Arizona Chickens

[DesertChic]

When you say "a touch" of copper sulfate, what kind of dilution do you mean? Roughly how many crystals of copper sulfate per gallon? Can you use it safely in those galvanized water founts?

I honestly don't know about the galvanized metal dispensers because I don't use them.

The Copper Sulfate I use is a fine powder, much like sugar. I use just shy of a 1/4 tsp per gallon of water for a single preventative treatment, or approximately 1/2 TBSP per 5 gallons if I already see signs of distress in the flock. Once they've consumed all of the treated water I switch back to plain, fresh water. After 24 hours I add extra probiotics to their feed to build up the good intestinal bacteria since copper sulfate can kill off the good as well as the bad. They get three days of probiotic enriched feed. After that they only need a "booster" of probiotic feed approximately every two weeks AFTER at least one day of receiving ACV in their water. (Don't use ACV at the same time as probiotics as the acid in the vinegar can actually kill the beneficial bacteria before it reaches the gut.)

 

[BlueBaby]

Dang it, lost my Mottled Java "Peepers" last night. She wasn't showing signs of distress at bed time. Hate it when they drop unexpectedly.

I'm sorry for your loss. Was "Peepers" an older hen? I have been lucky so far with mine, I guess.

 

[azurbanclucker]

I'm sorry for your loss. Was "Peepers" an older hen? I have been lucky so far with mine, I guess.

Actually she was 3 mos. Sucks. I decided to replace her with a pair of OE's though, since Olive started crowing yesterday (now known as Oliver). He will probably end up having to go and I'll get 2 green layers this weekend.

 

[BlueBaby]

Actually she was 3 mos. Sucks. I decided to replace her with a pair of OE's though, since Olive started crowing yesterday (now known as Oliver). He will probably end up having to go and I'll get 2 green layers this weekend.

Yes, that was young. She didn't even lay her first egg yet.

Sorry I took awhile to reply. My next door neighbors house was on fire at about 1:00 am this morning. She woke Gary and me up and asked us to call 9-1-1 for them. Gary and I then took our hoses and ran them from our house to their house to help them hose down their roof to try to contain the fire, until the fire department arrived to take over. We live rural and it takes them awhile to get out here. Water pressure is bad too, so that is why we used our hoses with our own water, so that it wouldn't take away the pressure they were using with their own hoses. The fire was caused by a motor in a swap cooler blowing out.

 

[DesertChic]

I honestly don't know about the galvanized metal dispensers because I don't use them.

The Copper Sulfate I use is a fine powder, much like sugar. I use just shy of a 1/4 tsp per gallon of water for a single preventative treatment, or approximately 1/2 TBSP per 5 gallons if I already see signs of distress in the flock. Once they've consumed all of the treated water I switch back to plain, fresh water. After 24 hours I add extra probiotics to their feed to build up the good intestinal bacteria since copper sulfate can kill off the good as well as the bad. They get three days of probiotic enriched feed. After that they only need a "booster" of probiotic feed approximately every two weeks AFTER at least one day of receiving ACV in their water. (Don't use ACV at the same time as probiotics as the acid in the vinegar can actually kill the beneficial bacteria before it reaches the gut.)

Oh...I should've mentioned....Don't be alarmed if you notice a change in the color of their poop. It could turn green, greenish-blue or even closer to black as they shed bacteria and parasites.

 

[azurbanclucker]

@BlueBaby Wow rough night!

 

[BlueBaby]

@BlueBaby Wow rough night!

Yes it was, but no lives were lost. All people and animals were accounted for.

 

[FeatherPugs]

@BlueBaby thank you for helping them. I personally am deathly afraid of fire so I'm not sure how I would react. Giant thank yous!

 

[nicollee]

That's a blessing... glad you were there and able to help...
was the damage limited?

Yes it was, but no lives were lost. All people and animals were accounted for.

 

[BlueBaby]

@BlueBaby thank you for helping them. I personally am deathly afraid of fire so I'm not sure how I would react. Giant thank yous!

That's a blessing... glad you were there and able to help...
was the damage limited?

I'll answer both of you at once. They were lucky that Gary and I are night owls, and were still awake when it happened. It's a good thing it wasn't too windy or it could have been worse and spread to the vehicles, coop, and other buildings that they have on the property. The house is totaled, but they have fire insurance. Most things can be replaced, but any loss of life cannot. The biggest thing is when you loose the sentimental things like photo albums in it. It can be devastating. (This was the neighbor that kept buying all my chicks that I hatched out, but they said they have enough now.)