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Parrothead

I feel like (Phuket) Richard today...

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Parrothead

all went well , took off for 4 weeks leave, came back an eveything i had accomplised was destroyed an not used anymore.

Go figure

The above quote couldn't have been posted at a more appropriate time.

 

You recall we had one chick sent to the farm to be watched, and isolated from the other birds? Keep that in mind a few minutes, please.

 

So, this morning, up before first light and the chickens.

 

We planned on taking the chicks to the farm this morning, and wanted to do so before it got too hot. A bit late starting out, as we had to stop by a supply store and pick up a couple of rolls of chicken wire to finish off the new digs at the farm.

 

Got 'em all boxed up, meds and vitamins packed, food packed, larger water and food dispensers packed and ready to go.

 

Off we went down the road.

 

Arrived before the sun was too high in the morning sky. We unloaded the birds, took the boxes into the new (walk in) chicken house, and opened 'em up. Three boxes, three Khmers, unloading and counting. 60 birds? Check, 60 birds present. (One in seclusion, isolated, if you recall above.)

 

Man, were they happy! Diggin' around in the cool dirt to have a bath in.

 

size_IMG_0802.jpg

 

Not nearly as hot there, as it is here. Even had a nice breeze blowing there. So, those chicks are going to be quite happy.

 

Anyway, we (READ: I) noticed one of the large water dispensers (that you hang from the ceiling) was cracked and definitely would leak. So, off the boss and I went to get another one to replace it with.

 

Got back, filled the water with pretty fresh rain water from the storage tanks, and I put it in the chicken house. Sitting there, watching the flock, I started to feel a bit bad, because I had not even checked on the little guy who had Wrye Neck, a few nights before. So, I asked Chan if the isolated chick had any water and food.

 

She, in turn, asked the family, rather than going and looking.

 

The next news I got, chilled me to the bone, and pissed me off beyond belief. Yep. Sure enough.

 

"Paul, he put the chick in with the others after we left to get the water dispenser."

 

After throwing everything from my hands, picking up and throwing a chair, and raising my voice enough so they could hear it in Phnom Penh, I asked her why in hell he would have done such a stupid thing? She said she didn't know he would do it. He didn't know the chick was supposed to be isolated.

 

So, you come home from the land (they were planting crops before this morning when he returned home), see this one chick off by himself, and say, "Boy, wouldn't he like to be in with his friends?!" That, is, rather than querying yourself, and then others, as to why a chick would be in isolation away from the rest of the flock.

 

Either way, he came over, walked inside the chicken house, looks at the birds, and picks one from the 61 birds walking and laying around their new digs.

 

Ya know, I am curious here. I wonder how in hell he would have a clue as to which, specific bird was the one with wrye neck, especially since the bird had shown NO symptoms in over two days.

 

In my mind, I feel that we just played the lotto - or would that be Russian Roulette? And, we will not know if we won, or splattered our brains all over the floor, very soon.

 

I tell ya, I begin to think they are ready for the next step, and then they prove what an idiot I am for thinking such a stupid thing in the first place. They simply, without a doubt, without a second thought, have no clue as to what they need to do, in order to properly provide for the chickens. Of course, if they lose them all, why should they care? They have zero dollars invested. I am the rich foreigner who can afford to start this all over again. Yeah, right.

 

I have a headache. I just walked over to the motorbike, started it up, and drove off toward home. I am here now, and need some rest to cope with this.

 

A couple more photos:

 

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size_IMG_0801.jpg

Edited by Paul

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JohnOBohn

   After your 12 - 13 odd years in asia I find it amazing you even feel the need to post this.   It happens every day in asia.   typical, normal, every day stuff especially when it is all the rich foreigners fault.

      One thing I have noticed there has been NO mention of is supplying the chickens with calcium.  Also scratch - small sand or rock - very small - chickens digestive tracks has as the first ""stomach"" a ""craw"".  The craw is a very muscular container that need something very hard stored in it  to begin the digestive process.   It in effect grinds all ingested food into smaller pieces which then pass into the main stomach.

    Chickens also need a fair amount of calcium.   Not only for their healthy growth but very important when they start laying eggs. 

   The eggshell is made primarily of calcium.   If not enough in the hens diet the body will draw from her skeleton to make the  eggs.\

     One of the best sources of calcium for chickens is ground oyster shell, or clams, mussels, etc.     When my dad had the chicken farm one feeder was always filled with crushed oyster shell and the caged birds got it mixed in their feed.

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jimmyboy

good call on the calcium john. he is feeding them a formula ration though from CP- the chook monopoly.

 

paul put a lot of wood or charcoal ash in one corner- they will dust off the mites- give them plenty of greens and cooked sweet potato or pumpkin.

 

looks like the white ones are leghorns- layers. black ones meat birds. we can test the accuracy of this assumption if you get both sexes in both colors.

both will be worth breeding from in lieu of better pure known lines.

 

dont expect rice farmers to know anything. they will bend over and drink dirty water from a pond.

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Mikala

I get that feeling a lot Paul. I think logical thought processing is something you learn in schools.

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jimmyboy

yes, what we were taught by age 7, they were never told. Not their fault really.

 

25 years ago, cambodia was a far worse place than today.

 

I have had young locals tell me that the concept of planets is pretty much alien to their parents.

I would imagine the lifelong poor nutrition, chronic disease and hardship probably retards their cognitive abilities severely too.

 

Pol Pot succeeded in creating the year zero.

 

They dont really even have the resources to grow much in the way of fruit and veg. Much less the knowledge.

 

Seems only ratanakiri and mondulkiri have low enough population density  for import replacement cropping to happen.

 

Maybe the high school graduates of today will be better!

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