- Aug 21, 2008
- 63
- 1
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I have made a bunch of mistakes in learning how to best care for my chickens. I am trying to lay the groundwork for a healthy flock of hens. I have a mixed bag of girls, some are ancient hand-me-downs from my neighbor. Some of prime laying age hens. And we have a 2-5 month old gals that make up the bulk of our flock. I house them in very safe coop, but one that lacks good ventilation. They have a fully fenced run but are allowed free range during the day. I am reading books on chicken husbandry that offer good insight but this forum has been where I have learned most of my useful knowledge. So, I am interested in the routines that folks here have for their birds to keep them healthy. I am especially interested in:
- ways to cure "poop butt". It seems I always have 1-2 birds with chronic diarrhea. It's killed two so far and I have tried worming them and offering up buttermilk or yogurt concoctions to get them good bacteria in their guts. I am not sure what causes it. Most of my flock has not had a problem but it seems like there are always a couple problem birds.
- how to keep them free of lice and mites without using pesticides. I have a delousing powder I used once to dust them all but it seems like pretty toxic stuff and I'd rather use something less harsh if possible
- how you feed your birds. My hope is to be much less reliant on store-bought chicken scratch and get them out foraging and eating kitchen scraps primarily. I would like to make my own scratch for them to eat when they do eat scratch though.
I've deemed July my Chicken Health Month and my current agenda is as follows:
- install windows in the coop to better the ventilation in there.
- put down sand as the footing for my enclosed run. It's currently dirt which means here in Oregon it is poop mud the majority of the year.
- get them a kiddie pool filled with a sand/DE mix to bathe in to help clear up any mice or lice they may have (found some on one chicken that was sick but have not seen any on other birds yet but I assume they have them)
- establish a good eating program to keep them healthy from the inside/out as far as getting them fresh greens and some buttermilk mixtures on a regular basis
- fully scrub down the chicken house for a late spring cleaning
- find a good recipe for homemade layer scratch
- get a top on my run for those nights when you can't get home by sundown.
If anyone has any good tips or routines for how they maintain a healthy flock please let me know. I appreciate it. Thank you!
- ways to cure "poop butt". It seems I always have 1-2 birds with chronic diarrhea. It's killed two so far and I have tried worming them and offering up buttermilk or yogurt concoctions to get them good bacteria in their guts. I am not sure what causes it. Most of my flock has not had a problem but it seems like there are always a couple problem birds.
- how to keep them free of lice and mites without using pesticides. I have a delousing powder I used once to dust them all but it seems like pretty toxic stuff and I'd rather use something less harsh if possible
- how you feed your birds. My hope is to be much less reliant on store-bought chicken scratch and get them out foraging and eating kitchen scraps primarily. I would like to make my own scratch for them to eat when they do eat scratch though.
I've deemed July my Chicken Health Month and my current agenda is as follows:
- install windows in the coop to better the ventilation in there.
- put down sand as the footing for my enclosed run. It's currently dirt which means here in Oregon it is poop mud the majority of the year.
- get them a kiddie pool filled with a sand/DE mix to bathe in to help clear up any mice or lice they may have (found some on one chicken that was sick but have not seen any on other birds yet but I assume they have them)
- establish a good eating program to keep them healthy from the inside/out as far as getting them fresh greens and some buttermilk mixtures on a regular basis
- fully scrub down the chicken house for a late spring cleaning
- find a good recipe for homemade layer scratch
- get a top on my run for those nights when you can't get home by sundown.
If anyone has any good tips or routines for how they maintain a healthy flock please let me know. I appreciate it. Thank you!
