Colorado

[City farm]

Mites - sorry, missed this one, thanks GrandmaBird - if you are okay with using chemicals I would go to the feed store and get two things, the concentrate you mix with water and either spray or dunk them all, and the powder to put in the coop, on the roosts, and even in the run after they go to bed if you have wood chips in the run. I believe the active ingredient in the concentrate is permethrin. I used it last year when I had a hen pretty badly infested, and had no problems afterward.

I was checking on a site for mites but came across this.. It is from @gallodelceielo on our Arizona Fourm.. He is one amazing photographer & designed the treadle feeder..& the list goes on & on.. Hope this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/poultry-ticks

 

[NHN]

Anyone here looking to add a bantam Cochin roo to their flock? He is about 2 months old and I cannot have a roo in Longmont. He is very sweet

 

[gretabee]

Hi everyone! I have a question and I thought it would be easier to ask all of you, since you understand the temps and climate.

My chicks will be three weeks old on Monday. How soon can I move them outside? Right now I have the heat lamp set to 85 degrees. I currently have them in a spare room in my house, and the temperature inside is usually around 80 degrees. I will move the heat lamp again on Monday, but do I need to keep the heat lamp on if the room is already 80 degrees? I was hoping to move the chicks outside around 4 weeks, but I don't mind keeping them inside longer if they need it. Our coop is wired up so we could add a heat lamp outside right away if needed. It's been in the high 50s low 60s over night. Thanks!

 

[Aacre]

Can anyone help this person!!!

Oh! Thank you! You are sweet! I had forgotten I posted this question here.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Is DE safe for meat birds? I would like to be able to eat their eggs still.. Or maybe not, since I'm overrun with them.. But they are meat birds and I don't want to eat a bird with yucky chemicals in it's system. I wouldn't be culling and sending to freezer camp for a while yet, so if it comes out of their system after a period of time, then I'm alright with it.
I'm not easily creeped out, but poultry ticks seem scary to me! I cleaned my coop out today and cleaned it very well.. I didn't find any ticks, so I guess I'm alright there!
I've never had a mite infestation before with my chickens, so this is new to me. I just want it out of my flock for good! I did some research and I will probably be using some essential oils or herb plants to deter the mites for the future.
So is the Dawn dish soap and water method a bad idea? I know dish soap is bad for ducks because they lose their buoyancy until the soap residue is gone.

 

[Aacre]

Hola CO chicken peeps! Lots of interesting topics in this thread. Maggie,I know I am new to chicken keeping and all, but I have to agree with Wendell,on viewing the girls as livestock. We are of the mind set of raising chickens mostly for eggs. However if there is someone in the flock who is mean or another rooster then we have made up our minds that they will be culled and we will eat them. If we fall on hard times and push came to shove, we would eat them as well. If I think of them as pets we would be in trouble.just my two cents. Now ask me after we have culled our first bird if view points have changed.

Here are some pics of the gang free ranging, they have gotten their first taste of it this week. They love it! Also here are some updated shots of mystery black birds, their feather patterns are developing more and more.





- We believe that this one might be a double laced Barnevelder.

I have a young chicken that looks just like the one you have standing on the cinder block! Except she has a different comb.

 

[Latestarter]

Hi everyone! I have a question and I thought it would be easier to ask all of you, since you understand the temps and climate.

My chicks will be three weeks old on Monday. How soon can I move them outside? Right now I have the heat lamp set to 85 degrees. I currently have them in a spare room in my house, and the temperature inside is usually around 80 degrees. I will move the heat lamp again on Monday, but do I need to keep the heat lamp on if the room is already 80 degrees? I was hoping to move the chicks outside around 4 weeks, but I don't mind keeping them inside longer if they need it. Our coop is wired up so we could add a heat lamp outside right away if needed. It's been in the high 50s low 60s over night. Thanks!

Hi Gretabee: My chicks went outside at 5 weeks, about 2 weeks ago. As soon as they are mostly feathered out, they should be just fine outside here this time of year. They all pile up in a corner at night and keep each other warm. I stopped using the heat lamp completely at 3 weeks... they didn't really need it anymore. At that time, they were in a back bedroom with the window completely opened for ventilation and the outside temps at night were in the 50s. The room temp dropped to around 65-70 in the morning. Didn't phase them at all... When I would go in in the morning, they ran around and ate like they were half starved. I think they actually appreciated the darkness as they would quiet right down and sleep through the night

. You can try leaving the light off overnight and just look in on them a few times and see how they are doing. I think you'll see they are fine.

 

[gardendufus]

Hi everyone! I have a question and I thought it would be easier to ask all of you, since you understand the temps and climate.

My chicks will be three weeks old on Monday. How soon can I move them outside? Right now I have the heat lamp set to 85 degrees. I currently have them in a spare room in my house, and the temperature inside is usually around 80 degrees. I will move the heat lamp again on Monday, but do I need to keep the heat lamp on if the room is already 80 degrees? I was hoping to move the chicks outside around 4 weeks, but I don't mind keeping them inside longer if they need it. Our coop is wired up so we could add a heat lamp outside right away if needed. It's been in the high 50s low 60s over night. Thanks!

Gretabee........

My chicks were broody hatched about 4 weeks ago and mom had them outside for the day at 3 days old. When I bought them from the hatchery, I had them outside in the coop without a heat lamp at about 3 weeks old. At that age, at night when it cools off they are sleeping in a heap and keeping each other warm IMHO.

 

[gretabee]

Gretabee........

My chicks were broody hatched about 4 weeks ago and mom had them outside for the day at 3 days old. When I bought them from the hatchery, I had them outside in the coop without a heat lamp at about 3 weeks old. At that age, at night when it cools off they are sleeping in a heap and keeping each other warm IMHO.

Hi Gretabee: My chicks went outside at 5 weeks, about 2 weeks ago. As soon as they are mostly feathered out, they should be just fine outside here this time of year. They all pile up in a corner at night and keep each other warm. I stopped using the heat lamp completely at 3 weeks... they didn't really need it anymore. At that time, they were in a back bedroom with the window completely opened for ventilation and the outside temps at night were in the 50s. The room temp dropped to around 65-70 in the morning. Didn't phase them at all... When I would go in in the morning, they ran around and ate like they were half starved. I think they actually appreciated the darkness as they would quiet right down and sleep through the night

. You can try leaving the light off overnight and just look in on them a few times and see how they are doing. I think you'll see they are fine.

Thank you both!! I will try turning off the heat light completely at 3 weeks, and I'll plan on putting them outside around 4 weeks. They already like to sleep in a pile (usually on the "cool side" of the brooder) so what you are saying makes total sense!

 

[jime]

Oh! Thank you! You are sweet! I had forgotten I posted this question here.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Is DE safe for meat birds? I would like to be able to eat their eggs still.. Or maybe not, since I'm overrun with them.. But they are meat birds and I don't want to eat a bird with yucky chemicals in it's system. I wouldn't be culling and sending to freezer camp for a while yet, so if it comes out of their system after a period of time, then I'm alright with it.
I'm not easily creeped out, but poultry ticks seem scary to me! I cleaned my coop out today and cleaned it very well.. I didn't find any ticks, so I guess I'm alright there!
I've never had a mite infestation before with my chickens, so this is new to me. I just want it out of my flock for good! I did some research and I will probably be using some essential oils or herb plants to deter the mites for the future.
So is the Dawn dish soap and water method a bad idea? I know dish soap is bad for ducks because they lose their buoyancy until the soap residue is gone.

Maybe I am gonna get chew with this but I did use frontline. I have a group of chickens that were looking pretty bad and after checking found crawling things on them I use a fro on their neck each and by the next day everybody was happy and not much scratching.
If you search for frontline in BYC you will find a few people use it.
I did eat the eggs no problem and the meat as well after a month.I have not dose them for 4 months now.

 

[Aacre]

Maybe I am gonna get chew with this but I did use frontline. I have a group of chickens that were looking pretty bad and after checking found crawling things on them I use a fro on their neck each and by the next day everybody was happy and not much scratching.
If you search for frontline in BYC you will find a few people use it.
I did eat the eggs no problem and the meat as well after a month.I have not dose them for 4 months now.

Thank you! I have read that some people used Frontline. I didn't know it was safe for meat chickens though! Out of curiousity, how much did you dose each chicken?