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

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Thanks for the advice on how to handle the red wasps everyone. Having no former experience with red wasps, I definitely appreciate it. I will get some wasp spray, watch and find the nest(s), layer up, put on a boonie hat, and spray the nest at night as has been suggested.

 

[JulieNKC]

Sevin is just like anything that is applied topically...it is absorbed internally. The skin is the biggest organ our body has and you would not believe how effective it is for absorbing things in our shampoos, lotions, bug sprays, etc. Whatever you would not like to eat in the eggs, I wouldn't place on their skin.

Better deworm the kids!

When I was little it was pretty accepted that everyone got worm medicine for pin worms each spring...and we did. Wonder where all those pin worms disappeared to from that time to this? You can safely figure that, if your animals have worms, the kids do too.

Ivermectin is just a pretty harsh thing to give, no matter what the vet may say. Think about it...this is something you can pour on the back of a cow that will absorb into their skin and into the blood stream and consequently kill the parasites in the bowel. Poisons them. What do you think it's doing to the animal? Not to mention that using these kinds of dewormers on a regular basis can promote worms that can survive the biggest, harshest dewormer out there. These are the survivors. They will bear offspring that are resistant to the Ivermectin. If they can survive the Ivermectin, they most certainly will survive the less harsh chemical dewormers. Where do we go from there?

Many people in the livestock world are finding this out, which is why they keep coming out with newer and worse poisons to poison the generation of parasites that survived the last bad poison. The people who are tired of this cycle are looking for ways to control parasites without creating the "super worm". Same concept as the overuse of antibiotics.

We eat the eggs after I worm the chickens still, so maybe the kids get dewormed some then lol. I usually use safeguard though, so since I for whatever reason got ivermectin this time some went in the incubator and some went to the dog.

 

[ajlynco]

It is tough stuff dealing with these modern layers sometimes. They've been bred, by the industry, to lay quickly, lay heavy and lay large. The genetics have been pushed and pushed hard, in my experience with them. Reproductive issues is the result. Ovarian cancer is studied by using hens, as I understand it, as the chickens today have this issue in spades. Ascites, interior body infections, etc. It is sad to see one of your best young hens afflicted. The real life "cures" are not that helpful, but they include relaxing the bird in a tub of warm water, in hopes that she'll pass whatever is stuck in her tract. Lubing a finger and GENTLY swapping the vent can sometimes produce a find of something like a bit of shell. Be careful and don't go too deep.

Some folks pay a Vet a lot of money, hundreds of dollars, only to discover that despite the anti-biotic treatments, X-rays, etc, there is actually little long term "cures". Even if the hen should temporarily "recover", the outlook just isn't good, I'm sorry to say. An agricultural approach is to have slightly more hens than one needs so that the inevitable losses and culls don't hurt as bad. This approach doesn't work well with a pet point of view, as the such a person may only have 2 or 3 birds in the first place and the loss of one is traumatic.

Thanks Fred and all other responders, she's one of eleven so if she passes it won't be a huge loss. Being as how this is my first flock, I'm just going to watch and learn. The good thing is she's not getting any worse so I'll keep an eye on her and see what develops. I'm still wondering if she may be eggbound though.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

We eat the eggs after I worm the chickens still, so maybe the kids get dewormed some then lol. I usually use safeguard though, so since I for whatever reason got ivermectin this time some went in the incubator and some went to the dog.

I would be wary of eating the eggs immediately after deworming. Our eggs always look a little off during and after de-worming the chickens (which I am working hard to avoid doing again). There are noticeable blood spots in the eggs and a very liquid-like consistancy to them. The membranes are much weaker. Maybe it's nothing and the eggs are fine to eat, but I still would never eat them before 2 weeks after deworming has passed. No idea how safeguard differs from Wazine, though.

 

[therapydoglady]

speaking of wasps. funny true story to loosen the mood. it would only happen to me. i was working with soda. stacking the boxes up. it was a very hot day and i was all sweaty and nasty, as i was picking some of the last boxes on ground level. a wasp crawled up my pants leg from behind. this wasp stung me right in the crack of my butt on the right cheek. now picture a grown man whimpering and screaming obscenities with the neighbors 15 year old daughter watching me work.

I know EXACTLY how you feel bruceh When I was about 15 I went skinny dipping in the Frio river with a "friend." We heard someone coming, so jumped out to put our clothes on, which we had hung on the bushes. I jumped into my cut-offs and then jumped out of them as quickly as I'd jumped in. A hornet was inside them, checking out new nesting grounds I suppose, and tagged me right on my skinny naked butt! BTW...we go "caught' as we jumped back in the water, and couldn't come out until this "party" had watered their 6 horses...it sure takes a long time to water 6 horses!

I know, I know..there's a purpose for all God's creatures, but I've yet to see any good in a nasty ol' wasp, yellow jacket or hornet.

Yeah, I was stung as a child....a lot.

Bee, I am afraid of spiders...wasps eat spiders. ANYTHING that'll eat a spider is a friend of mine! Ha!ha!


Just got back from the Fair at Abilene and the chicken show therein. Had a great time and saw a lot of chickens. Got a good idea of what I DON'T want, and saw a bunch I'd love to have. I'm just having such a hard time on deciding which ONE breed I like...I like a lot of them! LOL. Brie

 

[therapydoglady]

PS...Maybe this has something to do with the "chicken math" everyone talks about? Brie

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Well, I have a disaster that I need advice on. My bantam house has been taken over by red wasps. I've been stung twice with the last sting being worse than the first. My neck is so swore from the sting I can hardly move it. I don't know what to do about the wasps. I can't see where the nest is and I couldn't get to it even if I knew where it was (I would be swarmed by wasps before I could get to it). The bantam house is three stories tall so it isn't a simple task. Is there any way to kill these wasps without being stung to death? Or should I just sell the bantams and say to hell with it? The hens are temporarily moved into the broody pen but there isn't enough room for all of them. I want an honest opinion. What would you wise old timer's do?

I'm not an old-timer (at least as regards chicken-keeping), and I know that some have advocated spraying the nest with wasp spray, but you might also consider getting several cans of what I call bug bombs (an aerosol that one sets off and leaves in place for about 1-2 hours inside a building, it usually takes about 10-20 minutes just for the spray to dispense). You could use both products to be sure, or just one or the other. I am a chickensh*t so would probably opt for the bombs because you just place and activate them, walk out and close the door behind you, and when you come back ALL the bugs are dead. If you could get all the chickens out of the building overnight and set the bombs then, by sunrise you should be in great shape.

 

[NYREDS]

We eat the eggs after I worm the chickens still, so maybe the kids get dewormed some then lol. I usually use safeguard though, so since I for whatever reason got ivermectin this time some went in the incubator and some went to the dog.

Ivermectin is used to treat worms in humans.

 

[Beekissed]

I know...and I still can't believe it. That stuff has some kick to it.

 

[therapydoglady]

Let's face it, very few people can be like Fred, he's so smooth. I think Fred could tell someone they were a stupid, ugly, smelly, idiot and make them feel good about it at the same time.

Tharapydoglady has - had a plastic sign on her desk reminding herself to ever be diplomatic... it read:

DIPLOMACY:
The ability to tell a person to
"GO TO HE__"
In such a way that he actually
Looks forward to the trip!​

Brie