Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Mountain Momma]

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[stonykill]

Happy Thanksgiving!

nice!
Killed these guys this morning for dinner

 

[armorfirelady]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Great job on the turkey & the pic of the dogs is priceless. I love how Emma is snuggled up in the labs paws

 

[Miss Lydia]

Great job on the turkey & the pic of the dogs is priceless. I love how Emma is snuggled up in the labs paws

The pic of the dogs is so cute.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Just my 2 cents if you store them in the garage they will get messy as they freeze & thaw & detoriate. I opted for a pallet in my veggie garden with a tarp over them to try and keep the deer & squirrels from eating them

Thanks - that's what I'm going to try too. Had 'em in the basement - bad choice. They started deteriorating quickly and some of them were FULL of the DREADED BLACK MOLD. I hauled them all out and put the bad ones for compost. There were still about 15 or so that were good. Going to try the pallet/tarp idea in the garden area.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Okay... I'm thinking that one of the pellet/bb/air guns may be appropriate for my area in addition to a shot gun for other endeavors. I also had my hunting friend suggest getting one.

Now...help my total ignorance (definition: uneducated in the specific topic). Can one or many of you post links to specific guns that you'd recommend so I can read the specs and know exactly what you like? That would help me sort through all the crap and just cut to the chase.

Particularly interested in the air/bb/pellet guns but you can link others too and tell me why you like em and how you would use 'em.

Yep what you've got there is a pellet. There are indeed pellet guns that can pick off predators. I own a pump up pellet rifle that will pick off squirrels with ease if you pump it up to the max. And there are CO2 versions that are easier to use but of course more expensive than mine. Perfectly legal in the city but DO be careful you aren't going to shoot out a neighbors window or something. Treat one just as though it were a .22. Don't want any accidents. What you would look for is one that shoots 1000 FPS or more.

 

[normanack]

Bee and OTs, I've got a problem.
I've got mites.
As in, me personally.
One of the hens is broody, around Day 18, and nearly microscopic mites are all over the nest box she's using. They've spread to the other nest boxes, so I assume that means all the chickens have them, or soon will.

Tonight I reached down and gave her back a pat without thinking. By the time I had walked back to the house, they had crawled up my arm, across my shoulders and down the other arm, on my neck and I bet they're in my hair. They itch like crazy.

The poor hen must be loaded. DH kept the burn pile going all day to make plenty of ashes.

Help, please! and thank you.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Take a shower. Dump vinegar over your head and body. Shower it off.

They also sell Rid-Ex type shampoo or something like that. It will do the job. It is a mild insecticide solution safe for human hair application. Head lice type solution. Should work fine. Good news is, the stores are all re-opening tonight. Go get yourself some. Repeat, usually in a few days, but I doubt you'll have any eggs.

Best wishes.

 

[normanack]

Take a shower.   Dump vinegar over your head and body.  Shower it off.

They also sell Rid-Ex type shampoo or something like that.  It will do the job.  It is a mild insecticide solution safe for human hair application.  Head lice type solution.  Should work fine.  Good news is, the stores are all re-opening tonight.  Go get yourself some.  Repeat, usually in a few days, but I doubt you'll have any eggs.

Best wishes.  

Thanks for the lightning-fast reply!

The shower seemed to do the trick -- major scrubbing like you wouldn't believe -- and I'll look into some Rid-Ex tomorrow just in case. Should I wash the hen? Or just dust her with ashes? How often? And what would you put in/on the nest boxes?

I examined a couple hen butts and didn't see any egg masses or mites on them -- I'm not sure how I'll be able to hold onto the broody long enough to dust her without running screaming into the woods, scratching my skin off. (But I will.)

If she manages to hatch the chicks and the mites aren't yet under control, how long till they're bloodless little corpses?

Again, thanks!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for the lightning-fast reply!
The shower seemed to do the trick -- major scrubbing like you wouldn't believe -- and I'll look into some Rid-Ex tomorrow just in case. Should I wash the hen? Or just dust her with ashes? How often? And what would you put in/on the nest boxes?
I examined a couple hen butts and didn't see any egg masses or mites on them -- I'm not sure how I'll be able to hold onto the broody long enough to dust her without running screaming into the woods, scratching my skin off. (But I will.)
If she manages to hatch the chicks and the mites aren't yet under control, how long till they're bloodless little corpses?
Again, thanks!

When they got on me just a shower took care of it so your probably good to go, I had the same thing happen back when one of my hens was sitting one day none next day all over her and in the nest box. Crawling up my arm, yuck. Did you know you can spray your chickens with neem oil mixed 2 tab. to 1 gallon of water. also you can spray out the nest box or use sulphur and spread in the nest box. when I treated the nest boxes i took out the eggs she was sitting on then sprayed put in new bedding over top of sprayed mixed real good set eggs back and sprayed my hen then put her back in. Then did the same thing again in 7 days, plus rubbed their legs and vent area with Nu stock. sprayed all roosts with neem oil mixed with water, and also sprayed cracks where wood meets inside coop walls. didn't spray bedding though. No sign of mites now. Eggs had hatched in the mean time but did not treat new hatched chicks. They never got them either.