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- #301
I've learned some things since that thread and I'll tell you that I never really eradicated the recurrence of those mites and lice with the wood ashes, though they did indeed help, they kept coming back to some of the birds. It wasn't until I used Pyrethrin powder on the Gnarly Bunch that I finally got relief from those parasites. The DE may help but I've read reports of many using it to no avail for this type of a problem...I've never used DE, so I'm not one to speak of it's effectiveness.
I wouldn't use any of the DE or Pyrethrin in the coop environment, just on the birds themselves and in the nest boxes, but you wouldn't want to kill any beneficial bugs in your deep litter...they may be the ones that can keep the population of parasites down for you given time.
If you are feeding FF, you won't need the ACV in the water at all, I've found...unless you just want it to keep your water more fresh. I wouldn't add anything in addition to put weight on them...I made that mistake, even just a little, and found myself with hugely fat birds in a short time. It's tempting to try and compensate for their poor care in another place but it isn't really good or healthy for them to gain weight quickly. Just let the healthy feeds, fresh soils and good husbandry heal them at a decent pace and you'll soon see the results.
Here's something you might try, though, just because I accidentally found it is a good immunity booster and will help if they have scale mites~even if they don't, it would still be good to try this to guard against getting them in their weakened state. Castor Oil. Very cheap, odorless, tasteless, colorless...but what a wonderful old timey solution for parasites and a conditioner for hair, feathers, and scales. I'll never be without it in my chicken husbandry now that I've found it...I rank it right up there beside the NuStock for versatility, for effectiveness and for still being all natural.
I read up on it one day just out of curiosity and realized I had stumbled on an old remedy that Grandma used to talk about for humans, but I felt could be used for chickens too. The GB were still having recurring scale mite issues because I had made my NuStock mix too, too thick and it couldn't penetrate under scales like it did when I was using the store bought original. Instead of making a new batch, I decided to use the castor oil on their legs.
What a quick turnaround and return to supple, healthy scales! Even quicker than with the use of the NS! While I had them in my hands, I went ahead and gave each a dropper full of the castor oil. The next day or so I noticed their combs were cherry red and they've stayed that way ever since! Don't worry that it will give them diarrhea...it didn't do that to my birds at all, nor to others' who have tried it on their flocks. One fella with confirmed worms in his flock reported the reddening of the combs as well and noticed worms being shed in the feces after the dose.
Just another little tidbit learned along the way that can help you work smarter and not harder. I know what you mean about getting sick birds from someone who should know better...I've had that happen to me in the past and I had to kill all of them...wasted my money but taught me a lesson about trusting people and being too nice, and also about not trusting my gut instincts. If the sale feels scary, it is scary and you should walk away...that's what I learned.
Please keep some pics of your flock and their progress...it sure is educational to others when people see you recovering a sick flock without the use of traditional poultry meds.
