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

[MyHaven]

day old chicks

6week old chicks

cheeky ratbag POL pullets

I love pics. They are gorgeous.

 

[Deej211]

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.

 

[MyHaven]

You said it Fancy  ..... dog / horse people can be very 'precious' ... there are a few other words I could use to describe some of them ( but certainly not all are like that ).   

Add to  that the cat lot .....   .... had my two Siamese at the Royal Melbourne Show one year ( first and last time !! ) .... they each got a third ribbon.   Two of us ( another lady and myself ) reported a very very sick cat almost in a state of collapse,  to the powers that be at the front of the pavilion.   They went there, took one look and covered the cage.  The owner returned and went completely off her head -  screaming abuse at everyone nearby - shrieking " I am a doctor - I know when a human or animal is sick - and she is NOT sick."   Like heck she wasn't.   She was ordered to remove her cat immediately to a vet ( and I think a vet at the actual show, attended to that cat - or so I later heard ).   

A doctor ?  ..... wondered if she'd done a veterinarian course as well.   !!      Oh dear, we can come across some witchiness in any show rings.   Stopped showing my cats and dogs after that and another unpleasant experience in the dog show ring ( which I was not in any way involved in - but it was nasty - and laid out for all to witness ).

........

I have done some research on red mites - do not believe my chickens have them, but will check again at night, to make sure.     

Do you know if dogs can catch red mite  or lice from chickens ?   Miss Ruby is scratching and biting herself silly, and the only thing that has eased her discomfort is corn flour sprinkled on her belly, under her armpits and between her back legs.   There is absolutely NO sign of fleas whatsoever, and this all seemed to begin with the very excessive humidity we had a week or so back.   But that has abated now - yet she is still scratching.   I have slowly changed her over to a new diet ( she was on lamb and rice holistic - Black Hawk ) ... and lamb is a blood heating meat.   Have tried several things, and if she is still doing it after Easter, it's off to the vet we go.  Will stick to corn flour now - which cannot hurt her if she chews a bit on it.   She also has no hot-spots at all.   

Cheers ........ 

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.

 

[Deej211]

I love pics. They are gorgeous.

thank you. Consideeing the stock i had last year I've improved on them quite a bit. Quite happy with my pretties

 

[Fancychooklady]

You said it Fancy  ..... dog / horse people can be very 'precious' ... there are a few other words I could use to describe some of them ( but certainly not all are like that ).   

Add to  that the cat lot .....   .... had my two Siamese at the Royal Melbourne Show one year ( first and last time !! ) .... they each got a third ribbon.   Two of us ( another lady and myself ) reported a very very sick cat almost in a state of collapse,  to the powers that be at the front of the pavilion.   They went there, took one look and covered the cage.  The owner returned and went completely off her head -  screaming abuse at everyone nearby - shrieking " I am a doctor - I know when a human or animal is sick - and she is NOT sick."   Like heck she wasn't.   She was ordered to remove her cat immediately to a vet ( and I think a vet at the actual show, attended to that cat - or so I later heard ).   

A doctor ?  ..... wondered if she'd done a veterinarian course as well.   !!      Oh dear, we can come across some witchiness in any show rings.   Stopped showing my cats and dogs after that and another unpleasant experience in the dog show ring ( which I was not in any way involved in - but it was nasty - and laid out for all to witness ).

........

I have done some research on red mites - do not believe my chickens have them, but will check again at night, to make sure.     

Do you know if dogs can catch red mite  or lice from chickens ?   Miss Ruby is scratching and biting herself silly, and the only thing that has eased her discomfort is corn flour sprinkled on her belly, under her armpits and between her back legs.   There is absolutely NO sign of fleas whatsoever, and this all seemed to begin with the very excessive humidity we had a week or so back.   But that has abated now - yet she is still scratching.   I have slowly changed her over to a new diet ( she was on lamb and rice holistic - Black Hawk ) ... and lamb is a blood heating meat.   Have tried several things, and if she is still doing it after Easter, it's off to the vet we go.  Will stick to corn flour now - which cannot hurt her if she chews a bit on it.   She also has no hot-spots at all.   

Cheers ........ 

Hi Annie, the mites are host specific and while you may feel them crawl on you when you are cleaning the coop, they won't survive for long. Mites live on the blood of the host , whereas lice survive on the dander of the birds. If chickens share the same space as livestock ie, cattle horses or goats , the lice can spread .

 

[satay]

Hi Fancy! Sorry to hear about your mite issue and your early morning! I am dreading the day my girls may get mites.... are you able to share (for us newbys) exactly what you did and what you used, so I can be prepared On a lighter note... I have had my girls for just over a month now and well..... arn't they getting brave! They found the wheat bucket while I was outside on the phone!

They are so cute. Yes just like my Belgians once they know how to get in they think that's where they should be . I am thankful for hardwood floors.

 

[satay]

Girls from my last hatch that I kept from Satays flock

They will go nicely with some belgians and quails

 

[Fancychooklady]

Hi Fancy! Sorry to hear about your mite issue and your early morning! I am dreading the day my girls may get mites.... are you able to share (for us newbys) exactly what you did and what you used, so I can be prepared On a lighter note... I have had my girls for just over a month now and well..... arn't they getting brave! They found the wheat bucket while I was outside on the phone!

So far I've only found mites in one coop, but nonetheless I have sprayed and cleaned out all of the coops. Mites live on the blood of the host and run the birds health down effecting egg production and left untreated will ultimately kill the bird. I've had 2 unexplained deaths of late , both silkies and they are much harder to inspect than other breeds. . The mites are minuscule and unless they are on mass , very difficult to see. We've had warmer weather than usual and the nasty little critters are thriving as a result. Rats , mice and sparrows visiting the coops spread the mites and lice from pen to pen. Mites are a real threat to the flock as visiting wild birds can introduce disease such as mareks, and mycoplasma via the spread of these little bloodsuckers. Treatment has to be thorough. Remove all loose litter and bedding from the coops, spray the entire coop with a pyrethrum based product , there are many on the market but I find that the woollies home brand surface spray to be just as effective, at a fraction of the cost. The birds too need to be sprayed , I find that just before dawn is best. It's less disruptive to the birds and it means that they don't have long before they can get out in the sun to dry off.

 

[satay]

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I also got a chicken feed scoop from my little one. Picked it out at feedmania.

Satay I did see the polish. I think she had ducks too, but isn't always the way I can't put a face to her, I can only remember the birds. I am so glad and yet soooo disappointed I didn't see any d'uccles at The market. As it was I had to breath through it and walk away. Three lovely wyandottes 2silver laced and one penciled for $45. Ohh that was hard to leave.

You quail look good - hard to read scale but they look large.

As for butcher birds yes definitely they take chickens - worse than magpies I find.

I'll sketch a fox proofing design for runs and post it when done for everyone's information. Someone showed me on the weekend and it looks great.

Potatochip I'm sure butter wouldn't melt in your mouth.

Renee is blonde. Sounds like her as she has ducks as well but i can't remember which type. Black Swedish maybe?

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks

Thank you all for you kind words about Charlie-Bear; she was special. Because we rent, I had her cremated so that she would not be buried in what could end up being someone else’s backyard; she will always be with me in more ways than one

Thanks for the tip on the nest box door potato chip, it is probably going to open sideways.

Beautiful girls Sam and Deej211!

LuckysMum I have also read good and bad things about DE and made a decision to steer clear.

At Fancy’s recommendation, I also use Yates ‘Success’ and Woolies Homebrand Surface Spray.

I do not get itchy when reading about bugs on line but after going through the nightmare which was a major lice infestation; just the slightest tingle on my skin when working near the coop has me reaching for my glasses

Chook Newby your girls are adorable … looks like they have plans for a girls night in

Anniebee aaaw, poor Miss Ruby; I hope you are able to find out what is making her itchy. We had to be very stringent with Charlie-Bear’s flea treatment; she was allergic to them and it only took a couple of bites for her to break out. With her epilepsy, pancreatitis and flea allergy, she was a favourite at the Vets

Hey, never apologise for giving great advice; I appreciate the input. The timber we are using is tongue in groove which should allow for expansion, it is going to be angled for run off and also sealed.

Update on the build … the girls should love it! Now I have seen the floor size, they are going to have heaps of room

The frame for the slide out floor is pretty much done; just need to put the slats on and seal it. We have the posts for the uprights and while I am working on site on Thursday, hubby is off to Bunnings to get enough materials to keep us busy over the Easter Weekend