Consolidated Kansas

[Trish44]

zigzag, I don't know that chickens get fleas but they do get mites & lice & the mites can bite. They usually don't stay on people that long, but I have read of others getting bitten. Use some Sevin dust or pyrethrin on them & in the coop. There are a couple of different kinds of mites but that should take care of it.

I guess my birds are unusual because they eat pumpkin like candy, watermelon, & cantaloupe as well they love it. They have finished off the pumpkin I gave them the other day & I need to get another one soon.

Yes, the Walnut Valley Festival kind of has a big variety of music & I like it that way. We have people come from all over the world to play as well as come to the festival. This year we had a group originally from Australia that have been coming for 10 years now to play & we really like them, they're very good. There was a new band from Ireland this year that has not been there before. The people who put on the festival do a wonderful job of booking a big variety of very talented people. This year was the 43rd year they have had it. We never camp down there since we live here, we just come & go, I just really can't camp any more with my arthritis & all.

 

[chicken danz]

I don't know if chickens can get fleas. I'd just give your birds a good sevin dusting and whatever it is should be killed by it. You could have a case of sand fleas as well. They actually live on the ground and bite about anything. But they don't live on animals. I had a case back many years ago and had an exterminator argue with me saying I had to have had a cat or a dog that I got rid of and the fleas were from them. If i remember right they were black instead of brown. I had no pets at all at that time cause I was having trouble just feeding my kids. He was so wrong. I learned when I moved to Oklahoma that sand fleas were very common there. The case involving the exterminator was in Kansas. At any rate he sprayed and got rid of them which was all that mattered at the time.
As far as the pumpkins go this is what I found. They really like the sugar pumpkins that pies are made from. But other than certain groups they prefer to eat the guts and not much of the shell. However it seems that some pens will eat it all so I guess it will depend on the birds. The birds also like the seeds from the other pumpkins but don't care for the rest of it. I always break mine open and scoop out some of the seeds and stuff to get their interest. The beneficial part is the seeds anyway so If I can pick up a big pumpkin for $.50 it will yield a lot of seeds. I found those that cheap at Walmart last year.
The meaty part of the jaco-lantern pumpkins can be used to make a puree that can be added to dog food as a veggie. I often make a big pot of stuff for my dogs with scrap or organ meat, rice and veggies. The pumpkin works good in this mixture.
Thy would really rather have watermelon and cucumbers but unfortunately I never find them on sale.
I'm going to go out and see what else I can do with my building today. It looks like we may get the concrete poured tomorrow. That would make me so happy. Maybe even get the building in the first of the week.

 

[zigzag45]

If I use sevin dust on the birds and the coop (looking at changing litter this weekend) do we need to discard eggs for awhile?

 

[HEChicken]

I wouldn't think so, since the birds should not be ingesting the Sevin Dust. A word of warning on it though - it is a pesticide. If you are trying to raise birds naturally and grow stuff organically, you really don't want to be spreading that stuff around. In addition to killing the bad bugs, it also kills the beneficial insects - it is one of the major causes of the decline in bee populations across the country. Personally I prefer Diatomaceous Earth. It will also kill beneficial bugs that it comes in contact with (like earthworms) and would kill a bee if you poured it ON the bee, but won't affect bees going about their business ordinarily, since it won't be on the flowers they are landing on to pollinate. I consider it the lesser of two evils

 

[suburbchic]

Hi everyone! I haven't been here in a long time, guess it got away from me. I sold my first flock (Crazy story) to make room for a new batch the kids hatched April 15th during a high school project. They did really well hatching 20 of 30 eggs. I took 12 thinking there were only two roosters and of course now I have 5 roosters. I'm not sure if anyone would want a Rhode Island red, Barred Rock EE, or the white EE. Can you give me some ideas of the best way to get them out of my hair? The Barred Rock EE is very docile and friendly and the other two are nice but shy. I really don't want to butcher them myself but I suppose if that's all somebody would want them for I would be ok with that.

 

[chicken danz]

Zig I don't believe that DE will kill mites, fleas etc. It is a great preventative but from my own experience I just don't think it is effective once your birds are infected. Perhaps a safer thing to do is spray them and their quarters with permethrin. It is safe for animals and works very well. I mix 1 oz in 1 and 1/2 gallons of water in sprayer. I spray under their wings and near their vent. Then I spray the floor and walls of the coop. I like Permetrin II that is made by Bayer because it is fairly cheap, comes in a small enough bottle that you won't have tons more than you need and has great results. There would be no residual effects to harm bees or whatever. I do use sevin in my coops from time to time but prefer permethrin. Lots of people don't own a sprayer or prefer just to sprinkle the sevin around for ease. Be sure to get Permethrin and not Pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is dangerous to your animals.
Suburbchick, welcome to the forum. I'd list your birds on craigslist and I'll bet you can sell them in no time...as long as you aren't opposed to having them butchered.

 

[suburbchic]

Thanks chickendanz I guess I'll list them. What price would you ask?
Zigzag I had to use seven powder on my flock a couple years ago when we were having a rainy period and they didn't get to take a dust bath. It worked great the first time. I also put Vasoline on their legs and at all the areas bugs could crawl up the roosts.

 

[Trish44]

Well I prefer to make sure I get rid of all of the mites because there is one type that sucks the blood of the birds & will eventually kill them if not treated. I had that happen to me with a couple of roosters 2 years ago before I knew any better so that's why I don't like taking chances now. Those were breeding stock I lost & it was hard finding replacements. I have not personally used the permethrin. It's just a lot easier to dust the birds & the coop than spraying something.

suburbchic, welcome! You're usually lucky if you get $5 each for roosters, it's just hard to get rid of them, but maybe someone would want them for eating. That white one is pretty. Unless you can find someone who has lost their rooster & needs another flock rooster usually they get eaten. I'm sending you a PM.

 

[chicken danz]

Thanks chickendanz I guess I'll list them. What price would you ask?
Zigzag I had to use seven powder on my flock a couple years ago when we were having a rainy period and they didn't get to take a dust bath. It worked great the first time. I also put Vasoline on their legs and at all the areas bugs could crawl up the roosts.

I think if you are near a metro area I would list the roosters at $7 each or $5 each if some one takes them all. I would almost bet you'd sell them all to one person. I sell my excess roosters for $5 each and actually have customers from KC that will drive down and buy a dozen or so at a time if I have them. I am sure I could get more if they didn't have to drive this far. But keeping a price low enough is a quick way of moving them fast.
My concrete was poured this morning. Now is the time all the money is going to be draining into multiple pockets. But I am pretty excited to see some real progress.

 

[suburbchic]

We butchered a four year old BR hen last year and it didn't seem worth it because there really wasn't that much meat. I don't think these roosters have much more since their only 5 months old. I was just wondering if this is typical? And, I guess why anyone would be interested in going to all that work for so little.