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Posted on 06/01/2005 7:34:38 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.
I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!
I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and Becky pings everyone most mornings. Let Becky (Paynoattentionmanbehindthecurtain) and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.
So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
Previous threads:
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
HHHMMMMMMM...well I'm glad that is working for you. I wish it had for me.
Becky
That's true...you can almost get them for free at hatcheries, from what I understand...of certain breeds of course...not Cornish Cross, which is what my meat chickens are. The roos are the good stuff with them!
I'm pretty sure that roo chicks that are not a dual-purpose chicken (meat/eggs) are incinerated at the hatchery.
I may get a bunch when I get my farm and raise them just for the soup value. At least there'd be some purpose to their lives.
Well I've read a bunch of stuff, but I still can't really tell if a chicken is a hen or rooster till they are full grown....
If I had known you might have used them, I would have asked:). I just hated putting the killing of them off on someone else.
Becky
No, I see the difference. I think that the hens will eat the bugs and you don't even need the roosters unless you want more chickens.
Heh! The major slaughter will only happen when we're on our land. Our current meat chickens will be processed in our back yard...but there's only two of 'em.
I'm working on getting four more, but that's the extent of it. We're flying under the radar here with our neighbors. LOL!
I've noticed you comment on chickens and neighbors before:) But do you know if your covenants ban haveing poultry in your addition specifically? I've wondered about that. That housing addition on the north side of 64 after you pass Fox Mart, has a flock of Guinea's that roam the neighbor hood. It's kindof funny. Alot of the people there put out grain for them. I've even seen them out on 64, yikes:) I know a while back the flock got wiped out by something, and several of the families got together and ordered some new ones, one lady raised them then turned them loose and they slowly learned to roam like the first flock did. The neighborhood lkes them because of the bug control it gives. It really doesn't take alot of chickens to control a fairly big area. I'm just wondering if you couldn't get something like that going in your neighborhood:), altho your neighborhood isn't as "country" as the one I'm talking about even tho it's in town.
Becky
Our covenant is quite clear...we can have as many chickens as we need for our personal family consumption...can't sell out of the back yard, so to speak. BUT, that covenant was written back in the fifties and if we hack off our neighbors, I'm pretty sure they'd work to get it changed.
So, to keep that from happening, and so we don't have trouble with our neighbors, we keep things "small" voluntarily.
Well, having learned alot about covenants, if you bought your property under one set of covenants and those covenants get changed the changes don't affect you. You are grandfathered in under the old ones. If/when you sold your house the new owners would have to go by the new covenants. Now IF that argument would hold up in a court is another question...and who needs the headache of pissing off a neighbor if your satisfied with what you have anyway. I'm not trying to get a war started:), I was just curious about the rules in your neighborhood.
Becky
Ha ha!!
Eggsactly. I like our neighbors and we're mostly just being considerate.
Puffy (our mean hen that quit laying) will be processed for soup the same time as our meat chickens. That will mean we'll have only 5 hens. If we get 4 meat chickens, I honestly think that is the limit our back yard could handle anyway without just being unmanageable or nasty. I like my back yard and don't want to turn it into one big chicken run! LOL!!
But should I start another thread? The FreeRepublic Chicken Club? LOL It sounds like a sandwich.
Anthrax Detected in Texas by: Press Release July 2005 Article # 5893
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) announced today that ranches in Sutton County have laboratory-confirmed cases of anthrax in horses, deer, and cattle. Laboratory results are pending for several other sites in the county, where livestock and deer losses have been reported. Although this bacterial disease occurs almost yearly in this region of the state, cases have not been confirmed within Sutton County for more than 20 years. Typically, outbreaks are in Val Verde, Edwards, Kinney, and Uvalde counties, but on rare occasions, cases have been confirmed as far south as Starr County, reports Thurman Fancher, DVM, director for Area 6 (West Texas) of the TAHC.
"Anthrax is under-reported, because many ranchers in this area automatically dispose of carcasses and vaccinate livestock when they find dead animals that are bloated or bloody--common signs of the disease," said Fancher. "Anthrax is a reportable disease, however, and it's important to know when an outbreak occurs, so other ranchers can be notified to vaccinate."Fancher explained that it is common to see death losses in one pasture, but not across the fence. However, all livestock in an infected area should be vaccinated, to prevent potential losses.
There is no effective, approved manner to deliver anthrax vaccine to grazing wildlife that cannot be captured and confined.
Fancher said that during the anthrax outbreak, deer owners enrolled in the chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance program are to report death losses, but they should check with their private veterinary practitioners before collecting brain tissue from the animal for CWD testing. "If a dead deer has clinical signs of anthrax, we may need to avoid opening the carcass," he said. CWD has not been detected in Texas.
"Anthrax is an ancient disease that occurs worldwide. The first reports in livestock date back to 1500 B.C.," noted Fancher. "When an infected animal dies, the ground becomes contaminated with the spores of Bacillus anthracis- bacteria, unless the carcass and soil are purified with a very hot fire. Even though spores do not multiply or spread underground, they can lie dormant in soil for decades, awaiting the perfect combination of weather and soil conditions to become vegetative. Animals then are exposed to the disease when they eat grass contaminated with the bacteria."
TAHC regulations require that the affected animal's bedding, its carcass, and nearby manure be burned with wood, diesel or gasoline (tires and oil create too much pollution), to cleanse the ground. Do not open carcasses. If there is a burn ban in the area, contact the TAHC Area 6 office in Lampasas at 800/658-6642 for disposal information.
Livestock on the premises must then be vaccinated and held under quarantine for a short time, to ensure any anthrax-exposed animals are not moved from the premises. Laboratory tests, conducted by the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station, are needed to confirm infection, and suspected cases should be reported to private veterinary practitioners or the TAHC's headquarters in Austin at 800/550-8242."
Anyone handling or burning carcasses, or vaccinating livestock against anthrax should wear long sleeves and gloves. Exposure can cause a nasty, black sore that requires medical attention and antibiotics. General sanitation procedures should be followed after handling livestock, and equipment used on the animals should be disinfected. Pets should be kept from dead carcasses or bones of dead animals, which may pose a disease risk. Healthy animals should be moved from anthrax-contaminated areas.
"Visitors to the area should not be alarmed by anthrax," said Fancher. "Just leave dead animals alone, and don't pick up shed antlers or old animal bones. By the time the area's hunting season begins, the cooler weather brings an outbreak to a close. If after an outing you develop an unusual sore, see your physician for treatment."
Actions that should be taken during an anthrax outbreak:
Properly dispose of animal carcasses by burning to prevent exposure to other animals, such as predators or dogs.
Remove healthy livestock from the area.
Vaccinate livestock if cases occur in the surrounding areas. Because the anthrax vaccine is a "live" vaccine, it should not be administered concurrently with antibiotics.
Vaccinated animals are to be withheld from slaughter for two months.
Restrict movement of livestock from an affected premise until animals can develop immunity through vaccination.
Note: An area-wide meeting about anthrax in livestock will be held in the Sonora Community Center at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 7. Dr. Thurman Fancher, Area 6 director for the TAHC, will discuss the recently confirmed anthrax cases on two ranches in the county, answer questions about the disease, and provide information on proper carcass disposal, vaccinating and reporting of possible cases.
Very interesting, Duchess.... Hope it's a very limited outbreak.
Good morning - yes, horses can be diabetic. That may be part of his problem. In people, low blood sugar brings on poor judgment and irrational behavior, along with anger that is unjustified. I always know when Bob's is getting low, he gets upset very easily and acts pretty irrationally.
You can buy just roosters at murrymcmurry hatchery. They will ship day old so you'd have to have them under lights for awhile. If you get the heavy breeds, (I like the light Brahmas) they are very laid back. I've had two or three at a time running loose and they don't fight. They do crow :)
True. I was just feeling sorry for myself:')
Wow! I didn't know chicken testicles were so well hidden! Not quite as easy as a dog or horse.
Would it work to go get him each time and put him back in and not let him have the feed until he walks?
Remember me talking about how Sarah Lee who was at the bottom would do that when I was there and put her back in the pasture? For about 5-10 minutes she would be boss:')
Well, acts of rebellion don't necessarily make her the boss... But she may not have been as consistently at the bottom as you think. Horse herd psychology is a complex system. It took awhile to really determine with certainty that the pony was at the bottom, because she gets special treatment and protection from Bay, and because she'll still try little smart as displays of aggression, simply because she's fast enough to pull a stunt and get away ;~D
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