Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[ozexpat]

Ha, we are going to have a heat wave on Thursday. The forecast is 33' phew were not accustomed to that , here on the apple isle.

33 may buckle the railroads

 

[Bens-Hens]

33 is warm, I went for a run last night and it had cooled down to about 34, it was 8pm before I could head out!

I have not grabbed any pics, but I am confident now we have one male and one female Coro, one is feathering out differently to the other. If that is the case, we will keep him I think and put him over the other Coro and our two LS's.

Then rocks are showing their early bars, but one seems to have lost all the black in the leg line but both seem to have small combs still so the jury is out with them.

 

[Fancychooklady]

33 is warm, I went for a run last night and it had cooled down to about 34, it was 8pm before I could head out!

I have not grabbed any pics, but I am confident now we have one male and one female Coro, one is feathering out differently to the other. If that is the case, we will keep him I think and put him over the other Coro and our two LS's.

Then rocks are showing their early bars, but one seems to have lost all the black in the leg line but both seem to have small combs still so the jury is out with them.

Yay, long live the king!!

 

[Fancychooklady]

33 may buckle the railroads

What railroads? A Scottish diver from barrow island off WA just paid us a visit. He got sunburn today. He like many others swears that the sun has more bite in it here. Could have something to do with our proximity to the hole in the ozone.

 

[CB and CG]

Hi Ben, thought you may be interested in seeing this years Australorp pullets. They are 14 weeks old.

Blue Pullet 1


Blue Pullet 2


Black Pullet 1


Black Pullet 2

 

[babyfoot]

Quote: I'll never forget when I lived back home in Scotland and my hubby's family came over from Perth (OZ) to visit us. It was July, hot 27c(hot for us) in Scotland and they were shivering, wrapped up in coats and scarves but wearing sunglasses for the bright sun. I was in a sundress and was BBQ'ing. Next day when I saw them they all had burnt faces and white ,marks where their shades had been. Don't underestimate the scottish sun

 

[Bens-Hens]

Hi Ben, thought you may be interested in seeing this years Australorp pullets. They are 14 weeks old.

Blue Pullet 1


Blue Pullet 2


Black Pullet 1


Black Pullet 2

Very cool indeed! Your blues have similar colour separation to our boy's, but very different boy shapes. They look much redder in the face than I would have expected for the age, might have to make me re-think one of my blacks.

Yours also seem more slender than Luna was around that age. I am guessing your is more 'correct' for type than our big girl. Looking forward to seeing what our fill out like as they were from a different supplier than Luna was.

Thanks for sharing.

I'll never forget when I lived back home in Scotland and my hubby's family came over from Perth (OZ) to visit us. It was July, hot 27c(hot for us) in Scotland and they were shivering, wrapped up in coats and scarves but wearing sunglasses for the bright sun. I was in a sundress and was BBQ'ing. Next day when I saw them they all had burnt faces and white ,marks where their shades had been. Don't underestimate the scottish sun

The UV's can get you at any temp, I got 'raccoon eyes' in Afghanistan on a day that was about 5/6 deg C, skies were clear and I had the chance to wear just sunnies on my head. Was weird to be cold yet still get burnt! Pretty glad out little heat wave has broken here, the kids were getting knocked about by that a bit.

No new pics to share at the moment, but am happy to report that the little Maran that kept an eye closed is using it now, not 100% yet but better than the last two days. I was planning on advertising a few of the chicks this weekend, but not sure if that is a good idea to sell little roosters right before christmas, or wait for the new year and sell them all off when they are a couple of weeks closer to layer feed.

 

[CB and CG]

They are slender at this age however they are very large. They start to fill out and gain weight at about 5 months. My girls are looking correct to type at this stage however they will change a lot in the next two months. They are from the same line as ours so they are developing in the way we generally expect ours to mature. The last girl probably conforms the worst type wise at this stage but we will see as she matures. Notice how her tail is quite pointed however the other three girls have a more round shape to their tails.

The blues are both acceptable colour wise. They are actually closer in colour than what the pics show. I do expect the darker one to have very good lacing when she matures as their is a very nice contrast between her ground colour and her lacing. Will post more pics when they mature.

 

[NovaAman]

oh those are some pretty pullets!

 

[ozexpat]

from: http://www.wattagnet.com/165572.html

Marek’s disease control still a challenge for poultry industry

While not changing rapidly, the Marek’s disease virus is gradually evolving over time, which keeps it front and center as a serious health problem for the broiler and egg layer industries.
Release Date: 12/19/2013

The development of the first Marek's disease vaccine in the late 1960's was a major accomplishment in the history of animal health, according to Dr. Isabel Gimeno, associate professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University. She told the audience at the "Managing Marek's disease for your most valued birds" webinar, sponsored by Zoetis and presented by WATT Global Media on December 18, 2013, that the original Marek's vaccine was the first successful vaccine for a tumor-causing disease.
Gimeno, whose primary research interest is Marek's disease, said that the Marek's disease virus has evolved over time, and it will continue to present a challenge for poultry producers. She said that the original HVT vaccine for Marek's disease was effective from its introduction in 1969 until the 1980s, when it was replaced with bivalent vaccines, which were replaced themselves in the 1990s with the Rispens vaccines. The Maerek's disease viruses in the field continue to evolve and become more virulent, she said.
Vaccination tips
Management and correct use of vaccines are critical for protecting against the Marek's disease virus, according to Gimeno. She said that in ovo vaccination provides better protection against the Marek's virus for the bird than does subcutaneous vaccination. For farms that have a severe Marek's challenge, she recommended in ovo vaccination with HVT followed by day-of-age vaccination with a Rispens vaccine. She cautioned that, in all cases, it is important to administer the full dose of vaccine to all birds.
High challenge situations
Dr. Kalen Cookson, director of clinical research, Zoetis, said that Marek's disease related mortality is just the "tip of the iceberg" when evaluating the true cost of the disease. He said that the immune suppression that non-fatal Marek's infections can cause is a major threat for flocks.
Cookson said that on farms with a strong Marek's disease virus challenge from a particularly virulent strain, using a Rispens vaccine gives significantly better protection than do conventional bivalent vaccines in both broilers and breeders and table egg layers. He said that Low-passaged "European" Rispens CVI-988 gives the greatest margin of efficacy in high challenge situations.
View the on-demand webinar here. ​