"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[lakones]

They are beautiful.

 

[CarleeAnn]

Anyone have Ducks in the Greater New Orleans area? I would like some information on how yours do year round here (weather, predation, food supplies, etc.) I have had my first two- a Cayuga and a Blue Swedish, first about five month now.

 

[CarleeAnn]

I see, It can be really (REALLY) trying to raise chickens in a wet swampy area!

I tell people that cocci is a right of passage for chicks in southeast Louisiana.

What cleaning methods do you suggest to prevent this? I have ducks and am so paranoid about them getting sick or being unhealthy. I'm constantly worrying about any strange poos I see. I clean their pond every two days, but the ducks like to play in the dumped, dirty water. I clean their bedding in their coop every three or four- they're only in it at night really. They get fresh food everyday but are messy and once a mold/fungi started on the ground overnight so I dug it up and placed a stone over it so they ducks didn't have access to it. I hose off the ground when I clean their pond, but they just have an outdoor duck yard, so no special mats or anything, just a dirt/grass ground. Same for their coop, it is a dirt ground with bedding on top.

 

[theuglychick]

Where are you located? I'm definitely interested in some whiting eggs!

Glad to see a few more chicken folks join us here! Welcome!!

I have some extra eggs if anyone is looking to do a fall hatch. They are American breese (breese farms in Mississippi), blue laced red Wyandottes (foley line) and whiting true blues. These are all pure breed, not mixed.

ng

 

[theuglychick]

I don't think there is really anyway to avoid the bugs that cause cocci, it's everywhere and spread by wild birds and all sorts of other animals. I can share with you what I do for my birds, and maybe some of it'll work for you.

For me, being vigilant, prepared, and keeping good poultry health and hygiene is key, especially with younger chicks and ducklings.

I keep corid on hand for if or when it springs up and treat accordingly in a brooder to keep the cocci from spreading even more in the runs and yard.

The good news is that cocci is relatively easy to deal with, so it's really not a big deal to me. It's the other stuff that I warn people about, like the respiratory issues, mycoplasma bacteria infections, fungal and staph infections that come from the dampness and muck.

For general hygiene, I keep the coop as dry as possible and clean everything once a month. My birds free range during the day and only sleep in the coop at night, but they are in and out of the coop a lot during the day, so it's important for it to be clean. I also brood my chicks in my coop around all the big birds so they get exposure to some germs to gain immunity, so the coop has to be kept clean to avoid the really bad stuff like mold and etc.

I had paver stones in mine but the water seeped through the cracks and the shavings would get wet when it rained. I was cleaning several times a week at some points.

I ended up pouring concrete over the pavers, two or three bags at $5 each did the trick for a 10x10 coop. I keep shavings over the concrete and I clean it about every month. It's as dry as can be in there. The concrete is easy to keep clean.

When I clean the shavings and replace them in the nest boxes, I also sprinkle poultry dust over them. That way the hens come into contact with it when they're laying or sitting. I've yet to have leg mites. (I also deworm with valbazen every 6 months to reduce parasite load and fend off giardia).

I also avoid putting the food on the ground, as it does tend to spread the cocci and other diseases, such as mold poisoning, faster, as the food comes into contact where infected birds have pooped before or it rots and becomes moldy on the ground much quicker than not. Plus there's fire ants. Some of those germs live forever in louisiana soil and you can't sanitize dirt no matter how hard you try.

If you want to feed on the ground, I would make a concrete or stone feeding slab (again just one or two bags of concrete should do it) and spread the food on that, that way it can be cleaned thoroughly and the food won't stay as damp.

I regularly wash my roost bars as well, with bleach solution when I clean my shavings out each month, as they can spread parasites and germs on those as well. Especially if you have respiratory, fungus, or staph issues.

I put gravel and oyster shells in my run where it gets really muddy or stays damp (usually the shades areas). The chickens eat the smaller pieces of shell and get calcium. The sunny parts that are well-drained and dry quickly have grass.

The gravel and shell does make cleaning the poop easier and keeps them out of the mud, also the rain washes away a lot of the nastiness to under the rocks, instead of them just walking around in it.

Hope some of this is helpful.

What cleaning methods do you suggest to prevent this? I have ducks and am so paranoid about them getting sick or being unhealthy. I'm constantly worrying about any strange poos I see. I clean their pond every two days, but the ducks like to play in the dumped, dirty water. I clean their bedding in their coop every three or four- they're only in it at night really. They get fresh food everyday but are messy and once a mold/fungi started on the ground overnight so I dug it up and placed a stone over it so they ducks didn't have access to it. I hose off the ground when I clean their pond, but they just have an outdoor duck yard, so no special mats or anything, just a dirt/grass ground. Same for their coop, it is a dirt ground with bedding on top.

 

[CarleeAnn]

I don't think there is really anyway to avoid the bugs that cause cocci, it's everywhere and spread by wild birds and all sorts of other animals. I can share with youngest I do for my birds, and maybe some of it'll work for you.

For me, being vigilant, prepared, and keeping good poultry health and hygiene is key, especially with younger chicks and ducklings.

I keep corid on hand for if or when it springs up and test accordingly in a brooder to keep the cocci from spreading even more in the runs and yard.

The good news is that cocci is relatively easy to deal with, so it's really not a big deal to me. It's the other stuff that I warn people about, like the respiratory issues, mycoplasma bacteria infections, fungal and staph infections that come from the dampness and muck.

For general hygiene, I keep the coop as dry as possible and clean everything once a month. My birds free range during the day and only sleep in the coop at night, but they are in and out of the coop a lot during the day, so it's important for it to be clean. I also brood my chicks in my coop around all the big birds so they get exposure to some germs to gain immunity, so the coop has to be kept clean to avoid the really bad stuff like mold and etc.

I had paver stones in mine but the water seeped through the cracks and the shavings would get wet when it rained. I was cleaning several times a week at some points.

I ended up pouring concrete over the pavers, two or three bags at $5 each did the trick for a 10x10 coop. I keep shavings over the concrete and I clean it about every month. It's as dry as can be in there. The concrete is easy to keep clean.

When I clean the shavings and replace them in the nest boxes, I also sprinkle poultry dust over them. That way the hens come into contact with it when they're laying or sitting. I've yet to have leg mites. (I also deworm with valbazen every 6 months to reduce parasite load and fend off giardia).

I also avoid putting the food on the ground, as it does tend to spread the cocci and other diseases, such as mold poisoning, faster, as the food comes into contact where infected birds have pooped before or it rots and becomes moldy on the ground much quicker than not. Plus there's fire ants. Some of those germs live forever in louisiana soil and you can't sanitize dirt no matter how hard you try.

If you want to feed on the ground, I would make a concrete or stone feeding slab (again just one or two bags of concrete should do it) and spread the food on that, that way it can be cleaned thoroughly and the food won't stay as damp.

I regularly wash my roost bars as well, with bleach solution when I clean my shavings out each month, as they can spread parasites and germs on those as well. Especially if you have respiratory, fungus, or staph issues.

I put gravel and oyster shells in my run where it gets really muddy or stays damp (usually the shades areas). The chickens eat the smaller pieces of shell and get calcium. The sunny parts that are well-drained and dry quickly have grass.

The gravel and shell does make cleaning the poop easier and keeps them out of the mud, also the rain washes away a lot of the nastiness to under the rocks, instead of them just walking around in it.

Hope some of this is helpful.

I do plan on putting gravel/pebbles in the area around their food so they don't have access to washed off leftovers and around their pond to help with irrigation and keep them out of the old dirty water. I want to keep a dirt spot because they love dabbling in the mud, but I am worried about gape worms so I may rethink that... I'm pretty satisfied with how their coops stays clean, but your advice helps a lot and gives me some more ideas. Thank you!

 

[theuglychick]

Glad I can help! Sorry for the typos in my response. I'm try to crank out a lot of info in a hurry and my phone thinks it knows what I want to say better than I do.

Best of luck!!

I do plan on putting gravel/pebbles in the area around their food so they don't have access to washed off leftovers and around their pond to help with irrigation and keep them out of the old dirty water. I want to keep a dirt spot because they love dabbling in the mud, but I am worried about gape worms so I may rethink that... I'm pretty satisfied with how their coops stays clean, but your advice helps a lot and gives me some more ideas. Thank you!

 

[forgetful]

Good luck with the hygiene of your ducks. They are so so very messy. I raised them at one point and couldn't deal with the filth. Maybe one day when I can free range them with a large pond, I would get more.

 

[CarleeAnn]

Good luck with the hygiene of your ducks. They are so so very messy. I raised them at one point and couldn't deal with the filth. Maybe one day when I can free range them with a large pond, I would get more.

I have about a 12x 6 yard for my two ducks and a 49 Gallon stock tank as a pond. They aren't overwhelmingly messy, but I would definitely appreciate some more room!

 

[lakones]

Where are you located? I'm definitely interested in some whiting eggs!


ng

I'm in Zachary, just north of Baton Rouge.