Recent content by GRB73

I would not take a chance with my birds getting ill from dirty roof runoff. Use hose water if you can. Runoff can contain viruses as well as bacteria. It is a fabulous idea to collect that water for plants, but again, due to risk of disease, I only use my rain barrel water on ornamental plants...

I grow Tithonia rotundifolia in my garden. I've never seen the girls try to eat the leaves, but I do see wild birds eating the seeds. I imagine the seeds wouldn't harm chickens if wild birds eat them.

I leave food and water out for my chickens all day long. They eat and drink freely, but they are not overweight. I've noticed they only eat a small amount at a time and at certain times of the day. I think all-day feeding is especially helpful for those chickens at the bottom of the pecking...

What are these black bumps? My hen usually has one or two but they have multiplied overnight. At first I suspected fowl pox, but they were never yellow. Just black, and they appeared since yesterday. No other symptoms. Thanks.

I'm sorry to hear your hen isn't feeling well. I had something similar happen to one of my hens. She was digging in moldy hay one afternoon, and she was very lethargic the next morning. I had to encourage her to come out of the coop. When she was out of the coop she just stood in one place or...

Thank you for all of your replies. For now, I am keeping her as an only. She seems to be ok. Lots of dust bathing, sunbathing, and foraging. Getting new chickens is not an option now, and I love her too much to give her away. She gets lots of attention and freely roams the garden for several...

Thank you. I thought about a necropsy but I don't like the idea of her being cut open. I think she had more debilitating issues than I was aware of and the dewormer may have been too much for her old body. Hawke had a good, long life for a chicken. She gave me 5-6 eggs per week even as a senior...

In the early spring of 2016, I brought home three adorable days-old chicks. I raised them up in my dining room (yup!) and have taken care of and loved them for the past six years. Last November I lost my first girl, and yesterday, my second. Now only the Queen of the flock remains. She looked so...

My girl passed away this afternoon, not long after I posted this. Now I only have my white Wyandotte. Getting more chickens isn't feasible at this time so she is going to be my only. She already follows me everywhere so I guess now I'm her flock mate. I wish chickens had longer lives! Rip my...

My 6.5 yo Ameracauna began occasional mouth breathing a few weeks ago. I thought she was just hot or nervous (she is a very nervous nellie). Then she started with liquid poos earlier this week. I noticed roundworms in her droppings so I wormed her yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon she...

Someone told me if I haven't dosed my chickens for worms recently I should split the first dose over three days to avoid overloading their system with dead worms. Is there any truth to this? Thanks!

Last question, is a CC equal to a ML?

That is very helpful to know. I was thinking about that too...because peas come in all sizes!

Thank you! I was able to find the paste version of SafeGuard. The Chicken Handbook says to use a pea sized drop for each hen, then repeat in 10 days.

I have a very very skittish hen with roundworms. Giving oral meds would be quite a challenge. Is there a topical treatment for roundworms? I saw Ivermectin horse paste on Amazon; could I use this topically under a wing? Or put some on a piece of bread? Or is SafeGuard (fenbendazole) a better...