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msladyhawke said:
Always a good time. My advice: Go if you can!
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I worry about bio-security with anything I buy at auction, and I don't trust my self-control to only "just look".
As for selling, I worry that I might sell healthy birds to someone with a bad disease issue and get blamed for the diseases they already had. If I sell privately, I have a chance to "vet" the buyers (and I have dissuaded a few because I didn't feel like they would be good caretakers of "my chicks"). I probably worry too much about such things.
 
dheltzel said:
I worry about bio-security with anything I buy at auction, and I don't trust my self-control to only "just look".
As for selling, I worry that I might sell healthy birds to someone with a bad disease issue and get blamed for the diseases they already had. If I sell privately, I have a chance to "vet" the buyers (and I have dissuaded a few because I didn't feel like they would be good caretakers of "my chicks"). I probably worry too much about such things.
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That is a risk, very true.
My advice to anyone bringing in birds from someone else is to QUARANTINE for 4 weeks.
If you don't have a way to do that, don't buy. Not worth the risk.
It's not just birds from auctions, but birds bought at shows, or from friends. Always need to think about the bio-security of your flock.
Excellent point Dennis.
 
dheltzel said:
Tonight my wife took out family dog to be put to sleep. He was 14 and has been mostly blind and deaf for a while now, but went downhill very quickly the last few days. We adopted him at age 10 and gave him 4 excellent years. Gonna miss the little guy
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My heart goes out to you. My Max will be turning 14 at the end of the month.
He doesn't see very well anymore either.
I am thinking of adopting an older lap dog....
Here is Max with Percy 6 years ago...

 
Sorry for your losses guys. Seems like I'm not the only one having a rough week. The shipment never showed up and is officially lost. As well as a bunch of Ideals orders. Poor babies ):.

I am getting two turkey babies from a friend the beginning of May. Any special needs you guys know of please let me know. They are also going to hatch some of my frizzled roos girls eggs so I can see what comes of it. Not sure what i should do with eggs while collecting or how to tell if they're fertile. They will be going in brooder May 8th
 
msladyhawke said:
That is a risk, very true.
My advice to anyone bringing in birds from someone else is to QUARANTINE for 4 weeks.
If you don't have a way to do that, don't buy. Not worth the risk.
It's not just birds from auctions, but birds bought at shows, or from friends. Always need to think about the bio-security of your flock.
Excellent point Dennis.
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After going to an auction last weekend I've washed the clothes I was wearing. Is a normal household disinfectant for shoes sufficient?
I didn't wear the shoes I wear out to the coop, but I don't like the idea of a possible pathogen permanently stuck to them.
 
At what nighttime temp is it safe to unwrap my coop/run. Is 40 or just above too chilly? Obviously it is warm enough during the day, particularly today!! Only half of my girls roost inside their enclosed coop, the other half prefer the rafters of the run. Thanks!
 
If they're mature chickens, you can unwrap the coop at about 20 F below zero.

They need fresh air, not heat.

I've had 5 week old chicks outside with windows wide open down to 40F.
 
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Thank you. I figured they would be fine, but hubby worries. I had to talk him out of a heat lamp too. My flock are a year old...or mostly. I have 6 6-week-olds that I'll hold off another week or two, but just want to air out the coop/run and get it cleaned out for spring!!
 
Tell your hubby that chickens aren't fragile in any way, especially when it comes to temperature. I've lost a couple birds to heat but never to cold.
Their ancestors, the red jungle fowl, range extends into the Himalayan foothills. No one is providing a heat lamp for them.
Most of the breeds we raise were developed in cold climates, perhaps even hundreds of years ago. They lived outside without heat lamps.
A heat lamp is a waste of electricity. I do add a bit of heat for big combed roosters on coldest nights but the hens have never had a problem.
What breeds do you have?
 

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