I was thinking of making a big circle with a roll of chicken wire...then spread a tarp over it. That way, the seeds could germinate without the chickens gobbling them all up first. Then, we could move the make-shift tractor/garden circle and plant again. Is there a local mill to purchase rye, flax and oat seeds by the pound?I did some reading on the grass for chickens. Sadly, there is no grass that they will not destroy. The section idea is great. You can put a different type of grass in each section. You can plant rye in one, oats in another for example. One idea was to build a coop with four doors. Each door would lead to a different section with a different type grass. You would rotate which sections the chickens went to based on the condition of the grass.
Ok, that would be a lot of work....You could use a chicken tractor and move it every couple of days. You would have to have a big one for 11 chickens. I am working on setting up a system. I am going to plant Bermuda Grass and rotate my three groups of chickens to the grass for a couple hours each day. After the Bermuda Grass is established, I will over seed with Rye grass next fall.
These are my thoughts on worming. I don't think it is the only way or maybe even the best way but it works so far. I think chickens are a bit like cats and dogs. They should be wormed before they start laying(when young). We adopted a dog recently and the Humane Society wormed her before we got her. After the first worming, you can either worm a couple of times a year or you can take a poo sample to the vet for a float test. Any vet should be able to do this. It is a misconception that you will see the worms in the poo. If you do see worms in the poo, you have a real bad problem.
Look up instructions for Ivermecton or one of the generic versions. I use injectable, 4 ccs per gallon for two days and then repeat 10 days later. There is no with drawl for eggs for your own consumption. The stuff is the same as what is prescribed for human worm infestations, so even if it got into the egg(the claim is that in doesn't) It would not hurt you.
I have read that there is no organic wormer that gets rid of worms. Ivermectin does not seem to harm the chickens at all. I usually start getting more eggs though.
I hope this helps,
Ron
Really? We can continue eating the eggs while they are being wormed? Thank you for the information. I think I should go ahead and worm them to have peace of mind. My 2 EE's and Welsummer haven't started laying yet (nor the silkies) so this would be as good a time as any. Where do I buy Ivermectin? My local feed store in Elverta doesn't sell it.
Thank you for the link. I looked it up and it sounds perfect. So, it's about $3 per pound....How much is the shipping or don't I want to know?? By the way does it seem to last very long or do they eat it up in a few days and you have to re-seed?
