Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

It is very effective. I have it in stock just in case.

Is it a spray or powder? I used dm in desperation. But worry about the breathing so left all the doors open to air

 

[Marie2020]

I advise against a hard position on any insecticide. Insecticides are tools that must be used safely and correctly. Yes, they can have consequences when used unadvertised and incorrectly. That is why we must educate ourselves and use them correctly. It is our responsibility to do so.

When fighting an infestation no repellent is going to work. The insects are not gojng to grind themselves to death on diatomaceous earth. You have to be able to KILL the insects. To do that you need a product like permethrin. Be smart. Use it wisely and correctly and there will be limited consequences if any.

My problem is I don't know anything about it

 

[bgmathteach]

It's out. I now need to find another wormer and coop cleaner I wish we had the same here as you

I keep getting bitten when I go out the back I'm at my wits end keeping up with it all
I've just seen This anyone have any thoughts?

Goodness knows how I'd cope with more right now

Are you sure they are mites? Chicken/foul mites don't usually bite people, do they? @BY Bob , @RoyalChick ???

 

[ManueB]

Regarding red mites treatment, I wonder if any of you have heard of exolt / fluralaner ?
It's meant to be ingested and has been recently approved in France for poultry, with no egg withdrawal period. Backyard keepers on french forums are saying it is extremely effective. It's meant to be used in case of a serious infestation, and is by no means a repellent.

I'm asking as it would be very useful as an alternative to permethrin in my case. My coop's setting makes it very difficult to treat thoroughly and my cats hang out in the coop and permethrin is a big no for them. But the fact that it has only been approved recently makes me a bit worried.
It's only available with a prescription in France and in massive dose, but is sold freely on spanish websites with proper conditioning for backyard keepers .

 

[BY Bob]

Beautiful mugs!

Back from our errands and visit to my parents, we found our four young ones perched on the higher roost of the coop. Judging from the poop piles under, they probably spent most of the day there (we came back at three)...to stay safe from our bigger girls . At least they didn't get hurt, but I'm not sure they were able to eat or drink anything while we were gone, even though we left multiple feed and water bowls in the coop and the run!
So, I'm really hoping those of you who said it will get better when the girls start laying are right.
Some mug shots for Monday. No one wanted to stay in place after having been locked up so long!

Théo

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Merle
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Cannelle ( poor girl gets her head feathers picked by Théo and is starting to molt)
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Nougat!
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Beautiful Mugs.

I am very sorry that I have not responded to this earlier. I was so far behind and forgot about it. I have integrated new ladies, 9 different times. Some things that will help.

• Many feeding and watering stations. I have 4 different feeding and watering stations in my complex. Only 2 can be seen from each other. That way chickens can go eat and drink without others seeing them and runnning them off.
• Many levels. You can see your young ones using hieght to protect themselves by staying on the roost all day. They need other locations in your complex to do so. It is especially effective if you can provide food and water at different levels. I have buckets, roosts out in the run, a chair, anything they can escape up onto. Many people use logs standing on end. I have yet to see a bully hen chase anyone up onto a roost, chair, or bucket.
• No Dead Ends. I have tried very hard to have escape possible at all times. You don't want them getting pinned in a location. Now my big struggle is that my complex is a U shape. At one end of the U i have buckets for them to escape up onto. The other end is poor design by me but I am stuck with it. It is wide enough that they can run away but it is too low for me to provide any "Up" for them.
• Safe Area. You are doing the right thing with a safe area where only they can enter, except poor Gaston. Is there anyway to enlarge the opening so that he can still get in without the bigger chickens following?
• Second Coop. I added a second coop and don't regret it for a second. It made Betty's and now the Rascals integration much smoother. Betty eventually moved into the main coop with the others. I dont know if the Rascals will or not but having their own coop to roost in at night has provided them with a space safe from any roost shenanigans.

It will get better as they get older. They should slowly fold in better. Mine really started to figure out they had to live together when they were locked together for first 1 day and then later 48 hours. Now they seem to have settled in pretty nicely. I say "seem" because I dont see everything that happens.

I hope this helps. I am open to any questions as always.

 

[BY Bob]

She is like a weather gauge - as soon as it hits 85F and 50% humidity then it is time to sunbathe.
Crazy chick!
View attachment 3240225

Can you tell time by her shadow?

 

[BY Bob]

Is it a spray or powder? I used dm in desperation. But worry about the breathing so left all the doors open to air

I have spray.

 

[BY Bob]

Regarding red mites treatment, I wonder if any of you have heard of exolt / fluralaner ?
It's meant to be ingested and has been recently approved in France for poultry, with no egg withdrawal period. Backyard keepers on french forums are saying it is extremely effective. It's meant to be used in case of a serious infestation, and is by no means a repellent.

I'm asking as it would be very useful as an alternative to permethrin in my case. My coop's setting makes it very difficult to treat thoroughly and my cats hang out in the coop and permethrin is a big no for them. But the fact that it has only been approved recently makes me a bit worried.
It's only available with a prescription in France and in massive dose, but is sold freely on spanish websites with proper conditioning for backyard keepers .

It sounds wonderful. A simple solution to a tough problem. I have not heard of it before so I really can't say anything else. There are times I think we do need to trust the government to do its job right. I do think yours is way more thorough than ours so I would trust that approval more. If that helps.

 

[RoyalChick]

Regarding red mites treatment, I wonder if any of you have heard of exolt / fluralaner ?
It's meant to be ingested and has been recently approved in France for poultry, with no egg withdrawal period. Backyard keepers on french forums are saying it is extremely effective. It's meant to be used in case of a serious infestation, and is by no means a repellent.

I'm asking as it would be very useful as an alternative to permethrin in my case. My coop's setting makes it very difficult to treat thoroughly and my cats hang out in the coop and permethrin is a big no for them. But the fact that it has only been approved recently makes me a bit worried.
It's only available with a prescription in France and in massive dose, but is sold freely on spanish websites with proper conditioning for backyard keepers .

That sounds like a research challenge for me!
I will let you know what I discover - is it EU approved? I find the EU approval process for animal drugs to be quite thoughtful.

 

[BY Bob]

Are you sure they are mites? Chicken/foul mites don't usually bite people, do they? @BY Bob , @RoyalChick ???

Yes they do. It is one of the ways my vets knows birds are infested. From the bites she gets when handling the birds.