Must have items that you give your chickens every month

[Mckaykay]

I saw some people give apple cider and garlic in the chickens water every day or add cayane to the water. What do you add ? How much and why?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I rarely add anything.
Plain fresh water in clean water bowls.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

I have been adding a few drops of oregano oil to their water buckets every time I clean them out, then add a drop or two every other day as I refill/top them off I clean the buckets out completely at least once a week. I read somewhere that oregano oil helps keep the immune system healthy and can help prevent egg peritonitis.

Then around the first of the month (when I change out their coop bedding (my coop is built right on top of the dirt ground so I rake the bedding around to control the mess, then clean it all out each month)) I am going to add an electrolyte powder to their water buckets after I clean them, then the next week when I clean them do the oregano oil routine each following week.

I also mix garlic powder in with their feed (I’m also trying to develop a good feed ratio for them. They aren’t free range and hadn’t been giving them lay pellets because I have roosters, but I’ve had some laying issues lately and recently lost a hen, so am now feeding them one part all flock, one part lay crumble, and one part super egg feed with the garlic powder mixed in the all flock. Next time I need to refill the feed bins I’m going to mix game bird crumble in with the all flock for a minor protein boost since molting season is upon us). I heard cayenne pepper is good for them, too, so I might try out a half garlic powder, half cayenne pepper mix added to their feed. I also scatter hen scratch for them every other day.

I‘m trying to get into a monthly routine of doing certain things to help my flock’s health. It’s kinda experimental at this point. I have also given ACV in the past, but with a few of my hens laying soft shell eggs or no shell eggs, I’ve backed off on that. Maybe, once the lay pellets start helping with the eggshells, I’ll do an electrolyte/oregano oil/ACV/oregano oil each new week routine.

 

[4flock]

Just plain old filtered water at our coop. We live in the south USA, so the inside water auto hydrates. I just fill it once a week. We have the old pullet waterer from our brooder when they were just little ones. That i interchange one a day with a frozen bottle that slowly defrosts during the mid day heat. Helps keep them cool. Or so is my intention. I bought a couple electrolyte powder packs from TSC just in case of a situation however I have not needed to use them so far this summer.

 

[cherrynberry]

I saw some people give apple cider and garlic in the chickens water every day or add cayane to the water. What do you add ? How much and why?

Plain water. No need for anything else on a regular basis.

I do deworm my birds yearly though (twice).

 

[mamajos]

Plain fresh water here. No need to make it more difficult.

 

[Jory]

On a monthly basis? Huh, well water, good feed, oyster shell, crab shell and offal, fish heads, limited garden greens, occasional hard grains. They eat whatever they can catch in the pasture. They've all learned how to pick wild berry bushes. They peck at the windfall fruits. They have a happy life and live long, about 7 to 10 years. Oh, and milk. Whenever the goat puts her foot in the bucket they get a treat.

 

[Jory]

Funny thing is that I had a turkey many years ago that figured out the BlackBerry and that knowledge has been passed down through the generations of chickens and will be given to the 6 chicks and 8 keets I'm raising now.

 

[BecaHawaii]

I saw some people give apple cider and garlic in the chickens water every day or add cayane to the water. What do you add ? How much and why?

I don't add anything.

 

[Jory]

I have never seen the chickens eat garlic naturally, although they do enjoy the greens on occasion. They do indulge in fermented fruits once in a great while, but I have yet to see them carrying wooden barrels down to make vinegar.

Now, these things can do what's needed for a poorly bird. Vinegar helps with calcium synthesis and garlic is a passive antibacterial. If you give it all the time though, the body gets used to it and loses it's own ways of dealing with things. When something from outside is taking over a natural job, those workers quit.