chicken care routines

[CluckerFamily]

Thank you! Have you found that the DE dust bath prevents all the mites/lice buggers? No heater in the coop right? (we don't have one but are working with getting right the ventilation). I'm going to tell my husband that they are less work then a dog, I think he will appreciate that at this point.

In 7 years of raising chickens I haven’t had any issues with mites, lice, or worms. I think the dust bathes in the warm months and the DE for the winter helps, but there are some people that refuse to use DE. If ever I had an issue I would treat when noticed.
I do have a heat lamp ready for the days needed. I will turn it on for a few hours in those -20 degree days. But the chickens keep each other warm and the corrugated plastic sheets keep the run warm.

 

[PioneerChicks]

I don't use DE unless my whole flock has a really bad case (which has only happened once in 8 years). Dirt and wood ashes (for dustbathing) keep parasites down well and are completely natural. DE is my second choice.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I raise my chickens organically in that I feed organic feed as soon as I get them (2-3 days old), although I do feed some treats that aren't organic. And though my lot isn't certified organic, I avoid using fertilizers, chemicals on the lawn, garden, etc. Almost all my bedding/litter comes from my property as well, so that way I know that the materials haven't been treated for anything.

As far as health, I just do routine inspections of random members of my flock weekly, and of course just watch their behavior from day to day, and that really should be enough to monitor for many health issues.

Some people believe in DE, some do not. I've had mites before and we treated with permethrin, but that is meant for active infestations, not something you can use preemptively. I have never wormed my chickens as my flock has shown no evidence of them needing it.

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't have the chicken expertise that some people do, but I have a philosophy that has worked with cats, children, cockatiels, and, thus far, chickens.

1. Don't over-complicate things. If you set up a difficult system that relies on frequent, intensive input you will eventually get worn out and/or suffer an emergency that prevents you from providing that input and the entire system will crash. At work I am sometimes praised for my efficiency, but what I really am is lazy.

2. Don't fix what isn't broken. It happens more with child-raising than chickens in my experience so far, but there is always a fad for having some kind of trendy problem that sets people seeking elaborate solutions to problems that are 90% imaginary (in my own childhood it was seafood allergies, my 4 kids born over a span of 14 years went through Milk is Evil!, Wheat is Evil!, Soy is Evil!, and Gluten is Evil!).

3. You can't go wrong with fresh air and exercise.

4. A little dirt is healthy. Not filth, of course, but no animal, not even human animals, was intended by nature to be raised in a sterile environment -- much less an environment saturated with the fumes from strong cleaning chemicals.

5. This one is specific to the chickens, but I figure that chickens know better how to be chickens than I know how to be a chicken so I give them options. My in-town run was partially open, partially covered, and hardened against predators. Therefore I left the pop door open except in emergencies and the chickens got to choose what kind of weather they wanted to go out in and where they wanted to sleep.

I let them dig their own dust baths where they want them. The current chickens have 3 -- one under their ramp (probably the coolest area in the pen), one in a very dry area, and one where there is a lot of old pinestraw so that there is more organic matter in the soil.

I free-feed (layers, not meaties), and offer both pure water and water with electrolytes (once a week in this hot weather).

It can certainly be overwhelming to have people telling you a bunch of things that chickens HAVE TO have -- many mutually exclusive. But both chickens and people are adapatable and you'll come up with a philosophy that works for you.