Maine

[CoopChick719]

Michel! Lots of good people with good advice on here!

Sounds like a great day Widget!

I feel your pain SCG! I Frontlined everyone in the coop last night, I had some leftover from the dogs, using Advantage on them & the cats now. I was almost done when Spot, my BR, put up a fuss & knocked over the bottle. Did anyone hear the bad words coming from the lady wearing a headlamp in the dark coop? I'm sure if my neighbor was out having a smoke he was probably laughing!

I cleaned out the whole coop, vacuumed with the dry-vac then sprinkled DE & Sevin everywhere. I'm trying to do things as naturally as possible but I want these mites gone!!!

I only had a 1/4 of a bag of shavings so I've got shredded paper, dry leaves & the shavings in there right now. From what I've read I need to clean out all the litter again in 10 days to get rid of any mite eggs & larvae that have hatched. Really don't want to spend money on shavings that I'll be burning later.

Friday morning was not a good day. DH found my little sick Fav on her back but she was still breathing so he laid her on her side to be more comfortable. When I went out to feed everyone, I found her still breathing as well. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but she was suffering so I helped her onto the big coop in the sky. Probably should have done it several days ago but she had rallied so I thought she was on the mend. Now I have my RedStar who is not eating or drinking without my help. She can't stand up & support herself. Her eye is no better. I gave her 3 Oxine vaporizer treatments thinking the eye was a sinus infection. Tomorrow isn't going to be a great day either!

 

[quailtrail]

  Michel! Lots of good people with good advice on here!

Sounds like a great day Widget!

I feel your pain SCG! I Frontlined everyone in the coop last night, I had some leftover from the dogs, using Advantage on them & the cats now. I was almost done when Spot, my BR, put up a fuss & knocked over the bottle. Did anyone hear the bad words coming from the lady wearing a headlamp in the dark coop? I'm sure if my neighbor was out having a smoke he was probably laughing!

I cleaned out the whole coop, vacuumed with the dry-vac then sprinkled DE & Sevin everywhere. I'm trying to do things as naturally as possible but I want these mites gone!!!   I only had a 1/4 of a bag of shavings so I've got shredded paper, dry leaves & the shavings in there right now. From what I've read I need to clean out all the litter again in 10 days to get rid of any mite eggs & larvae that have hatched. Really don't want to spend money on shavings that I'll be burning later.

Friday morning was not a good day. DH found my little sick Fav on her back but she was still breathing so he laid her on her side to be more comfortable. When I went out to feed everyone, I found her still breathing as well. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but she was suffering so I helped her onto the big coop in the sky. Probably should have done it several days ago but she had rallied so I thought she was on the mend.  Now I have my RedStar who is not eating or drinking without my help. She can't stand up & support herself. Her eye is no better. I gave her 3 Oxine vaporizer treatments thinking the eye was a sinus infection. Tomorrow isn't going to be a great day either!

sorry

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Michel! Lots of good people with good advice on here!

Sounds like a great day Widget!

I feel your pain SCG! I Frontlined everyone in the coop last night, I had some leftover from the dogs, using Advantage on them & the cats now. I was almost done when Spot, my BR, put up a fuss & knocked over the bottle. Did anyone hear the bad words coming from the lady wearing a headlamp in the dark coop? I'm sure if my neighbor was out having a smoke he was probably laughing!

I cleaned out the whole coop, vacuumed with the dry-vac then sprinkled DE & Sevin everywhere. I'm trying to do things as naturally as possible but I want these mites gone!!!

I only had a 1/4 of a bag of shavings so I've got shredded paper, dry leaves & the shavings in there right now. From what I've read I need to clean out all the litter again in 10 days to get rid of any mite eggs & larvae that have hatched. Really don't want to spend money on shavings that I'll be burning later.

Friday morning was not a good day. DH found my little sick Fav on her back but she was still breathing so he laid her on her side to be more comfortable. When I went out to feed everyone, I found her still breathing as well. It was the hardest thing I've ever done but she was suffering so I helped her onto the big coop in the sky. Probably should have done it several days ago but she had rallied so I thought she was on the mend. Now I have my RedStar who is not eating or drinking without my help. She can't stand up & support herself. Her eye is no better. I gave her 3 Oxine vaporizer treatments thinking the eye was a sinus infection. Tomorrow isn't going to be a great day either!

Do you have info on how to use Frontline on the birds? Data on it working? And where does one buy Frontline?

Next weekend is going to be the start of my mite-attack. Can't do it today, the roofer is coming over to do the goat haus. And unfortunately work is out of hand, again, so there's no extra time during the week. Some days I'm lucky to not be doing the waterers in the dark.

I think you've got a great idea to not put a lot of shavings back in the coop. My coop is 8x20 so it will take 6 bags to start, and then more as it's packed down. It takes forever to clean.

Sorry you had to take care of your bird, but you're right - you have to help sometimes when you know it's the right thing to do. Doesn't make it any easier, but that's part of having livestock.

 

[Mainechick168]

I used frontline when I noticed mites- it seems to have done the trick ( along with a few good coop cleanings) I think I used frontline for cats- just put one tiny drop on the base of the neck of each bird. You can get frontline at hardware stores and pet supply stores, but it is super expensive- I usually buy it online through amazon. Smallest package it comes in is a 3 pack, which I think I got for around $35.00.

 

[buckabucka]

So sorry for your loss, Coopchick! Some parts of chicken keeping are heart-breaking.

SCG, drug-resistant mites are scary! I'd like to know where people are buying Frontline too, just in case I'll need it. I know you can buy it online from Australia, but maybe it is over-the-counter now.

Wish I could make it to the show today. DH's dad is turning 93 and I am busy making dinner and a cake.

 

[anyasmifya]

buckabucka~ i buy frontline from blue seal. that's the cheapest place i've found it. i have never used it on chickens though, just my furrball cats. wow, all these mite stories are scary! thank goodness, i've never had issues. (keep fingers crossed, knock on wood). i clean my coop every other day, i use dropping boards, I just pull out and scrape. i have hay in the nest boxes, i change out about once or twice a week, depending on the amount of droppings. i also use food grade diatenacous (sp?) earth. i sprinkle it all over the coop! i also try to keep other birds away from my birds, a flock of turkeys did wander through my yard the other day, I ran out and chased them away!

BigBird is back with the rest of the flock. I don't think she enjoyed her solitary confinement. She still pretty much keeps to herself. Oh, well. Now, I have a broody coop, quarantine coop, cell coop. lol.

WELCOME Michel!

I wish I could go to the chicken show today!!!!!! I hope someone takes some photos and posts them! I'd love to see the pretty birds.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I found FrontLine Plus (regular has been discontinued) the cheapest from Drs Foster and Smith online with free shipping. Jeffers Pet had it too, for just a few dollars more. Amazon was more expensive because it didn't come with Prime shipping, otherwise it would be the cheapest. 1800PetMeds was the most expensive.

I bought the direct applicator stuff, which is 9.8% active ingredient. They had the spray but it was only 0.29% active ingredient... no, thanks.

It was expensive. It'll be about 40$ to treat 60 or so birds. If it works, it'll be priceless. I might try to do another set of roos next weekend before this adventure so I have even less birds to treat. Doesn't make a lot of sense to treat them only to kill them in a few weeks.

I'll let you know how it goes. I'm supposed to have a 3 day weekend this weekend coming up so I'll be able to hopefully treat everyone and then clean out the shavings. I'm debating doing it really early in the morning and then setting a flea bomb off in there.

I hate creepy crawlies.

 

[dowgirl71]

So bummed! My son & I were on our way to the show & 3 lights came on (including the "check engine" light) on my dashboard. We were only about 30 minutes from home, at that point. So figured we should turn around. Hopefully, next year...

 

[lazy gardener]

I am really getting into my chickens. A good friend of mine referred me to this site. Looking forward to learning how to best take care of my chickens esp. this coming winter. I am a first time chicken owner, so I got some learning to do..

Coop chick, and Maine Chick, What can you tell me about the use of Front Line on chickens related to withdrawal time for eggs????

So bummed! My son & I were on our way to the show & 3 lights came on (including the "check engine" light) on my dashboard. We were only about 30 minutes from home, at that point. So figured we should turn around. Hopefully, next year...

My hubby and I got to have a ENTIRE weekend child free! Today was spent playing outside in the yard. I planted some fingerling potatoes, as well as several other varieties (the ones that were sunburnt from the harvest, luckily there weren't very many. Am working up a 4' bed for potatoes, garlic, Egyptian onions. Hope to get the half of the garden mulched to 4' beds with 4' paths sown to winter rye this month. (That way, it'll be all ready to plant in the spring. And I should be able to run the tractor over beds or down the winter rye paths as desired... at least until July Jungle syndrome takes over.) The chickens can continue working the rest of the garden for now. My hay bale cold frame is going nicely. The lettuce has almost doubled in size since being planted a few days ago. The girls got a nice layer of leaves and grass clippings in their lower level of hoop coop today. I dealt with mites over the last month: 2 total clean outs, washed with bleach and DW detergent, liberal applications of DE and permethrin. Girls treated with Ivermectin x 2, dusted with permethrin x 2. Fingers crossed that the issue is now a non issue. EE now appear to be starting a molt. They're loosing their beards, and re-growing new feathers. No signs of mites on them.

 

[lazy gardener]

Any of you on the ME thread do any fodder feeding in the winter? I've done some pricing, and found that the per pound price for whole wheat is even more expensive at the feed store than it is at the health food store. And I can't get bulk barley without buying 50#. So, if you do sprout grains, what are you using? And where are you buying it? I'd like to make a mix of BOSS, wheat, and barley. If any one is interested in splitting bags of wheat and barley, please, let's talk. It would be better to split 50# bags of grain that sell for less than $14 than to pay close to $2/# for the stuff!
I did buy 1/2# of a mix of timothy and 2 clovers to play with. It'll be interesting to see how well this sprouts, and how well the girls like it. I don't plan to start sprouting for them until they no longer have green stuff growing on the ground.

And just for grins and giggles, I'm going to try to set up an aquaponic (? sp.) system in my basement. It'll be very simple, I have all of the equipment except for a few plumbing supplies. The experimental system will involve feeder gold fish, and a single tub of greens under a grow light. The pump will be set up on a timer to feed water from the fish tank into the grow bed, then go back into the tank via a bell siphon. Now, if this works... perhaps a larger scale system with trout or cat fish is in my future! How sweet would that be????