Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[gonehencrazy]

My new run is a FAIL in this wind! 3/4 of them are scared of the flapping plastic. They are soaked! I put the heat lamp on so the coop warms up and they can dry but only the rooster and my always cold CL are in the coop. The rest are huddled under their teepee which is clearly not blocking sideways rain. I feel sooo bad.

 

[Then I Will]

Hey yall!
New PA resident here. I had chickens back in Mobile, Alabama, sold them to travel to Europe, married a guy from PA, and followed him to our cozy new home in North Annville, PA. Now that we've settled down a few months... I'm interested in raising a rare breed of chicken for the preservation of the breed.

I'm on the lookout specifically for Black Sumatras. I'm told it would be ideal to get the birds from a Breeder instead of a hatchery. So, while the "state of the art" coop plans are being reviewed by dear husband, Anybody know any breeders nearby? Even in other New England states?

 

[stake]

That makes sense. Guess I'm going to learn as I go...

Got my blue tub delivered yesterday. Such a deal! They are still selling these at TSC for $350, I paid a lot less. Right now, it will be a chicken shelter for snow/ rain. It may be a large chick brooder in the spring. It may be a pool for me in the Summer. It doesn't look real big, but its 8' by 2'.

Also a great place for chooks to hide from hawks....

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Hey yall!
New PA resident here.  I had chickens back in Mobile, Alabama, sold them to travel to Europe, married a guy from PA, and followed him to our cozy new home in North Annville, PA.  Now that we've settled down a few months...   I'm interested in raising a rare breed of chicken for the preservation of the breed.  

I'm on the lookout specifically for Black Sumatras.  I'm told it would be ideal to get the birds from a Breeder instead of a hatchery.  So, while the "state of the art" coop plans are being reviewed by dear husband, Anybody know any breeders nearby?  Even in other New England states?  

Welcome, from Cambria county! I can't help with the Sumatras but, if you have Facebook, there are a couple Pennsylvania poultry and farm swap pages that you could ask on

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

That makes sense. Guess I'm going to learn as I go... Got my blue tub delivered yesterday. Such a deal! They are still selling these at TSC for $350, I paid a lot less. Right now, it will be a chicken shelter for snow/ rain. It may be a large chick brooder in the spring. It may be a pool for me in the Summer. It doesn't look real big, but its 8' by 2'.

Looks great but tie it down. If wind catches under it right it will flip it over in a second. 2 ropes cross crossed over it and tied to cement blocks on the ground should work.

Thanks, I'm not worried about it going anywhere, it would just hit a tree. I am only concerned about it Trapping a chicken, haha.

My new run is a FAIL in this wind! 3/4 of them are scared of the flapping plastic. They are soaked! I put the heat lamp on so the coop warms up and they can dry but only the rooster and my always cold CL are in the coop. The rest are huddled under their teepee which is clearly not blocking sideways rain. I feel sooo bad.

Aw that stinks. This stuff is a learning process for us all.

That makes sense. Guess I'm going to learn as I go... Got my blue tub delivered yesterday. Such a deal! They are still selling these at TSC for $350, I paid a lot less. Right now, it will be a chicken shelter for snow/ rain. It may be a large chick brooder in the spring. It may be a pool for me in the Summer. It doesn't look real big, but its 8' by 2'.

Also a great place for chooks to hide from hawks....

Indeed!

Hey yall! New PA resident here. I had chickens back in Mobile, Alabama, sold them to travel to Europe, married a guy from PA, and followed him to our cozy new home in North Annville, PA. Now that we've settled down a few months... I'm interested in raising a rare breed of chicken for the preservation of the breed. I'm on the lookout specifically for Black Sumatras. I'm told it would be ideal to get the birds from a Breeder instead of a hatchery. So, while the "state of the art" coop plans are being reviewed by dear husband, Anybody know any breeders nearby? Even in other New England states?

Welcome! I don't know of any breeders here of Black Sumatras.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

I picked up my little bantam Cochin hen today. It was pouring rain and she was pretty wet, so I didn't have a chance to give her a look over. Now that she has settled into her cage in the garage, I see she may be sick. Maybe a sinus infection? Her eyes had bubbles or foam in them, and at first I thought maybe they were irritated by the pine shavings. But as I just looked at her closer, it looks like she has some swelling around her nostrils (nares?). I am thinking of topically applying some diluted tea tree oil around her beak and sinuses.

 

[BullChick]

Good luck!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Today is a sad day here. We woke up to find that our 12 year old siberian Husky passed away in the night She was a mischievious brat right up until the end. Dreamy will be teriibly missed.

 

[BullChick]

 

[dheltzel]

I picked up my little bantam Cochin hen today. It was pouring rain and she was pretty wet, so I didn't have a chance to give her a look over. Now that she has settled into her cage in the garage, I see she may be sick. Maybe a sinus infection? Her eyes had bubbles or foam in them, and at first I thought maybe they were irritated by the pine shavings. But as I just looked at her closer, it looks like she has some swelling around her nostrils (nares?). I am thinking of topically applying some diluted tea tree oil around her beak and sinuses.

Definitely keep her isolated until she is over that, it is likely MG, which is very common (I believe wild birds are frequent carriers). An acute flare up can kill a bird, but they generally get over it fine and seem to retain immunity (there is a vaccine, but not commonly used).

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? These are what I've used:
Oxytetracyline
Tylosine (Tylan)

You cannot buy these any longer in a form that is meant to be put in the water, but injectable forms of both are still sold by TSC all the time. I have given the injectible Tylan orally. It is considerably more expensive per unit of active ingredient. I prefer to use Oxytet over Tylan, it is cheaper and seems to be stronger in combating MG/MS.