Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks Satay!  I think they are lovely too and I just love their fluffy butts!  Yes I gently shoo them back towards the door when they head towards the carpet... my dogs are very much inside dogs and have free range of the house but the chookies don't and won't..... no poo on my carpet please   

Thanks so much Fancy!  That is great information.  I've had Guinea Pigs with mites but they are not as sinister as the mite that cooks get by the sounds of it.  The only think Im unsure of is what you wrote about spraying the birds?  Do you spray them with the spray you have pictured????

You can spray the birds with this product, but it is aerosol , so it needs to be from 30-40 cm distance, and of course not in their eyes or face. The surface spray is only permethrin and
Tetramethrin ( a synthetic pyrethrum ) and is only $2 . The problem with pyrethrum is that many of the bugs are building resistance to them. So I rotate the treatment with ' success '
Which contains spinosad the newest addition to insecticides.

 

[satay]

Are black and white ducks? Sounds right. Soooo disappointed I didn't see her d'uccles.

I think so.

 

[Deej211]

happy easter from my easter hatching easter egg layers!!

 

[Chook Newby]

You can spray the birds with this product, but it is aerosol , so it needs to be from 30-40 cm distance, and of course not in their eyes or face. The surface spray is only permethrin and
Tetramethrin ( a synthetic pyrethrum ) and is only $2 . The problem with pyrethrum is that many of the bugs are building resistance to them. So I rotate the treatment with ' success '
Which contains spinosad the newest addition to insecticides.

Awesome! I just wanted to check in case I miss read. Again thank you for your information and fingers crossed that I will have to deal with these, but Im sure that at some stage I will

 

[Fizzybelle]

Ok, so my silkie Agnes has been on the nest for hours today. Usually doesn't take her that long to lay an egg. She got off when my patting started to bother her, ate and hopped back on. No egg, she's not laid one today, did yesterday though but I collected it soon after. Also not cranky when I pat her. She's making proper 'cluck' noises too, has been the past few days. not the usual long drawn out squawk; it actually sounds like she's saying cluck, cluck, cluck. Is this broody behaviour? I've never had a broody hen before, as I've previously had hybrids who lose interest in their eggs as soon as they're done laying them. I knew with a silkie (and also a young pekin heading into maturity) it was only a matter of time given their reputation.

Edit: I found this vid on youtube, this is what the noise she's been making whilst out with her friends in the garden the past two days, sounds like.

 

[Anniebee]

Ok, so my silkie Agnes has been on the nest for hours today. Usually doesn't take her that long to lay an egg. She got off when my patting started to bother her, ate and hopped back on. No egg, she's not laid one today, did yesterday though but I collected it soon after. Also not cranky when I pat her. She's making proper 'cluck' noises too, has been the past few days. not the usual long drawn out squawk; it actually sounds like she's saying cluck, cluck, cluck. Is this broody behaviour? I've never had a broody hen before, as I've previously had hybrids who lose interest in their eggs as soon as they're done laying them. I knew with a silkie (and also a young pekin heading into maturity) it was only a matter of time given their reputation.

Edit: I found this vid on youtube, this is what the noise she's been making whilst out with her friends in the garden the past two days, sounds like.

Fizzybelle -

Having only had one hen go broody, several times ( but not recently ) .... I have to say the gentle little clucking sound your hen is making might well be announcing a broody cycle.

Is she busy re-arranging straw around her. I think I read here way back, that a chicken will try to hatch straw if broody - they only know to sit and keep warm a 'something' underneath. Hormonal freak outs I call them.

Easy enough to break if the weather is nice - lock her out of her coop / nesting box for 3>4 days, with water and food outside in a side-on box to keep it clean - and lock her up again at dusk. Don't know how you would manage that if you go to work. I am home all the time, so can keep an eye on all my birds and what they are getting up to. Mind you, if the outside area she is in, has some lovely fresh fine dirt - or strewn straw about, she might be inclined to make a new nest .... in which case you cover all the parts she's interested in with whatever ( I find chopped dry fire wood good for a whole heap of "you can't go there anymore" situations. )

Good luck -

Cheers .........

 

[Anniebee]

does she smell funny? My mastiff had mange a few yrs ago. And she smelled yuck. Sorr of sweet but gross.

Deej211 ..... re Miss Ruby and her itches.

No - can't say she smells anything like that - just smells like a dog on her coat. She did have impacted anal glands a while back, and I got the Vet to express them, rather than do it myself.

At that time, the clear symptom was a rather fishy sort of breath and she was trying to chew at the area. That was fixed - all prior to the nasty excessive humidity we had for almost a couple of weeks.

Thank you for your interest .....

Cheers ........

 

[Anniebee]

How adorable was Oscar.

I agree with everyone else you don't get over their loss but you never forget how wonderful they were either. They will always hold a special place in your heart.

Thank you satay ... for your kind and thoughtful words.

Indeed, thank you to everyone who made such lovely comments about little Oscar.

We have a true 'pet cemetery' in the back garden. .... most graves are covered with some beautiful plant or garden ornament. 14 of my past pets out there, and one who was cremated, is in a beautiful elaborately carved box which I keep inside. At one stage I had 6 cats and 2 dogs, but that was many years back - I couldn't handle that many anymore.

 

[Anniebee]

Ruby might have prickly heat from the humidity - or a fungal condition. Corn flour works. I use it all the time in the Brisbane humidity.

MyHaven ..... that was my first thought so I used 'prickly heat powder' on her .... which she obviously chewed at, and threw up. So that became a no-no.

Today she is much better - and I am keeping the corn flour up to her. Her only time of real scratchy trouble is when she rises after dozing, resting or sleeping. But as soon as outside in the fresh air ( minus humidity now ) .... she stops scratching.

I always have Chlorhex on hand, for any dog - because they can develop hot-spots which are or become fungal. Chlorhex does the job superbly to clean up that.

.....................

Satay ..... I agree - it can be that we never see a flea on a dog or cat - but if there are tiny black specks anywhere, then that is flea dirt and fleas are there. I have covered almost all of her through her thick coat and have found absolutely no flea dirt, black specks of anything. However, I had 1 cat and 1 dog who were very allergic to fleas. Will get some new Frontline to put on her - just in case, but I doubt very strongly there are any fleas there ( which I must admit is unusual in summer ). Will hold off the Frontline until I see how well the corn flour continues to work, plus the lighter diet with little or no blood heating meat. Next is, to cook up my own chicken, vegetable and rice stew for her. I doubt she'll be too pleased, as it does not remain in the stomach for very long, so she will be one hungry girl most all day. Will feed her that twice a day.

....................

Fancychooklady .... thanks for the information about mites and lice.

Thank heaven I can honestly say, in scrounging around in the coops, I have never had anything that causes a crawling or itchy sensation on my own skin - and the girls do not peck or scratch at themselves. They do occasionally have a little scratch at their comb, but have noticed that most chooks do that on a regular basis - so figure it is just a 'chook thing' or perhaps the result of an insect or mosquito buzzing around.

Am pleased to learn that mites are species specific. There are however, mites that cause forms of mange - that are specific to dogs ( and maybe cats - not sure about that ).

Cheers all ......

 

[MyHaven]

gravelled our chook pen on the weekend and dug in a drainage pipe underneath as i am sick of the recurring coughing gurgles and sneezes that come with every rain. Next to no smell and 9-10 eggs everyday since. I think the chookies approve. Best of all i only need to hose it out once a week to keep it clean. Winner all round.

I missed this post when I looked last night. It's great to see different setup/floorings etc.

What do you have in the nest boxes/buckets, besides the eggs?

And is that a star picket you're using for the leg of the perches/ladder?

The girls should like it and be appreciative of your hard work.

Thanks for sharing.