Feeling Overwhelmed, Thinking About Quitting

[gimmie birdies]

I was indifferent at the beginning of chicken raising. But I started to hatch my own which is fun, and I discovered pretty egg colors, and unique breeds and got hooked.

 

[Tonyroo]

Sorry your going through your mishaps. If you still wanna pursue chicken keeping. Start getting educated on this forum and ask for help here with anything. This a global community of chicken keepers that have real world experience. You won't find that on Google I guarantee you. So think about it.

 

[Ribh]

Here in Australia Pestene is commonly used for lice/mites. Most produce stores & places like Pet Barn carry it. Apply it to the chickens & their coop after you have washed it down & dried it out. It's really effective. Makes sure you get the dust in all the nooks & crannies. Reapply each time you clean the coop out until everything is under control again.

 

[bhawk-23]

How are things going for you now?

 

[Billy Mahone]

How are things going for you now?

Things have improved quite abit lately and I've reduced the numbers slightly so its more manageable at the moment.
Winter has arrived also so thankfully I was able to get rid of most of the mites and lice and wood that was in the shed.
Unfortunately most of my chickens have still not started laying again since i made this thread at the start. I'm giving them layer feeds and diet seems to be as it should be, however still waiting for some eggs

Thank you to everyone for the support provided since i first made this post, it is greatly appreciated. At one point i was extremely feeling down and it was actually making me depressed but much better now

 

[Ebony Rose]

Not all breeds lay year round and many take a time-out for molting too.

 

[Billy Mahone]

Not all breeds lay year round and many take a time-out for molting too.

Yes i agree, some have molted in the meantime. Its been close to 6 months now that they haven't been laying.
Fingers crossed, soon they will start.

 

[bhawk-23]

That is an awesome update! I get feeling overwhelmed sometimes too, I think it happens to a lot of us. But I am so happy to hear you have gotten it under control and are just waiting on eggs now! I bet those will be the best tasting eggs ever!!!

 

[MickWithChicks]

Hi Billy. How many chooks have you got?

If you have another mite outbreak, talk to your vet about getting Exzolt. It's a water additive and has fluralaner which kills 99.9% of mites.

If you only have a few chooks, just buy some topical Bravecto for dogs / cats, pour it into a child medicine syringe (the finer the better, look for 0.02ml increments), and dab about 0.04ml on the back of each of their necks.

I don't think the US folk here can get fluralaner which is why it's not being recommended. I had a horrible mite outbreak around the same time as yours and fluralaner kicked its butt.

As for eggs, only 2 of my chooks in my main flock of 14 are laying at the moment (both renowned and consistent winter layers - though they stop through summer). My other flock of bantams I'm getting about 4-5 eggs per day from 16 pullets/hens. So not much laying at this time of year. I recommend the Red Hen 17 or Laucke Mills Showbird MP if you're looking for a good feed that will encourage laying from your girls. It's a bit exxy, but worth it.

Edit: I should add - after the winter solstice on June 21 you'll normally see a reset in egg productions and they'll start to lay again. By the end of July your entire flock should be laying (unless they're roosters, of course!)...

 

[addctd2plnts]

Can't you get Ivermectin spot on over the counter in Australia? It seems like a bath with Dawn and Ivermectin, plus spraying the inside and outside of the house would be great, then repeat in a few weeks. After that there must be some sort of maintenance schedule. I sympathize with you. I loathe bugs!