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We are trying to put into place a bird flu prevention program before H5N2 actually gets to Virginia. I have 4 kids in 4-H who raise poultry and we have several different flocks. The thought of our kids' birds being "depopulated" makes my blood run cold -- half are pets, and to say that would be...

I am experienced with chickens and ducks but a complete newbie to geese. A pair of Sebastopols was gifted to me last weekend. I know they are a bit older, probably around 8 years, and I know I can expect few eggs, so I want to maximize the chances of hatching whatever I can. I'd be thrilled to...

Today I was gifted a pair of 10-year-old Sebastopols. The gander had become the bottom of the pecking order and was being thrashed constantly by the younger and larger ganders. The lady who gave him to me graciously gave me his mate as well to keep him company. They will be the only geese at...

We've raised and shown chickens and ducks for many years so I am pretty thoroughly acquainted with their needs, but I have just been offered a pair of Sebastopol geese. I have wanted a couple of Sebbies forever and I can't pass this up! Now, however, I need to figure out how they are going to...

My sons are 4-Hers and showed their Indian Runner and Welsh Harlequin ducks at the county fair this week. We had deep waterers for them since they were at the fair for 2 1/2 days and we knew they would need water to clean their nares. The Runners emptied that dish as quickly as we could fill...

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) 1 1/2 year old Sussex hen --has always been small in size compared to the others, but lively and healthy 2) What is the behavior, exactly. Extremely swollen legs, "squishy" with fluid, cold...

I've tried to find the answer to this with no success. Here's the scenario: we have several flocks of birds. We also have 5 young kids ranging in age from 10 down to 6 mos. My kids' show birds (bantams) are all kept in enclosed, movable coops and locked up at night. We also have a...

I've been reading a lot about how the current drought and heat means corn prices are going to spike, and I'm sure I'll be horrified at how much a 50# of feed is going to cost in a month or so. How long can pelleted all-grain feed be stored safely? I'm going to Southern States this afternoon...

9 year old DD has shown her birds for a few years now, and has one of her two annual shows coming up in a month. Lo and behold, she pulled out one of her birds today and yuck!! Scabby, gross vent and white specks in the underfluff. About a year ago we moved and we now have free-ranging birds...

My daughter is downsizing her show flock and is offering a trio of bantam Ameraucanas from John Blehm's line. The cock is blue wheaten, 1 1/2 years old, a proven producer of nice babies (his daughter won Reserve Champion AOCCL and his son won Champion AOCCL and overall Reserve Champion Bantam in...

My daughter is downsizing her show flock and is offering a trio of bantam Ameraucanas from John Blehm's line. The cock is blue wheaten, 1 1/2 years old, a proven producer of nice babies (his daughter won Reserve Champion AOCCL and his son won Champion AOCCL and overall Reserve Champion Bantam in...

DD has been showing her bantam Ameraucanas for a couple of years now and really enjoying it. She's always entered her birds individually, but this year there's the option to enter as a trio and we're wondering how that works. How is a trio judged? Are the birds basically judged individually...

I set runner duck eggs for my first duck hatch. They were due to hatch on Tuesday (16th). I had 3 hatch on Monday, 3 on Tuesday, 3 on Wednesday, 1 on Thursday, and 1 is hatching now (Friday). All of the ducklings are healthy and vigorous, but after 5 days of hatching the incubator is really...

Offered for sale are two bantam cockerels, true Ameraucanas from John Blehm's line. Their father is a blue wheaten (pic above, he usually has a nice beard but one of his girls has picked it out), their mothers wheaten (for a pic go to http://charlottesville.craigslist.org/grd/2436188636.html)...

My Buff/Runner cross Violet is in the process of hatching her first ducklings after being an excellent broody. She has 6 eggs and so far has hatched 2. I'm trying to get everything set up for the babies so all's ready when she lets them off the nest. I have two 4 oz. jelly jars with water and...

Ugh! This is our first hatch, using a HovaBator 1588. We did candle all eggs so I know this is not a "rotten egg" smell, just a nasty-broken-eggshell-and membrane-and-gunk smell. We had 6 hatch yesterday, 2 today, one who appeared to die while hatching, and one more pipping now. I am...

I am new to ducks so please be patient! My duck started acted broody last Sunday, so I let her keep her eggs and she's been adding an egg a day of her own, plus whatever I've snuck under her from someone else. She has a total of 8 eggs now. She's been sitting tight ever since Sunday evening...

I am new to ducks so please be patient! My duck started acted broody last Sunday, so I let her keep her eggs and she's been adding an egg a day of her own, plus whatever I've snuck under her from someone else. She has a total of 8 eggs now. She's been sitting tight ever since Sunday evening...

My broody duck is MEAN and I'm afraid to candle! Will it be okay to just let her go and see what hatches, or do I really have to candle? I'm not sure how to do it without suffering serious broody-inflicted injury. I never manage to catch her when she's off the nest.

My sweet duck Violet (a Runner/Buff cross) started acting broody yesterday, so I let her keep yesterday's eggs (one from her, one from her flockmate Primrose) hoping she'd add more. Today there are two more, one from each, and Violet is sitting tight and hissing at me. I want her to sit on as...