Chickens Not Paying Their Rent - Need Advice

[BDutch]

It helps a lot!

Last question: are you familiar with any treatments to give sick chickens or something to boost their immune systems in general? Medicines, foods, supplements, herbs, etc?

Sorry to burst into this Welshmen. Perris gave excellent answers so far. But
maybe I can add a few ideas and a response to your question about gheir immune system.

Healthy supplements for chickens I give my chickens now and then: garlic, apple cider vinegar, oregano. But there are more. There is an article on herbs in the learning center. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/top-50-herbs-for-your-chickens.77443/

Probably the number of eggs is fine for the number of chickens (more heritage breed less production hens) you have. But the following crossed my mind while reading about your ‘problem’ and I wrote them down just to be sure.

Did you check on mite and lice? Or worms? Especially red mites and a severe worm infestation can cause trouble in paradise. In some states the northern fowl mites can cause problems too.

And I wonder how much space (run space) the chickens have. Because if chickens who have little space they can get stressed and lay less because of that.
A good run for 6 normal sized chickens would be 24m3 (about 12 * 20 ft) .

 

[Perris]

It helps a lot!

Last question: are you familiar with any treatments to give sick chickens or something to boost their immune systems in general? Medicines, foods, supplements, herbs, etc?

Foraging among wild plants aka weeds; I think that they are good at self-medicating if they get the chance. Have you got a particular illness in mind?

 

[Parsino]

Sorry to burst into this Welshmen.

That's 1/8th Welshman to you! ...maybe. Probably less than that. My "Welsh" grandfather also talked about having some Irish ancestry at one point.

Thank you for the tips on herbs and the link.

Did you check on mite and lice? Or worms? Especially red mites and a severe worm infestation can cause trouble in paradise. In some states the northern fowl mites can cause problems too.

I did not and I don't know how to do it. Do you have any resources to share where I can learn how to do this?

And I wonder how much space (run space) the chickens have. Because if chickens who have little space they can get stressed and lay less because of that.
A good run for 6 normal sized chickens would be 24m3 (about 12 * 20 ft) .

Not enough at all. What I have now is 10x13, and we've got an additional 6 adolescent chicks in there. Maybe I just need to start trapping coyotes so I can let them out more. Unfortunately, it's super illegal for me to kill the birds of prey.

Foraging among wild plants aka weeds; I think that they are good at self-medicating if they get the chance. Have you got a particular illness in mind?

Mycoplasma was brought up and now I want to figure out how to check for mites, lice, and worms. Outside of anything specific, I was wondering if there is a general "immune system booster" for chickens. Plantain is a "weed" that grows around here that I know is a great general immune system booster for humans. BDutch mentioned garlic, apple cider vinegar, and oregano.

 

[Perris]

I was wondering if there is a general "immune system booster" for chickens. Plantain is a "weed" that grows around here that I know is a great general immune system booster for humans. BDutch mentioned garlic, apple cider vinegar, and oregano.

Not that I know of, but I trust the chickens to recognize one if they see it Plantain has lots of benefits; mine like and eat the seeds.

As it happens I am currently working through a list of welsh native plants on a display at the apothecary's hall at the national botanic garden near here, with their putative health benefits according to Culpepper and some early Welsh herbalists; I'll let you know if I come across something relevant, ideally with some more recent and demonstrable support for whatever health claims are made about it/them.

 

[BDutch]

I did not and I don't know how to do it. Do you have any resources to share where I can learn how to do this?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ses-tips-for-prevention-and-monitoring.76285/

I originally wrote this article after reading about a research on transmitting diseases. This part is translated from a Dutch article. The other info is from gathering knowledges from several sources and my own experience.

If you want to read more about other parasites I’m sure you can search & find info in the article section and in threads. Risks on getting any of them depends a lot on where you live. Treating for parasites is often not a one fit’s all solution. And there are always different opinions on what’s the best way to handle things.

if you want to read more about chickens in general? In ‘topics of the week’ you find interesting contributions on many subjects.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive.72529/