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Just wanted to add a couple of things sixshooter that may help. If you get food grade DE - diatomatious earth (can get at many feed stores) and put that is where the chickens dust themselves or make a dust bath for them that helps, with mites and other external bugs. For worming if you would like to go a more natural but highly effective route, mix some DE and crushed red chili peppers (like the kind at pizza places) into the chicken feed. If you use Wazine you can not eat the eggs for a couple of weeks after and you can not give it to chicks. The DE and pepper have other excellent benefits. The DE is a natural source of highly digestable calcium (fossilized microscopic dieods) and the peppers help bring up the body temperature in the winter when they really need the extra warmth. In the summer I put more DE in the food and less red pepper, to help egg production and keep internal temps down and vice-versa in the winter when there is less egg laying but more warmth needed. I have also heard pumpkin seeds are an excellent wormer but have not grown pumpkins yet and can not afford to buy them to feed chickens.
I do use Ivermectin as well for feather mites but put a couple of drops under each wing at the shoulder joint. I have heard a mixture of windex and vinger is also effective but have only used this on the llamas to detract flys and mosquitos.
Hope this helps, I try to use more holistic products with a lower environmental impact on my birds. I will say I had not used chili peppers for a couple of months and some of the chickens were getting icky butts but just a week after adding just the chili peppers all the icky butts are cleared up. Yeah!
Oh I forgot, be careful with the DE, if you use to much, to often the egg shells can become very hard. If the shells seem abnormally hard to crack just cut back. Yes I made this mistake.
What ratio do you mix the chicken food, DE, and red chili peppers to worm them?
Like I said the ratio kind of changes depending on the season and what the chickens are scrounging out of the yard (My birds are free ranged). Since my feed is a special mixture of several different things I mix the peppers in the game cock rations and scratch mixture and the DE in the game bird / 20% layer / chick starter. The ration I mainly use is 1 cup per 150 lbs of both but in the winter add a bit more peppers, usually 1/2 cup to 150lb. My containers hold 150lbs and 300lbs that is why I use that ratio. Depending on what you are feeding your birds you may want to adjust the amount of DE and/or peppers.
Just wanted to add a couple of things sixshooter that may help. If you get food grade DE - diatomatious earth (can get at many feed stores) and put that is where the chickens dust themselves or make a dust bath for them that helps, with mites and other external bugs. For worming if you would like to go a more natural but highly effective route, mix some DE and crushed red chili peppers (like the kind at pizza places) into the chicken feed. If you use Wazine you can not eat the eggs for a couple of weeks after and you can not give it to chicks. The DE and pepper have other excellent benefits. The DE is a natural source of highly digestable calcium (fossilized microscopic dieods) and the peppers help bring up the body temperature in the winter when they really need the extra warmth. In the summer I put more DE in the food and less red pepper, to help egg production and keep internal temps down and vice-versa in the winter when there is less egg laying but more warmth needed. I have also heard pumpkin seeds are an excellent wormer but have not grown pumpkins yet and can not afford to buy them to feed chickens.
I do use Ivermectin as well for feather mites but put a couple of drops under each wing at the shoulder joint. I have heard a mixture of windex and vinger is also effective but have only used this on the llamas to detract flys and mosquitos.
Hope this helps, I try to use more holistic products with a lower environmental impact on my birds. I will say I had not used chili peppers for a couple of months and some of the chickens were getting icky butts but just a week after adding just the chili peppers all the icky butts are cleared up. Yeah!
Oh I forgot, be careful with the DE, if you use to much, to often the egg shells can become very hard. If the shells seem abnormally hard to crack just cut back. Yes I made this mistake.
What ratio do you mix the chicken food, DE, and red chili peppers to worm them?
Like I said the ratio kind of changes depending on the season and what the chickens are scrounging out of the yard (My birds are free ranged). Since my feed is a special mixture of several different things I mix the peppers in the game cock rations and scratch mixture and the DE in the game bird / 20% layer / chick starter. The ration I mainly use is 1 cup per 150 lbs of both but in the winter add a bit more peppers, usually 1/2 cup to 150lb. My containers hold 150lbs and 300lbs that is why I use that ratio. Depending on what you are feeding your birds you may want to adjust the amount of DE and/or peppers.
