Predators and Pests

Predators 

Here is a good list of clues that predators leave, it might tell you what happened to your birds:

Pests

Mites, lice and sometimes even ticks like to live on your birds.  This will drain their energy and their health will decline. 
Here is a site that shows what the mites and lice look like and where it is likely to find them on your bird.  http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

Treatment of Pests

I have used several things with varying degrees of success and difficulty. Most of these treatments you want to do about 3 times a year.

The first obvious choice is dusting powder.  This one is a 10 on the work scale for me because I have a lot of birds but it would be good for small flocks.  You have to catch each bird, dust it all over, (like you would dust a dog or cat with flea powder) especially under the wings and by the vent  and work it in the feathers with your hands.  You want to wear a dust/paint mask so that you do not breathe the dust.  Then you have to dust each bird again 2 weeks later to kill the bugs that have hatched from the eggs.  The dusting powder does not kill eggs.   Remember that mites get off the birds during the day, so they are in your roosts and coops too.  Dust all over the coop and roosts as well.  Her is a link to the kind I have used; http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=64

The next product I have used is call Frontline.  It is a dog flea and tick product.  I find this a 2 on the difficulty scale and a 7 or 8 success rate.   I go in after dark and do it while they are on the roost.  I buy the Frontline at Costco, buying the largest dog size you can get. (best savings)  I squeezed the frontline out into a small bowl or container and then sucked it up with a 3 cc syringe (no needle).  I used this to drop 2 drops on banties and 3 drops on large fowl. (on the skin on the back of the neck)  Here is a link to the one I bought; http://www.frontline.com/prd_tools.asp.  I got 3 ampules for around $38.  I found that one ampule dosed 30-40 birds. 

The next product I have used it called Ivomec Eprinex.  It is a cattle product for outer and inner parasites.  So it worms your birds while it gets rid of the bugs too!  I like this product the best so far, because it does double duty!   I also use a 3 cc syringe for this and use the following drops: Lf chickens get 5 drops my goose gets 10 my Muscovy girls get 6 and my drakes 8 my bantam chickens get 3 drops my standard chickens get 4 What i like about the Epernix is it is safe to continue to eat the eggs after using instead of having to toss then.  I have been using these dosages for almost 3 years and have never had a problem.

Coops

Here is what kind of roosts I use in a large, walk-in type coop.  They are sturdy, cheap and easy to make. http://www.poultryhelp.com/barnpens5.html

This weekend we got a new goose brought to us.  She (we hope) was dumped at a park in Mount Lake Terrace (north Seattle) and was being abused by kids and dogs and starving.  And since she doesn't belong there and was making a mess, the city wanted to put her down!  UGH!   Some very nice people took an interest in her and talked to me.  I told them if they caught her and brought her to me, I would get her back to health and find her a good home (if we don't keep her ourselves).  Her name is Gertrude, we call her Gurty, the purty birdy! te he
She is very friendly, but scared of the dogs and if you carry anything (I think people tried to hit her with objects ={ so sad!) and being alone.  Last night when I opened my gate and let my geese into the other pasture, they all left her and she got very upset.  So I brought Goosey (my sebbie gander) over to keep her company and then she was happy!
She is a beautiful toulouse goose.

 Here is Gurty hanging out with Goosey and the two gray goslings through the fence.  They are fast friends.

My seb goslings are getting big!

Remember our sebbie goose hatched 5 goslings about a month ago?  They are getting so big so fast!  Today they were feeling their oats and decided to try out the big boy pool for the first time!
Here are some pics of the pool party.

New Sebbie Goslings!

Hi yall!  My new sebbie goslings arrived today!  I am so excited to introduce Pish Posh (the gander), Poppyseed and Sassafrass.  They traveled all the way from Florida and took two days through "overnight" mail.  But they arrived in good shape.  Pish Posh has a small puncture wound from the hay in the box, but we are treating and expect it to heal up nicely.  Here are some pictures of them.

Here they are taking their bath after traveling a long way in a box.  The two bigger gray ones are the girls and the smaller blonde one is the boy.

And here they are exploring the living room.  Little Pish Posh kept running away from the camera! The girls loved their pics taken!  The breeder seems to have taught them not to nibble on fingers.  What a great idea!  Pat, are you reading?  She says to say a firm no and tap them on the nose.  It may be hard to break now, but you can always try.  I love my new goosies!

More sebbies!

I have some really exciting news!  As you know, my geese hatched 5 goslings this spring.  They are doing very well and getting huge!  They are almost ready to go out into the big wide world, but since I lost a hen to an eagle yesterday, they will stay in a locked pen a while longer.  Mom, dad and aunt pace the outside of the gosling pen, but this way they are safe.

Sebastopol geese come in colors besides white.  They come in buff, gray, saddleback and some others too.  I have been wanting some colored sebbies for a while now.  I found a breeder in Florida who breeds colored sebbies, with reasonable prices and will ship them in a healthy way and I bought three yesterday!  I bought two dark gray girls and a boy who will likely be lighter colored, like a lavender or splash.  They are 2 weeks old and will ship to me next week.  I am so excited!  Here are some pictures of them.

The two girls.  I decided to name them Sassafrass and Poppyseed.

Here is the boy.  I know it's not a very good pic, but she promised to take more soon.  His name will be Pish Posh.

Here is a picture of what the girls will look like. (and this is Pish Posh's dad)

Isn't he gorgeous?  He is flapping his wings if you wondered...

I will update you if I get more pictures and of course, when they arrive.  Happy Spring!

Sebastopol Goslings 2012

This year I took 6 eggs from my sebbie geese and let them have the rest to set on.  Well I hatched 3 out of 6 eggs in the incubator and they were adorable!  They imprinted on us and we had so much fun spending time with them, but they were presold.  So yesterday the new owners picked them up.  The house is really quiet.  Here are some pictures of them.

Here they are when they first came out of the hatcher and they were still a little wet.

Here they are on day 2. They are nice a fluffy and very curious!  So cute.  They follow us around and come when you call.  They also call for me occasionally.

Here they are on day 4 playing outside in the sunshine.  The adult geese were nearby and honking and the babies would look up like who said that?  te he

Then my goose, Snow White set on 8 eggs and she hatched 5 goslings under her!  They are cute and not friendly, but that is okay, it makes them integrate with the geese much easier.  Snow White is doing a good job taking care of them.  They are about 1 week old now.
Here are some pics of them.

My other goose, Baby Nibbles was setting on 6 eggs too, but she decided she would rather help take care of the 5 goslings instead and abandoned her nest.  That is okay with me, 5 goslings is enough to add to our flock. Now Nibbles is helping Snow take care of the babies.   Happy Easter everyone!

Feeding and Watering your flock

Here is a quick way to make a water warmer.  It will keep your water bowl or fountain from freezing during winter.  (unless you have extreme temperatures)
http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/2011/11/make-cookie-tin-waterer-heater-under-10.html

Here is a DIY project to make a chicken feeder;  http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/search/label/PVC%20feeder%20DIY

Here are some projects you can do with those feed sacks that ad up: http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/search/label/feed%20bag%20tote
and  http://sherryscrazymenagerie.blogspot.com/2012/03/feed-sack-tote-bags.html

Here is a recipe and info on mixing your own organic feed:
 http://www.examiner.com/article/create-your-own-chicken-feed

And here is a DIY make a chicken waterer with a bucket.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352805971448136.87854.100001562094838&type=1

Peeling Fresh Boiled Eggs

I usually let my eggs get 1 week old before boiling and I don't have any trouble peeling them, but if you don't have the time try this; http://eggcartonlabels.blogspot.com/2011/08/hardboil-peel-fresh-eggs-my-tuna-egg.html

Feed Sack Tote Bags

Every wonder what to do with all of your feed sacks?  Here is one way you can recycle them!  Here is the site with instructions on how to make them!  http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/01/make-your-own-feed-bag-tote.html