Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[taprock]

I tend to be busy, librarian, township clerk, and working on becoming a rehabber so I really don’t need another job BUT...some things happened and I was asked to step in as the superintendent of poultry and waterfowl for our county fair which starts the 19th. Its the first time someone has chosen me for anything based on my chicken knowledge, usually no one wants to hear it. I was still hesitant and last night I had a ten year old girl tell me she can’t wait for fair so I can teach her more about chickens and the right way to show them. There’s no way I can say no to that! So my weeks vacation will be supervising a barn full of poultry and kids, kind of like Summer reading program at the library, just no sshh-ing involved.

 

[aart]

just no sshh-ing involved.

Just lots of 'crowing'!
Have fun!

 

[1muttsfan]

That's great, Tap!

 

[Folly's place]

If you are legally doing what you have, then by all means complain to the public health department! You will need to show that you aren't part of the problem, but a legal and neat farmstead should be fine.
If this seems like a bad idea to you, then only poison bait stations, set up so only rodents can enter them, will be effective.
I think this is a public health issue, not only for you!
Mary

 

[aart]

No problem if there's no ideas.

Killing may reduce the numbers....but....you know.
Best bet is to 'Fort Knox' your coop and run with 1/2" hardware cloth, apron and all openings. They don't call it 'rat wire' for nothing.

 

[rachelsflock]

Thanks. I didn't think about Ft Knoxing the run. Just kind of getting the willies on the whole rats and pieces of rats running everywhere thing. I will probably do a hard cull this Saturday, pen, tighten up security on at least the shed, and tip off the city. This morning was a little much.

 

[bigmrg74]

I tend to be busy, librarian, township clerk, and working on becoming a rehabber so I really don’t need another job BUT...some things happened and I was asked to step in as the superintendent of poultry and waterfowl for our county fair which starts the 19th. Its the first time someone has chosen me for anything based on my chicken knowledge, usually no one wants to hear it. I was still hesitant and last night I had a ten year old girl tell me she can’t wait for fair so I can teach her more about chickens and the right way to show them. There’s no way I can say no to that! So my weeks vacation will be supervising a barn full of poultry and kids, kind of like Summer reading program at the library, just no sshh-ing involved.

You can shhhh.... the barn, but I don't think it would do any good. having an air horn around might get everyone's attention and make em think twice about trying to be the loudest one there as that there's a clear winner.

And drats!!! I believe I got mites in my flock. Went to pick out eggs today around noon and I saw a couple of spots on the eggs. Got to looking at them and the little buggers were moving. Really itty bitty things. Couple more seemed to pop up on my arms as well. Went to FFH and got a bunch of stuff, planning on going over later tonight and carpet bombing the little bastards. Got DE, and some dust on stuff and spray stuff, both have Permethrin in them. Any good suggestions on how to apply the stuff?

 

[1muttsfan]

DE is useless against hard exoskeleton parasites.

You can dust birds by putting them in a bag of dust, they will flap around and dust themselves. Very messy, though.

Spray is probably best used at night when you can pull the birds off the roost one at a time and most them down.

 

[Folly's place]

Permethrin pray works and is easiest to use, at night when they are roosting. Spray every inch of the coop too !
We've been having repeated mite infestations this year, not fun!
Mary

 

[bigmrg74]

Sprayed down most of the coop and used the dust on the girls. Took down the nest boxes and gave them all a good hosing down with hot water in the shower rack. Only got 2 of the four back up as it was dark and I had already dropped one of the wingnuts that hold my nesters up already. Hopefully I can find it tomorrow with my magnet sweeper. That and I might want to give that plywood a good spray as well tomorrow morning.

Think tomorrow I'm going to set up the kiddie pool with some sand and DE in the smaller coop and let them used that as a dust bath. Might put a little more of the Permethrin dust stuff in there as well. And a big move with the pen and coop. I have kinda gotten lazy and hadn't really moved it around that much this summer. Just kinda enough to keep the chicken bombs from getting too thick in one spot. Sunlight would do a lot to kill off mite eggs right??