Since we are having a big snow again on Monday and
since its very cold again
I went out to put a little Vaseline on my NHR 's comb.
I found that the back part of her comb had a black spot already.
I am not sure if its frostbite or from the other girls or some other source.
I proceeded to put Vaseline on the comb that was not black and the wattles and what the heck her feet too!
Then I sprayed a small bit of blue kote on the black spot..............Was this okay to do?
Maybe I should have used Neosporin?
It is not a red open area.........but rather a black area about 1/4 the size of a penny.
what do you all think?
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also I think I did post this already , not sure............I cant even keep up with myself!
I am afraid its not a mouse or vole out there..................its the R word.................and that scares me!
especially since someone posted recently about finding their chicken dead the next day.......in a nasty way I don't even want to type that
the R word comes with a sense of shame............at potentially not providing the best environment..........but I really do keep it clean and only in this nasty winter-----------sometimes the leftover scraps were not all taken in.......................
I will be building the mouse bucket trap............I wonder if it works for R's as well?
I really really want to be in denial and avoid the issue but I am pretty sure that this might just make things worse! UGH!
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If you have any kind of livestock with feed left out you will eventually encounter the dreaded R......
I use bait stations, but even with that the critters do manage to get into places they do not belong......
The best I can tell is preventative,,,,,keep feed bins as closed up as possible, preferably in metal,,,,rats and mice will chew thru plastic....
set up trail cams if possible, get an idea of the path they follow, they are creatures of habit and will be very weary of anything slightly different..
THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.......I have been told both by a local vet and by the poultry guys at harrisburg ag, that if a rat or mouse eats poison bait it does not kill them untill the body starts to metabolize the poison, therefore it does not leave enough in the system to be a hazard to whatever may then eat it..........I am weary of this but have used poison for years,,,,not in an area that the chickens can get to......never had a problem with it,,,personally I think it would be more of a risk to let the rats get out of control.....
other theory's welcome,,, please , I would like to hear how others deal with this...