Peeps in Europe!

[Loopeend]

Haha recognicable.

We dug out the foundation for concrete for our house, and we planned to pour it in four weeks ago. But suddenly it got really wet :O

We are all mopey :'(
But the ducks have a blast... they are swimming round and round now in the foundation-holes. And since it is a house which has no inner walls it is litterally round and round hahaha.
That helps to get less mopey. Whenever we have water-problems they are the most happy!

But not enough, kind of ruins all the plans =/ Also the plans for their new coup that needs foundation

We are making some sort of draining system saturday because it takes too long.

 

[PouleChick]

Well hello everyone! sorry didn't get notifications and have been out of action with a bad cold the last week. Finally got my small back to school today so very happy - and my head has stopped hurting!

We dug out the foundation for concrete for our house, and we planned to pour it in four weeks ago. But suddenly it got really wet :O

Frustrating isn't it! We started wanting to put lintels in just as the temps dropped below what concrete likes to set! Would love to see the progress of your place!

Is it just down here or has it stopped raining elsewhere? So excited have had a couple of days of sunshine now even managed a little gardening (well clearing / weeding etc). yesterday managed 2 loads of washing totally dry on the line - without even the need for 5 minutes in the dryer - spring is a comin'! Oh and I spotted some of those little purple bulbs have come up (crocuses??)

 

[sumi]

Our weather is great this week too. Up to 13C some days, little rain, lots of sunshine I hope we're not going to get billed for this heat in the coming weeks. Last year from end of February onwards was interesting to say the least...

 

[PouleChick]

15 out there!

 

[PouleChick]

Heeeeeeelp, I noticed that 2 or 3 of my girls have a few black spots on thier combs / wattles. I worried about some sort of mite and tried to have a read last night but couldn't find much. Today I'm cleaning out the coop and decided to look under the roost when I took it out. Sure enough there are a few little mites (I checked by squashing one to see if it really was a mite) but they look nothing what are on the chickens. I could literally only see less than 10 of them so hoping I've really caught early. Or is it possible they are just some bug and not chicken related? I haven't been able to catch any of them and I'm about to go to town so will get some treatement. What does everyone recommend for a/ the coop b/ the chickens. Cost effective please as I'm skint at the moment!!!!! Am going to try to catch one of my girls before I go to have a better look. Have left the side of the coop open (haven't put the shavings back in yet) so will spray wehn I get home and leave to air in the sun.

 

[chickengr]

Heeeeeeelp, I noticed that 2 or 3 of my girls have a few black spots on thier combs / wattles. I worried about some sort of mite and tried to have a read last night but couldn't find much. Today I'm cleaning out the coop and decided to look under the roost when I took it out. Sure enough there are a few little mites (I checked by squashing one to see if it really was a mite) but they look nothing what are on the chickens. I could literally only see less than 10 of them so hoping I've really caught early. Or is it possible they are just some bug and not chicken related? I haven't been able to catch any of them and I'm about to go to town so will get some treatement. What does everyone recommend for a/ the coop b/ the chickens. Cost effective please as I'm skint at the moment!!!!! Am going to try to catch one of my girls before I go to have a better look. Have left the side of the coop open (haven't put the shavings back in yet) so will spray wehn I get home and leave to air in the sun.

do you have wood ash? you could mix it with sand/dirt and give them dust bath. you can put some of that mixture in the coop as well. for the roosts and walls you can use white wash (limestone, salt and vinegar). that is the cheapest thing that gave me good results.

 

[sumi]

Heeeeeeelp, I noticed that 2 or 3 of my girls have a few black spots on thier combs / wattles. I worried about some sort of mite and tried to have a read last night but couldn't find much. Today I'm cleaning out the coop and decided to look under the roost when I took it out. Sure enough there are a few little mites (I checked by squashing one to see if it really was a mite) but they look nothing what are on the chickens. I could literally only see less than 10 of them so hoping I've really caught early. Or is it possible they are just some bug and not chicken related? I haven't been able to catch any of them and I'm about to go to town so will get some treatement. What does everyone recommend for a/ the coop b/ the chickens. Cost effective please as I'm skint at the moment!!!!! Am going to try to catch one of my girls before I go to have a better look. Have left the side of the coop open (haven't put the shavings back in yet) so will spray wehn I get home and leave to air in the sun.

Oh no... That's a bit worrying! Can you get Carbaryl? I used that in S.A. for my chickens and their coop and it's brilliant stuff. Unfortunately it's N/A in Ireland though. You can add it to water to make a spray to treat coops, roosts, nest boxes and runs as well.

 

[PouleChick]

do you have wood ash? you could mix it with sand/dirt and give them dust bath. you can put some of that mixture in the coop as well. for the roosts and walls you can use white wash (limestone, salt and vinegar). that is the cheapest thing that gave me good results.

Do I have wood ash ???? Absolutely our house is heated with 2 big wood burners !! I got scared of using it as I read that if it gets wet it can turn to lye and burn and not had time to read more into that. I was planning to use white wash as I have heard it is an excellent natural anti bug thing, I'd planned on doing it in the spring but maybe need to do it a bit sooner than that! Need to check that the building lime we have (NHL 3.5 and NHL 5 if anyone knows about these things) is OK to do it with. I think I'm happier using that than an insecticide spray for the coop. I have put some DE in thier sand bath as it is not due to rain for ages so hope they can get some benefits from that and I'll have to go and catch at least one later to see what is really happening.

Oh no... That's a bit worrying! Can you get Carbaryl? I used that in S.A. for my chickens and their coop and it's brilliant stuff. Unfortunately it's N/A in Ireland though. You can add it to water to make a spray to treat coops, roosts, nest boxes and runs as well.

No I didn't see that - there was DK something but I got a bit overwhelmed as it wasn't cheap and came in about 4 or 5 different options! I decided I'd have a look to see if there was something natural I can do that will work or if not work out which product I need before I go back in!

 

[PouleChick]

Sorry what I also meant to say is I got some powder (permetyn based I think) for the girls.

 

[Shadrach]

Sorry what I also meant to say is I got some powder (permetyn based I think) for the girls.

Permethrin spray, or dust for the chickens and a blow torch for the coops.
Don't get the two treatments mixed up!
I know, the very idea of using a blow torch in a wooden coop seems lunacy.
It isn't really. Bee keepers have been using blow torches to clean hives for years.
It does take some practice and a water/foam based fire extinguisher is a good idea until you've got the hang of not burning the coop down.
The hit everything with heavy duty chemicals seems to be a very American way of dealing with hygiene and illness.
I don't use any chemicals in the coops. I've been cleaning coops with a blow torch for years. It's fast, it kills everything, eggs and adults.
My view and the view of current science is DE is not only a waste of money it may also be harmful to chicken and human lungs.
The easiest way to check for red mite is to go into the coop at night with a clean white tissue and wipe the underneath of the perches. If the tissue has red stains on it afterwards, you've got red mite. You will probably be able to see them on the perch ends. Red mite are not in fact red! They are translucent gray/white. They only go red after sucking the blood of the chicken. Scaly leg mite are very small and difficult to see with the naked eye.
However, the effects of scaly leg mite are easily visible on the chickens legs. The legs start to look crusty and the scales start to lift.