FERMENTED FEEDS...anyone using them?

[Tikkijane]

I'm pretty well with you.
How many birds do you have.

Everyone's situation will vary but I've found, I have to keep the feed covered with water, otherwise it's too dry.
I just fed some FF and the feed in the middle of the bucket was completely dry, never wetted so therefor never fermented.
I'm not fermenting crumbles or pellets. My feed is more of a mash with a lot of whole/cracked grain. So the mash doesn't allow good penetration of water and by extension, probiotics.
IMO, if the water can't get there, neither can bacteria and yeast.

You need to mix every time- mix to wet initially, then the top layer gets fluffy and there's a drier layer and then a very soupy section. Mix it all together every time you go to feed. It will ferment.

Even with whole grains, you should have a section that is more watery with the SCOBY in it.

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I did use the ashes and they would work for awhile but the lice kept coming back eventually. The last thing I did was dust them thoroughly with Pyrethrin dust and that was the last time I had to treat for that. I had also placed some on the roosts and in the nests. No more lice.

Pyrethrin is the more natural version of Permethrin but harder to find...you can get it online. Sulfur dust is easy to find and may work but I'm thinking it's more effective on mites than lice maybe...never tried it for lice. Permethrin is the treatment they use on human lice, and many OTs use the permethrin dust in their poultry houses and you can find it easily at any garden center. Sweet lime dust can desiccate the bugs and the eggs but I've never used it for lice so cannot attest to the efficacy of it.

Whatever you dust with, I'd just limit it to the bird and where they sleep and nest and don't go hog wild on dusting the coop and litter...if you have beneficial bugs there you won't want to kill them and just treating the contact areas seem to do the job.

Sevin?


Pyrethrin?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin

Permethrin?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

Do chickens get lice and mites frequently? What about fleas?

 

[Beekissed]

Do chickens get lice and mites frequently? What about fleas?

I kept chickens for over 36 yrs and never had lice or mites in my flock, so I don't find them common at all. I took in some unwanted chickens a few years back and they brought scale mite into the flock and that was the first time I had ever had anything like that in my flocks, nor had my mother had any in hers.

Then I got some of my chickens back from a place where the people didn't care for them very well and they were infested with lice and that was my second time in dealing with lice in chickens. It's not caused by free ranging or wild birds, so no matter what anyone tells you, this is not what causes it....my flocks have always free ranged and never had gotten anything like that.

Both times the parasites came in on chickens that had been kept confined in buildings at all times and had nowhere to dust, were overstocked and living cheek to jowl with one another and had no light or good airflow in their coop.

I think open flocks(where birds come and go frequently) are more prone for this as one brings new birds into the flock and I think birds that are confined to coops and runs are more prone as they are less able to care for their parasites in a natural manner out in clean dusting spots and clean soils.

I think a more closed flock, free ranging full time and good places for dusting outdoors can all prevent such a thing. Since I got rid of them in that old flock, they've not been back. Any new birds that come on this land get a thorough dusting and castor oil on their feet and legs and an oral dose of the castor oil as well....no more chances will be taken on strangers bringing carry on luggage.

Another thing to note is that some birds are more prone than others....there were some birds in that flock that I recovered that didn't have the lice, and never got them all the time I was dealing with it.

 

[Beekissed]

Wanted to post this pic of a chick feeder I made today...this is so easy and took about 10 min. tops. Just wood scraps and wire fencing scraps, with screws and a couple of zip ties. It's about 16. in. long and 3 in. high. For anyone wanting a quick feeder and don't know how to build one it's as easy as screwing two boards together into a "V" shape and then putting boards on the end. Then, if you want to keep the birds out of it, you can place a piece of sturdy wire fencing over it.

 

[jockeyeba]

Wanted to post this pic of a chick feeder I made today...this is so easy and took about 10 min. tops. Just wood scraps and wire fencing scraps, with screws and a couple of zip ties. It's about 16. in. long and 3 in. high. For anyone wanting a quick feeder and don't know how to build one it's as easy as screwing two boards together into a "V" shape and then putting boards on the end. Then, if you want to keep the birds out of it, you can place a piece of sturdy wire fencing over it.

it

 

[pdirt]

I kept chickens for over 36 yrs and never had lice or mites in my flock, so I don't find them common at all. I took in some unwanted chickens a few years back and they brought scale mite into the flock and that was the first time I had ever had anything like that in my flocks, nor had my mother had any in hers.

Then I got some of my chickens back from a place where the people didn't care for them very well and they were infested with lice and that was my second time in dealing with lice in chickens. It's not caused by free ranging or wild birds, so no matter what anyone tells you, this is not what causes it....my flocks have always free ranged and never had gotten anything like that.

Both times the parasites came in on chickens that had been kept confined in buildings at all times and had nowhere to dust, were overstocked and living cheek to jowl with one another and had no light or good airflow in their coop.

Another thing to note is that some birds are more prone than others....there were some birds in that flock that I recovered that didn't have the lice, and never got them all the time I was dealing with it.

If what you say is true that these critters don't come from wild birds, then in my case it must be due to too many birds with too little of good dusting area and being cooped up all winter. We have 12 birds with a 12x6' coop attached to two covered dirt runs with deep litter, one is 12x6', the other is 10x8'. The latter run is their favorite dusting area. When it's freezing, things were fine, but once it warmed up more, I discovered just how many leaks are in the roof, so we ended up with some damp areas. I picked the driest area to pile the wood ash in, a few times over the course of winter. One area I think got snowed on quite a bit (wind blew it in) and when it melted, we had a muddy spot. We had snow on the ground all winter and NONE of the birds cared for the snow. We tried letting them out but they would walk out just about two feet before encountering the snow and wouldn't touch the stuff. Maybe next year I will keep up with shoveling the snow off and keep them a path to the "barn" where they love to dust. They free ranged all day long up until about mid-November.

I noticed that even though they had places to dust in the runs, I almost never saw them do it in the winter when it was frozen. But now it has warmed up a bit, they are dusting quite regularly like they used to.

When we checked all birds today, none of the silkies had any signs of lice, but most of the rest did. BR, EE, CM, BA

This summer I am going to do a much more thorough repair of the roof to repair any leaks.

 

[LindaB220]

I did use the ashes and they would work for awhile but the lice kept coming back eventually. The last thing I did was dust them thoroughly with Pyrethrin dust and that was the last time I had to treat for that. I had also placed some on the roosts and in the nests. No more lice.

Pyrethrin is the more natural version of Permethrin but harder to find...you can get it online. Sulfur dust is easy to find and may work but I'm thinking it's more effective on mites than lice maybe...never tried it for lice. Permethrin is the treatment they use on human lice, and many OTs use the permethrin dust in their poultry houses and you can find it easily at any garden center. Sweet lime dust can desiccate the bugs and the eggs but I've never used it for lice so cannot attest to the efficacy of it.

Whatever you dust with, I'd just limit it to the bird and where they sleep and nest and don't go hog wild on dusting the coop and litter...if you have beneficial bugs there you won't want to kill them and just treating the contact areas seem to do the job.

Sevin?


Pyrethrin?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrethrin

Permethrin?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

What about Ivomectin? 1 drop per #

 

[kpgoldstar]

My 4 girls started laying close to a month ago. It was finally about last Friday that we got one egg from each hen. Since then we have been gathering 4 eggs EVERY day. That makes 10 days in a row that all have laid! Is that unusual? I am new to chickens as an adult. Shouldn't at least one of them have taken a day off by now? I thought most lay for 6 days, then cycle a day off. I'm not complaining but every day I am so surprised to find 4 eggs in the nest box!

 

[Beekissed]

What about Ivomectin? 1 drop per #

Not a fan...at all...for any livestock.

 

[Beekissed]

My 4 girls started laying close to a month ago. It was finally about last Friday that we got one egg from each hen. Since then we have been gathering 4 eggs EVERY day. That makes 10 days in a row that all have laid! Is that unusual? I am new to chickens as an adult. Shouldn't at least one of them have taken a day off by now? I thought most lay for 6 days, then cycle a day off. I'm not complaining but every day I am so surprised to find 4 eggs in the nest box!

You've got RIRs and they are egg laying machines...production birds. They rarely take a break when it's peak laying season...and this is it.