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

[normanack]

Nice score on the pumpkins!

Envious! The local grocery store had tiny pumpkins for $3 apiece today. That's the store that throws out their old produce in a locked dumpster. Grrrr.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote from Maven:
Congrats on the deer meat!!! Send tenderloin.....

My boys are coming in next week!

And the middle son will be bowhunting a little while he is in. He is some kind of death on the deer and always brings home the meat, ever since he was 8 yrs old he's been a steady killer. Love deer meat here and cannot wait until he comes...but also can't wait to sink my teeth in some deer.

The Bat plans on doing some gun hunting and she's a good shot, so we'll see what she turns up. I plan on making jerky for Christmas presents this year, so I need me some meat!

 

[just me]

Congrats on the deer meat!!! Send tenderloin.....

My boys are coming in next week!

And the middle son will be bowhunting a little while he is in. He is some kind of death on the deer and always brings home the meat, ever since he was 8 yrs old he's been a steady killer. Love deer meat here and cannot wait until he comes...but also can't wait to sink my teeth in some deer.

The Bat plans on doing some gun hunting and she's a good shot, so we'll see what she turns up. I plan on making jerky for Christmas presents this year, so I need me some meat!

Just wondering how you do your jerky....we use the newfangled dehydrater. I'm hoping you have some old timey way of doing it and can school me.

 

[remist17]

I know this post is bout OT input, but I was hoping someone could answer a question for me. I have two hens that lost all their back feathers down to their butt. they have all their wings and breast feathers. The skin is red in color. I have one rooster in with 8 hens. All other hens have the normal feather missing on the back of the head and some do not have tail feathers. I amconcerned over the the ones missing the feathers on the back. I havea 8x8 hous and 12x12 run for 9 total chickens. Is the feather loss from the rooster? He does get somewhat aggressive with the hens. Is there anything I should do? My concern is we are going into winter.

 

[Beekissed]

We used to do it in the wood cook stove back in the day~hanging from the racks~ and in the gas stove oven later on...just on cookie sheets. Now, we too use the dehydrator. We use The Bat's recipe using garlic, pepper and Bragg's Amino. The boys prefer it over the premade mixes one can buy and I think it's much healthier.

 

[20736]

Hi remist17,

This sounds like it could be feather mites. They live in the follicle and eat the nutrients needed for feather growth. It can be a problem with one or two birds and not bother the rest of the flock. When one of mine gets it, I usually treat with Ivermectin. Sometimes takes two doses 3 weeks apart when it is that bad. Once treated, mine always regrow a healthy coat of fluff and feathers. Hope this helps.

 

[Beekissed]

I know this post is bout OT input, but I was hoping someone could answer a question for me. I have two hens that lost all their back feathers down to their butt. they have all their wings and breast feathers. The skin is red in color. I have one rooster in with 8 hens. All other hens have the normal feather missing on the back of the head and some do not have tail feathers. I amconcerned over the the ones missing the feathers on the back. I havea 8x8 hous and 12x12 run for 9 total chickens. Is the feather loss from the rooster? He does get somewhat aggressive with the hens. Is there anything I should do? My concern is we are going into winter.

You could have many scenarios here. I'm sure most of the feather loss on the backs is from the rooster but ordinarily that ratio wouldn't yield that much roo wear on the hens. Poor skin/feather quality due to breed and genetics could be another reason. This is also the time for molting, so extra feather loss is expected this time of year. You could also have a flock infested with lice and skin mites...the redness of the skin on the back could suggest this.

The space you describe really isn't big enough for that many birds, so this too could play a part in your problem.

Feel like doing some reading? Here's a thread that might help you on some of these possible issues and will help you understand the others. It has some great pics and solutions for most of the problems I mentioned. If you are really committed to helping this flock, it's worth the time to read this thread and maybe consider some changes to make their lives better.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-horrors-anyone-want-to-follow-their-progress

 

[remist17]

Bee Thank you for the post. I will look at the two birds tomorrow morning. Maybe in my mind its the entire back I could be wrong....
I will dust them just in case.
Can I send you a photo for your opinion?

I will also enlarge the run this weekend.

 

[Beekissed]

Sure! We LOVE pics on this thread!

I'd suggest you go out to the coop after dark and take a good light with you...upend them and take a good look around their vents to see if you can spot anything moving away from the light. Parasites are most active at night. You might also see nits at the base of the feathers around the vent as well.

 

[delisha]

remist..we love posts and pictures..specially before and after! Another alternate might be to give you birds is a good ole fashion wood ash dust bath. Wood ash has been use since fire was discovered to make things like soap, detergents, and flea/mite baths. Wood charcoal is a natural cleanser and the chickens understand it is healthy when they pick at it and even eat it. It helps to remove worms, kills fleas, mites and lice.It also contains Vitamin K.