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

[capayvalleychick]

1. for worms: give a little strip of horse medication. I chickened out and didn't buy it. It seemed too draconian to me to give a little chicken something that you would give a horse. In my consternation I didn't see what the product was. It said Gold on it.

It was probably Zimectrin Gold, which is ivermectin & praziquantel. It's a broad spectrum wormer that controls the widest range of parasites, including tapeworms. It is labeled for use on horses.

I do not have experience with worming poultry, but I've seen cattle/sheep wormers being recommended for use on poultry. I would guess that using the horse wormer would be similar...maybe even a little easier- if you know the correct dose- because horse wormers are in paste form and don't drip/spill as easily as cattle wormer. This is just a thought, I'm not a vet.

 

[armorfirelady]

Just a quick question for the OTC's.....I have 23 week old Partridge Rocks. They are double the size of when I got them but their combs & wattles really havent changed since I got them. I am patiently waiting for eggs. Girls dont seem in any hurry. I check the nesting boxes and while I can tell they have been in there no one has left me any eggs.

Here is a current pic of the hens:


Why I believe they may be molting (they have been slowly losing gray down feathers and I am finding some regular feathers around as well but they dont look raggedy except for the loose down feathers around their behind. I have noticed that the feathers on their behinds are getting longer & more filled in so that they are looking more like full grown hens. But I know other with hens about 3 weeks older who's combs & wattles are much larger and the hens are bigger as well.

Does anyone know the apporximate age this breed starts laying? And will there be more comb & wattle development before they start laying? I guess I am just interested in signs from the hens that shows they are getting ready to lay. Do they have to do a complete molt before laying?
I am hopeful for some eggs before winter sets in and their laying will decrease.

The only changes I made to their care is switching over to FF.
Thanks
Jenn

 

[donrae]

I'm not sure how the "horse wormer" would hurt them, I think Ivermectin in all it's forms is used to worm just about everything, isn't it? It would just be a matter of dosing correctly. Was the advice to put some down in the coop and let the birds peck at it and self medicate?

Well, I don't worm my birds and have *gasp* moved away from worming my horses, so not really my area. I was just looking this wormer up cause we bought a meat goat and planned to butcher it the next weekend, as we were pulling out of the driveway the seller remembers to tell us he just wormed his herd the day before with Ivomec Gold? I think it was. Anyway, I get home and look up withdrawl time and it 56 days! 56 days!

Darn it, I didn't want to keep the darn goat that long! So, now I'm feeding another animal...........

 

[Maven]

We've got several here that crossed over to the fermented feed thread and are trying this method for their layers and meat birds. Anyone care to report on this thread why they wanted to try it and what results they have seen from feeding fermented grains instead of dry feeds?

Bee,

I decided to try the FF method after reading the FF thread and hearing all the positive results people were having: Chickens using/utilizing less feed, less smell, less mess, livelier, healthier seeming bird with more giddy up in their gitalong.

I know it was primarily meant for meat birds and mine are very young (10wks) meant-to-be layers/DP, but hey, what's good for one has got to be good for the other.

My girls have been on the FF since the 26th of August and are using half the feed now that they were then despite being nearly 3 weeks older. Of course, they are free-ranging now too, but that has only been since Monday, I believe. There is virtually NO manure smell in the Chicken Shack now, and I almost never have to toss the straw - no runny poop, and no amonia smell at all either. I've been told I have some of the healthiest looking birds that many around here have seen in a long, long time and that my Chicken Shack is one of the cleanest smelling that anyone has been in - one friend said 'You know, I think this is the first coop I've ever actually WANTED to spend a little time in.'

It probably takes an extra 10 minutes out of my day to do the FF method. I ferment my grower together with a handful each of BOSS, scratch and extra oats thrown in, along with a healthy glug of ACV every few days, and every so often I sprinkle a healthy amount of cayenne pepper on it once it is in the feeder - they seen to go nuts for that! I've been on the same bucket, just adding feed and back-slopping since the begining.

The only draw-back I've seen are the gnats that seem to gather around it, but I have it down in the old house we use as a storage shed, not the house we live in, so they don't bother me and the ones that land in it add to the protein.

The price of a 50# sack of feed has increased by $6 in the last 6 weeks around here, and I only see it going up as winter comes on. I opened a new bag of feed on 9/13 - I made a note of that so I could really see just how long 1 50# sack lasts me for 29 growing birds. I'll let you know when it runs out.

Question for the OTs: I have 2 roosts that run the full width of the coop. One of them is about 18 inches lower than the other. Last night I went in to see who was on the roost and if I had to put any one up. Sure enough the same few birds as before were not on the roosts - they were on the ground pacing back and forth, but I realized that the 2--3 that were on the lower roost were fighting to get on the higher roost - there were 20 or so birds crammed on the upper roost alread - no one wanted to be on the lower one.
QUESTION: If I lower the upper roost to be the same level as the lower one, do you think they will then all be happy to roost on either roost, or will they still fight to get on the same roost?

Thanks for your input,
Maven

 

[MOChickenShoes]

Just a quick question for the OTC's.....I have 23 week old Partridge Rocks. They are double the size of when I got them but their combs & wattles really havent changed since I got them. I am patiently waiting for eggs. Girls dont seem in any hurry. I check the nesting boxes and while I can tell they have been in there no one has left me any eggs.

Here is a current pic of the hens:


Why I believe they may be molting (they have been slowly losing gray down feathers and I am finding some regular feathers around as well but they dont look raggedy except for the loose down feathers around their behind. I have noticed that the feathers on their behinds are getting longer & more filled in so that they are looking more like full grown hens. But I know other with hens about 3 weeks older who's combs & wattles are much larger and the hens are bigger as well.

Does anyone know the apporximate age this breed starts laying? And will there be more comb & wattle development before they start laying? I guess I am just interested in signs from the hens that shows they are getting ready to lay. Do they have to do a complete molt before laying?
I am hopeful for some eggs before winter sets in and their laying will decrease.

The only changes I made to their care is switching over to FF.
Thanks
Jenn

i'm not an OT, but one of our BR's just started laying monday so i thought i'd respond. she was 22 weeks old, but her waddles and comb exploded several weeks ago. she had also been going in the nest boxes for an hour or so every day for a week before she started laying, just arranging hay but not laying anything. i too was concerned that i'd have to wait out a molt before she and the other pullets would start laying, as i was finding a lot of feathers (though none of them were raggedy looking). this was the course of events for is: bird. i'm sure the correct answer to your question would be "It varies with the chicken". there is no set rule for when a chicken of any breed will start laying, nor is there any rule that a pullet will do "behavior x" and "behavior y" in any particular order before they start laying. generally, yes their combs/waddles will noticeably develop and redden before they start to lay, but not always. as hard as it is, all you can do is wait for eggs.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Yes...I started some but they're a "drop in the bucket". I think I'd need a half acre of them to make a dent and then they'd be eaten in less than an hour!

(And I only have half a dozen chickens right now...)

But...I am interested in starting some red wiggler worms for the chickens. I also think I could never get close to enough. I saw how Harvey Ussery does a whole greenhouse floor with them and wish I had that kind of setup! Here's what he's doing...

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Earthworms.html

I'm not raising the meal worms because I expect them to dramatically cut back on feed costs, though I'm sure they will help somewhat. I want them mainly for the protein and health benefits they will have on my chickens this winter when there aren't many insects out and about. I chose meal worms because they are dry, half-way clean, non-stinky worms that I can keep in the house in what used to be the cat corner.

 

[bruceh]

i'm not an OT, but one of our BR's just started laying monday so i thought i'd respond. she was 22 weeks old, but her waddles and comb exploded several weeks ago. she had also been going in the nest boxes for an hour or so every day for a week before she started laying, just arranging hay but not laying anything. i too was concerned that i'd have to wait out a molt before she and the other pullets would start laying, as i was finding a lot of feathers (though none of them were raggedy looking). this was the course of events for is: bird. i'm sure the correct answer to your question would be "It varies with the chicken". there is no set rule for when a chicken of any breed will start laying, nor is there any rule that a pullet will do "behavior x" and "behavior y" in any particular order before they start laying. generally, yes their combs/waddles will noticeably develop and redden before they start to lay, but not always. as hard as it is, all you can do is wait for egg

 

[bruceh]

Just a quick question for the OTC's.....I have 23 week old Partridge Rocks. They are double the size of when I got them but their combs & wattles really havent changed since I got them. I am patiently waiting for eggs. Girls dont seem in any hurry. I check the nesting boxes and while I can tell they have been in there no one has left me any eggs.

Here is a current pic of the hens:


Why I believe they may be molting (they have been slowly losing gray down feathers and I am finding some regular feathers around as well but they dont look raggedy except for the loose down feathers around their behind. I have noticed that the feathers on their behinds are getting longer & more filled in so that they are looking more like full grown hens. But I know other with hens about 3 weeks older who's combs & wattles are much larger and the hens are bigger as well.

Does anyone know the apporximate age this breed starts laying? And will there be more comb & wattle development before they start laying? I guess I am just interested in signs from the hens that shows they are getting ready to lay. Do they have to do a complete molt before laying?
I am hopeful for some eggs before winter sets in and their laying will decrease.

The only changes I made to their care is switching over to FF.
Thanks
Jenn

in my opinion , your birds are to young to molt. chickens don't really molt to their 2nd fall. what i think you are seeing is the new feathers coming in, as new feathers come in the birds preen themselves.
you are correct in what you are seeing in the older birds. as the bird matures the comb, wattles, and face will become larger and red indicating maturity,
i can tell you my columbian rocks just started to lay at 6 months of age.

 

[Folly's place]

I am a veterinarian, and I can't think that paste horse wormer is a good choice for chickens. Each slot on the tube is marked for 250 lbs. body weight; people have poisoned their dogs on the stuff, much less a tiny chicken. I have used liquid Ivermectin, as it's much easier to control the dose, so much safer. It's an unapproved drug for poultry, so you have to be comfortable with knowing that there is no official withdrawal time for either eggs or meat. Mary

 

[thedragonlady]

I am a veterinarian, and I can't think that paste horse wormer is a good choice for chickens. Each slot on the tube is marked for 250 lbs. body weight; people have poisoned their dogs on the stuff, much less a tiny chicken. I have used liquid Ivermectin, as it's much easier to control the dose, so much safer. It's an unapproved drug for poultry, so you have to be comfortable with knowing that there is no official withdrawal time for either eggs or meat. Mary

I'd really like a vet's dosage for chickens for Ivermectin. Do you use cattle, or swine? I use the cattle injectable Ivermectin monthly, orally, as heartworm control and vermifuge.