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emorems0 said:
So far so good in the bunny nest. I just took it out to check on the cottontail kit and it started jumping around all excited like as soon as I uncovered them :) 'Peter' is certainly looking better than when I put him in the nest, I'm thinking Clover nursed her kits and included the little cottontail as one of her own! :)
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That is awesome!!!
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Go bunnies!!! Go Clover!!!
 
emorems0 said:
So far so good in the bunny nest. I just took it out to check on the cottontail kit and it started jumping around all excited like as soon as I uncovered them :) 'Peter' is certainly looking better than when I put him in the nest, I'm thinking Clover nursed her kits and included the little cottontail as one of her own! :)
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I love that your rabbit is named Clover!

It started cold, but turned out to be a beautiful day! I was able to mow and weed - although it's awfully sloppy out there - I can actually hear the water oozing in the ground. Anyway, gave my chickens the grass clippings and they were very happy. They made nests and sunbathed.
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More updates from me... I bathed my hens tonight! The plan was to wait until they went in the coop to roost for the night and then pluck them out one by one to bath them. I didn't account for Romeo (our rooster) ALSO being in the coop with his girls and not being too keen on me barging in there and taking his hens! It was quite the escapade, but we got him back out into the run and closed the run door. He was NOT happy and every time I took one of his girls out he tried to fly up and protect them even with the run door closed. He is a good protector, I feel a little sorry for taking all of his girls. The young chickens are still roosting in the tree/bush at night so poor Romeo is in the coop all alone tonight. I have the girls in a dog crate in the basement with a space heater blowing gently on them until they dry. I think I might not return them to the coop tomorrow. I'm actually thinking it might be best to put them in the chicken tractor all by themselves... it will give them a break from Romeo and help their back/shoulder feathers re-grow, it will give them a break from any re-infestation of lice that may still be hiding in the coop, and it will take them out of the pecking order for a while - they tend to be real bullies to the younger chickens and especially the turkeys. I'd like to try to get the younger chickens into the coop and help Romeo see that the younger hens are part of his flock too, I don't think that's going to happen with the big hens constantly beating up on the younger ones.

Despite not being able to spray the chickens down with the peppermint/vinegar very thoroughly last week, I think it did actually work really well. I didn't inspect the girls too well before I dropped them in the bath, but I did not see any lice floating around in the water like I expected and there seemed to be much less of the white eggs around the base of the feathers. I think my half-assed spray job was pretty effective after all. The girls were really calm in the bath, I think it helped that it was bed time. Two of the three hens had poop stuck on their butts, I was able to clean one of them up okay, but the other was just one big clod and I couldn't break it up. I didn't want to pull on it... when I dealt with pasty butt with the new chicks there were some that I just trimmed off with a little scissor. But little peeps are much easier to hold and handle than an adult hen. I left the poop clod (it was actually grey, like maybe she had wet poop stuck on her butt and then dust bathed where I had sprinkled some DE). Think she will be able to get it off herself eventually, or should I try to trim it with scissors once she's dry?

Also, I'm anxious to check on the bunnies in the morning to see if "Peter" is still doing well. Winc, we have one breeding pair of American Blue meat rabbits, we only name our breeders... they are Clover and Sonny ;)

OH, Edited to Add: This is the mix I used for the bath... I didn't have any peppermint Dr. Bronners, just the unscented so I added a few drops of peppermint oil to the bath water. I also added a cup of vinegar and some peppermint oil to the rinse water... I didn't want to rinse off all of that good preventative stuff, just the soap! http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/keep-lice-mites-hens-coop-part-two-2/
 
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emorems0 said:
More updates from me... I bathed my hens tonight! The plan was to wait until they went in the coop to roost for the night and then pluck them out one by one to bath them. I didn't account for Romeo (our rooster) ALSO being in the coop with his girls and not being too keen on me barging in there and taking his hens! It was quite the escapade, but we got him back out into the run and closed the run door. He was NOT happy and every time I took one of his girls out he tried to fly up and protect them even with the run door closed. He is a good protector, I feel a little sorry for taking all of his girls. The young chickens are still roosting in the tree/bush at night so poor Romeo is in the coop all alone tonight. I have the girls in a dog crate in the basement with a space heater blowing gently on them until they dry. I think I might not return them to the coop tomorrow. I'm actually thinking it might be best to put them in the chicken tractor all by themselves... it will give them a break from Romeo and help their back/shoulder feathers re-grow, it will give them a break from any re-infestation of lice that may still be hiding in the coop, and it will take them out of the pecking order for a while - they tend to be real bullies to the younger chickens and especially the turkeys. I'd like to try to get the younger chickens into the coop and help Romeo see that the younger hens are part of his flock too, I don't think that's going to happen with the big hens constantly beating up on the younger ones.

Despite not being able to spray the chickens down with the peppermint/vinegar very thoroughly last week, I think it did actually work really well. I didn't inspect the girls too well before I dropped them in the bath, but I did not see any lice floating around in the water like I expected and there seemed to be much less of the white eggs around the base of the feathers. I think my half-assed spray job was pretty effective after all. The girls were really calm in the bath, I think it helped that it was bed time. Two of the three hens had poop stuck on their butts, I was able to clean one of them up okay, but the other was just one big clod and I couldn't break it up. I didn't want to pull on it... when I dealt with pasty butt with the new chicks there were some that I just trimmed off with a little scissor. But little peeps are much easier to hold and handle than an adult hen. I left the poop clod (it was actually grey, like maybe she had wet poop stuck on her butt and then dust bathed where I had sprinkled some DE). Think she will be able to get it off herself eventually, or should I try to trim it with scissors once she's dry?

Also, I'm anxious to check on the bunnies in the morning to see if "Peter" is still doing well. Winc, we have one breeding pair of American Blue meat rabbits, we only name our breeders... they are Clover and Sonny ;)

OH, Edited to Add: This is the mix I used for the bath... I didn't have any peppermint Dr. Bronners, just the unscented so I added a few drops of peppermint oil to the bath water. I also added a cup of vinegar and some peppermint oil to the rinse water... I didn't want to rinse off all of that good preventative stuff, just the soap! http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/keep-lice-mites-hens-coop-part-two-2/
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good plan for the girls...as for the poopy butts... if it doesn't wash out I just trim it out with scissors.
BTW... our birds do great with a hair dryer... use a low setting and be careful to keep it moving to avoid overheating any one area. Our birds just stand on a towel while I dry them.
 
emorems0 said:
So far so good in the bunny nest. I just took it out to check on the cottontail kit and it started jumping around all excited like as soon as I uncovered them :) 'Peter' is certainly looking better than when I put him in the nest, I'm thinking Clover nursed her kits and included the little cottontail as one of her own! :)
Click to expand...
Great news!!! Hope the bath helps! :)
wingstone said:
got a new chicken over the weekend it is learning to roost
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LOL! Too funny! It's a cute one, I'd make sure to keep her for sure! Not too good in the egg laying department, but maybe she can hatch some chicks? ;)
freeportchicks said:
Armstrong county here
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I'm pretty close to freeport, about 15 minutes away from Apollo.
 

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