventually deal with something. It's just a matter of when and how you choose to deal with it when it happens.
I agree with you CluckNDoodle and it sounds like you do your best to practice biosecurity.I never really know what to say on those threads other than I try really hard to prevent illness in my own flock and have so far been successful.
I always say to stay humble because you never know when something will happen to your flock. I have had 2 incidences of coccidiosis in over 4 years of raising chickens. We live in GA, and sometimes conditions are just right for it. The weather will be too wet, muggy, and gross which creates an ideal environment for stuff to grow in. The strain of cocci that your birds have may not be the same as the chicks or breeders you just bought. It is one of the most depressing things I have had to cope with--the obsessive cleaning, medicating, trying to save birds, etc... The chicken life is not for the faint of heart.
I ended up not being able to go this year. We got a new puppy Wednesday and my daugher flew in on Friday for the weekend. All she wanted to do was play with the puppy. We didn't want to take the puppy to the show, so we just stayed home. I have Marans and funky frizzled NN eggs coming for next week to hatch while my sisters are all here in March. Should also be having baby goats then too!
