And Now for the Sad News

So - it's not all exciting and fun in the farm world.
In my last post, I was so excited about my new silver laced cochins. 7 beautiful little chicks hatched after waiting so long.

Sadly - this past week, we had and outbreak of CRD in our barn/coop - and 6 of my 7 chicks died.
Finally, on Thursday, I took the last two and moved them up to the brooder box, where, at this moment, the last chick appears to be recovering. I have been medicating, and it has a heat lamp - no one is allowed into the area for fear of contamination. Chucky is devastated to have lost her entire brood.

For those of you who don't know a lot about CRD (chronic respiratory disease) - let me fill you in.

It is an insidious "mycoplasma" bacterium that invades the air sacs of the lungs of chickens. In itself - it is not a really bad disease. It is much like the common cold is in humans. However - what it does, is weakens the bird - and secondary infection will often jump in - take over - and the weaker birds will die very quickly.

It is Chronic. Meaning - the birds that survive will be carriers - and will continue to infect your flock forever.

What can you do? Most vetrinarians recommend either destroying and burning your entire flock, then scouring the coop with disinfectant - wait a month - then you can start over with a new flock - which is reasonable if you have a meat or layer flock.
The other option is to live with it (as I am doing because I love my chickens). Try not to stress your birds - treat it when it rears it's ugly head - AND - quarantine any and all new birds arriving at your farm for not One, not TWO - but FOUR!!!!! weeks.

I got it on my farm when a friend gave me some lovely little birds last year - which looked healthy - and I stupidly didn't quarantine them long enough. I introduced it to my flock - and it didn't rear it's head for 2-3 months.

Why did I lose my chicks? Well -they have NO immunities at birth - and it typically takes 26 weeks for young birds to develop their immunities. I had brought in a new group of birds (which I am quarantining for a month) - and we had a little extreme heat wave here, which probably stressed my flock out and another outbreak occurred. This outbreak is currently running through my flock - and will take about 10 - 12 days to subside. Some birds are completely unaffected. Any new birds in my flock that have never had it before are currently ill. I have lost 2 of my cuckoo marans. Everyone that shows signs of illness goes into a "hospital" cage up in my studio and receives extra care.
I have been in contact with a vet and instructed to treat with "tetracycline" based medication.
It works. Most birds who show symptoms are clearing up within 2 days of treatment.
I am also giving the birds crushed garlic to help build their immunities - most of them love it.

So - this isn't meant to scare anyone. It is just a cautionary message to say:
Be Aware! Ask questions when buying birds (is this in your flock? have your birds been sick?)
And don't be afraid to walk away if you don't get the answers you should, because although it is a nuisance - it can also cause a lot of heartbreak. Up until last year - I had never had a single sick bird in my flock - it just takes one lapse in judgment to change everything.

So - now - Off my soapbox.
In the next week or so -I will post some pictures of some of the new birds we do have (that are in quarantine).

New Chicks!!

This is very exciting news!

Well - if you're into chickens - it's very exciting news.

Last night and this morning - Chucky, my standard silver laced cochin hen hatched out 7 of her 10 eggs.

I am so excited!!!!!

For those of you that have been following.
(I'll fill in the blanks here).

Standard sized silver laced cochins are not all that plentiful around here yet.

Last year, I bought 2 hens from a lady (I shall keep my sources anonymous for selfish reasons).
She had imported them from the United States.

Unfortunately, and a long story - we had an illness hit our coop - and it killed off a great number of my prized hens - including one of the silver laced cochin hens. I was devastated, because these birds are so hard to find in Canada.

So - the search was on for more cochins - no luck. Finally
- after several months, my source called to say she had
found a rooster for me. I purchased him
(named him Romeo) - and immediately
proceeded to let him woo my little Chucky. That's Romeo in the picture.

I was concerned - as Romeo sounded a bit raspy last week. What a tragedy if I should lose him as
well - then what?





But Chucky didn't let me down!



21 days ago (to the day) - Chucky proceeded to set her eggs. Romeo was sent out to the coop to bother the other hens - as I fretted and worried - until last night when I heard the first little peep.

And this morning when I did my chores -
here's what I found:

They are so cute - and Chucky is the best mom.

The chicks all seem quite relaxed - when you go
near - they pop their heads out to see what is
going on. And they aren't in the slightest concerned when you pick them up.

This is going to be so much fun.

Of course - I have several people wanting
chicks in this area (it's going to be very hard to part with any of these little darlings).

But I am so happy - and excited - and much less worried now, as I have at least grown my little flock a bit - and hopefully will have some more silver laced cochin hens to keep the line going.

Stay tuned for more chicken news in the next few weeks - as I am expecting some more new additions to flock (not chicks) - but some much sought after breeds that I am finally able to get.

Until then - try to stay cool in this heat!

Got the Frizzles?

I said Frizzles - not Frizzies.

I have to say that these are possibly the cutest - and funniest looking chickens I have ever had.

I brought home 4 bantam cochin Frizzles in May as day old chicks. Now - Frizzle is a gene that causes the feathers to curl.

Two of the chicks are definitely displaying the
frizzles - two of the chicks are not - but will be carriers. I'm thinking that bot of these are hens - but I'm still not too sure about the white one - it might be a rooster - in any case - it's very shy.

I can't wait to play with these chicks - and do some cross breeding onto my other birds.


I might even try something like this guy:

He's a polish X frizzle bantam.

I'm still not sure whether to laugh or just feel sorry for him.

Last Lamb of 2009

This morning - the last lamb of 2009 was born at Kalwa Taure Shetlands.

I arrived at the barn at 8 am to find this lovely little ewe lamb born to Kalwa Taure Trinity and sired by Cherrington Harry.

She was already up and feeding - all cleaned up and ready to go.

Trinity is a first time mom - and very attentive, especially since she was in the ewe pen with 5 other ewes and their lambs.

So - lambing is done for 2009. Lucky for us, it was a ewe year.

Totals: 6 lambs - 4 ewes, 2 rams.

Let the races begin!

A Surprising Turn of Events

Well - we've had a little surprise in the turn of events surrounding Merlin.




Merlin was to have been euthanized late last week, or early this week given the nature of his spinal injury.



However - due to circumstances - we held off for a few days.



Yesterday - my good friend Cate - who works at OVC, contacted me to say that another option had been presented to medically manage Merlins symptoms, which we have decided to try.



So - as of yesterday afternoon, Merlin went home to Earendal Farm with Cate and Al, where, she informs me he is resting comfortably this morning and is bright and alert.



We know that of course - this is only management of his condition, and that we can't prolong the inevitable forever - however, we are hoping that in this non aggressive environment, he may be able to rest and regain enough strength to possibly enjoy his time here a little bit longer. And, we are hoping to possibly (this is a huge hope) have him sire some more lambs for us before the
inevitable happens. He is just such a beautiful ram to lose his genetics.



So - fingers are crossed - and let's hope for the best. Good luck Cate, Al - and Merlin.

New Life

I want to thank everyone who offered kind thoughts over the loss of our Merlin.

He was such a grand gentleman, and we will miss him terribly.

Although this week has been very sad for us with the loss of Merlin - we have also had some great happiness as well:


First on the list is this little cutie. A little ewe lamb was born to Kalwa Taure Jillian and Cherrington Harry. Both Jillian and Harry are gray - our little ewe lamb (as yet nameless - will
also be grey - like her mom).

We have one more sheep to lamb - at least we think she's pregnant (she may just be fat). We aren't so sure as she was put in with Merlin, and now, given his condition, we are quite understanding that she may not be pregnant.









Another source of great joy this week has been:



ROMEO!


I think I'm in love :-)


I have spent many months searching for a
silver laced cochin rooster to go with Chucky -
and last week - an aquaintance of mine e-mailed to say she had found me a rooster - and only a half hour away.


Romeo weighs in somewhere around 10 - 12 pounds - he's a BIG boy! Currently, he's in quarantine - and we all stand around and ogle him in the evenings. The silver laced pattern in cochins is still fairly rare - around here at least. I am just over the moon with this guy.


And - then we had a little miracle here on Wednesday night - the same night I brought Romeo home. As I was bringing him into the barn - I noticed a lifeless baby (just born) chick laying on the concrete just inside the barn door.

Obviously - a bantam Old English Game Hen of mine that had nested in the hay loft - had lost one of her eggs - and when the chick hatched - it fell down along the wall - and onto the concrete floor below - poor thing. Momma hen wanted nothing to do with this chick - she already had 10 others. So - my darling Chucky was sitting on an empty nest - I slipped the chick underneath her (figuring it would die).


There is a higher power out there - a few hours
later the chick was peeping away underneath her new mommy.

Chucky is Ecstatic with her new baby - just look at that size difference! (Click on the picture to make it larger). I was going to take it away from her and put it into the brooder - but I don't have
the heart. Romeo - you will have to wait until
Chucky is done raising her "brood"

All together now: AWWWWW!!!!

A Grand Old Gentleman

Well - this seems to be a year of losses - and sadness.

Unfortunately - this Friday, we will be euthanizing one of the best rams that I have ever had - or seen.

Cherrington Merlin: 2001 - ??? (see post dated June 23rd).

Sadly - Merlin has suffered a spinal cord injury that has left him very weak, and it has been decided that the most humane treatment will be to euthanize him.

I suspected problems earlier this year, when I noticed that he was losing weight - and staying away from the other rams. After shearing in early May, we noticed that his condition had deteriorated - and he was holding up one leg and curling the toes (not a good sign).
This past weekend, we transferred Merlin to the Ontario Vetrinary Clinic at the University of Guelph, so that he could receive the very best care possible from the top veterinarians in
Ontario. My very Good Friend Cate works at OVC, and has been a super help - both with setting up the arrangements - and explaining all of the tests and results to me.

Sadly - the diagnosis that came in today was that there was damage to the spinal cord (most likely from "Ram Play") - and that it would be most humane to euthanize him - as he was only going to lose complete mobility in his hind end.

So - sadly, this Friday, we will be euthanizing Merlin.
To his credit - he had a most wonderful Blue Gray fleece - a gentle demeanor - and gorgeous horns. He also gave us some wonderful lambs - for which we will be forever grateful.

Good-bye to a Grand old Gentleman