- Thread starter
- #11
Luckily we are all free from bugs. I check those booties all the time. I’m definitely not overcrowded. My 26 older birds are in my largest coop and my 12 pullets are in my not much smaller coop. And, they all free range all day, every day.
As far as stress, right now 23 of my birds are in full molt so they are all on edge of being touched...by anything. I don’t have any real bullies either. Just a couple of bossy hens. And my cockerel is a very gentle boy.
As for the worming part. I have not wormed my birds. I have seen no reason to and that may be wrong.
However, all of them appear to be in excellent health, with shiny, healthy feathers, acting well, eating well with proper nutrition. No lethargy, no funky poops. I’ve just always been of the mindset of not worming unless I saw a reason to. I know all my chickens have worms, just not an overload. Does that make me a bad chicken momma? Kind of like a momma who doesn’t vaccinate her kids? You’ve got me to thinking on this now. But if they had an overload of internal parasites there would be signs, surely, and I would think there would be more than one laying these ugly eggs as a result. You reckon?I’m confused now.
And I’m not in the market for a sub-par chocolate egg layer. These birds aren’t my first ones so I’m less likely for leniency with them. 
Mean ol me.
