Linda V
Songster
Hey there...it's me again...the fairly new "mother hen" to all of this. It seems you are getting an overload of information on here and I don't want to add do it but I gave my girls well-done, scrambled eggs with shredded sharp cheddar cheese in it and some fresh chopped garlic. Garlic is supposed to turn off mites big time! They loved it served in a deep-dish plastic container - peck safe!
I didn't want them to have trouble eliminating either so I also gave them thawed out, frozen peas and made sure they had tons of fresh water handy.
For a few weeks, their "waste" looked dreadful, but when the mites were gone and they got done molting...it went back to "normal" looking again.
One more thing...if I may indulge you another minute...
When I had my girls a few weeks, I ran across an article about using "chicken safe" sand (NOT playground or sandbox!) I then read up on it for a few days and we tried it and would NEVER go back to the normal bedding (wood shavings)!
In the summer, sand never gets hot so they nestle down into it and stay cool.
In the winter it doesn't freeze so it's great for them to walk and nest on - we put a lot of it into their nesting box and they LOVED it!
Bacteria etc., can't grow very well in sand either and it is awesome for their dust bathing...year round! I add hardwood ash, poultry dust & poultry DE to it as well....but they have a huge sandbox in the cove with that stuff in it too!
Since I have a coop with a slide-out drawer under their roosting perches to catch "waste" at night - I use a kitty litter "shovel' to sift the waste out of the sand and it's done in 2 mins - EZPZ! A few weeks ago, I added a few cups of 100% natural, clay-based kitty litter to the sand to absorb any liquids and to keep the odor to a minimum....so far - so good!
In the cold months, however, I'll add thick nesting material on top of the sand in their nesting boxes so that they can nest at night during the winter. Otherwise, no nesting at night - ever! I block it off when the sun goes down.
Well, I am glad to read that she's improving to some degree. Sure wish I had the miracle you could use right now. I truly admire your patience and extreme perseverance! Keep on and keep the faith!
Here's just the coop part of our set up.
Linda in NC
I didn't want them to have trouble eliminating either so I also gave them thawed out, frozen peas and made sure they had tons of fresh water handy.
For a few weeks, their "waste" looked dreadful, but when the mites were gone and they got done molting...it went back to "normal" looking again.
One more thing...if I may indulge you another minute...
When I had my girls a few weeks, I ran across an article about using "chicken safe" sand (NOT playground or sandbox!) I then read up on it for a few days and we tried it and would NEVER go back to the normal bedding (wood shavings)!
In the summer, sand never gets hot so they nestle down into it and stay cool.
In the winter it doesn't freeze so it's great for them to walk and nest on - we put a lot of it into their nesting box and they LOVED it!
Bacteria etc., can't grow very well in sand either and it is awesome for their dust bathing...year round! I add hardwood ash, poultry dust & poultry DE to it as well....but they have a huge sandbox in the cove with that stuff in it too!
Since I have a coop with a slide-out drawer under their roosting perches to catch "waste" at night - I use a kitty litter "shovel' to sift the waste out of the sand and it's done in 2 mins - EZPZ! A few weeks ago, I added a few cups of 100% natural, clay-based kitty litter to the sand to absorb any liquids and to keep the odor to a minimum....so far - so good!
In the cold months, however, I'll add thick nesting material on top of the sand in their nesting boxes so that they can nest at night during the winter. Otherwise, no nesting at night - ever! I block it off when the sun goes down.
Well, I am glad to read that she's improving to some degree. Sure wish I had the miracle you could use right now. I truly admire your patience and extreme perseverance! Keep on and keep the faith!
Here's just the coop part of our set up.
Linda in NC
