SEVEN DUST for dust baths???

[the1much]

sorry,spatcher,,,,,just that i usually "write" in a confusing way,,hehe

so im pretty use to people "not understanding" what i wrote,,,,,, guess thats what happens to a yankee in rebel territory,,haha

 

[the1much]

this whole thing reminds me of that aussie scientist that argued that DDT wasnt dangerous,, and sat there and ate an ounce of it just to prove to us "simpletons" that it was safe.

 

[spatcher]

Same here Jim, a yankee in southern territory. lol

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
I'd agree about my statements "weakening my argument," if, in fact I was arguing anything. I wasn't. I merely stated what I do. It's not my choice to take in any toxic chemicals when I have a choice, however diluted they may be, and however many other people may be doing it "with no problems." There are MORE than enough toxins entering our systems that I really have no choice about, so that when I DO have a choice, I'm going to opt out. That's just ME. In no way am I telling, or have I told, anyone else what to do, nor have I made any claims about Sevin one way or the other.

And no, we don't avoid plastic altogether, but we do avoid plastics with pthalates. You won't find any plasticware in this house that's not at least labeled PET or PP. It's not a perfect solution, but again, it's a choice I can make that's pretty painless. We do not heat food in plastic of any kind.

As far as trans-fats, you won't find any here, unless something has REALLY snuck in under the radar. Peanut butter? You can make your own pretty easily, or for store-bought, I recommend Arrowhead Mills' natural PB--it's sweetened with honey and salted with sea salt, and emulsified with soy lecithin, which keeps it from separating like other natural PBs. And because it's salted and sweetened, it tastes like the PB you're used to. If you have something that really needs "shortening," you can use Spectrum Spread, Smart Balance (which now comes in sticks made 50/50 with butter) or just plain palm oil (though there are environmental impacts with palm oil to consider). Crisco even makes a "non-hydrogenated formula" now which I believe is simply palm oil.

We avoid parabens. We minimize our intake of soy, especially soy that is not aged or fermented, because of the phytoestrogens. I try to minimize our exposure to any xenoestrogens wherever I can. I don't buy cereals preserved with BHA/BHT or Ethoxyquin. I don't buy all organic produce, but I do avoid conventionally-grown produce from among the "Dirty Dozen" as defined by Consumer Reports and various environmental agencies. As far as meat goes, it's difficult to get non-CAFO meat around here, so I concentrate my efforts on obtaining better quality among the fattier meats, like beef and pork, my thinking being that any toxins will be concentrated in fatty tissues more than in muscle.

All of the above might make me seem "nutty" to many of you. But I've survived (by a matter of mere weeks, according to my team of surgeons) an endocrine/reproductive disease that very nearly took my life, and is ready to return with a vengeance at any time. I've lost my reproductive organs to it. And I KNOW how I ate and lived for the first half of my life. It's no wonder I had estrogen-dominance issues. And I have a young daughter. According to my doctors, my disease process had already begun by the time I was the age she is now. This is one BIG reason that I don't buy the whole, "Oh, I've been doing this or that forever with no problems" argument. For most of my life, I was eating/living the way I was with "no problems," when really I just couldn't SEE the problems until it was almost too late. Not to employ hyperbole, but I'm sure the first smokers who developed lung cancer and emphysema had smoked cigarettes for years and years with "no problems." That, to me, is a "weak argument."

So, yeah. I guess what I'm saying with all this blathering is that I'll just go ahead and stick to my "weak argument." If I wind up with a lice problem, I'll treat it. But I won't eat eggs or meat from those birds for a LONG time after said treatment. You can say that makes me foolish, but it's my choice to make, "foolish" or not.

 

[spatcher]

There ya go Cent Ark! You go girl! lol

 

[ninjapoodles]

It occurs to me that what could make this thread really useful to many of us would be if some of the more experienced poultry-keepers here could advise us on methods of preventing parasite infestations. I understand that because of wild birds, etc., you can't guarantee that your flocks will stay parasite-free, but there must be some husbandry methods which give them more of a fighting chance at minimizing their exposure, and some methods which increase risk of parasites. I, for one, would like to learn about that.

 

[spatcher]

As would we all, without jeapordizing them or us!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If you want to minimize exposure to mites, minimize exposure to wild birds. Keep them in a covered run. Don't let them go anywhere there are wild birds, especially birds that are roosting above them.

We have mites show up after the wild birds migrate here in the spring. We are on a flight path for everybody, it seems. That's also the worst time for the wild birds. After they get here, they spend a lot of time bathing in water, to get rid of their mites. The chickens don't free range in the pond area, but they do free range. The rest of the year isn't so bad. When cold weather sets in, any mites outside die.

We use dust baths. Since we have heavy clay and get a lot of rain, we make dust baths for the chickens, including one that's covered, to keep it dry. They can make their own, but this ensures a better mix, better coverage and it's available every day.

Sand, loose fluffy dirt, fine dry dirt, plain wood ash and food grade diatomaceous earth are used in a variety of combinations for dust baths. As long as the birds are using the baths, we've had good control.

The biggest problem we've had, is with broodies that don't want to leave the coop to dust bathe this year. For them, we had to use a shaker of DE on them and also in the litter they're on. The pullets we got last year are the broodiest we've ever had. One of them has gone broody for the second time this year.

 

[peapatch]

Can people get fleas or mites from chickens???

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Quote:
nope. they are breed specific.