All winter I've had one hen after another go broody, but I've been trying to hold out until Spring before hatching any more chicks. We have some really mean winter months. Spring is a better time to be born here if you're a chicken. But one of my sturdiest hens is determined to be a momma. She is broody for the second time this winter so I've given her a few eggs to hatch rather than risk losing her to weight loss from being broody for so long. I've just ordered some chicks to be delivered right when her chicks are due to hatch so she can be momma to all of them at once.
My question is this - I would like to do my Spring worming, dusting and coop cleaning now before she hatches the eggs in 3 weeks. I want to worm and dust because we're due and also because I have a hen who just came out of being broody and she seems very light, because I've noticed some loose stool here and there, because appetites are larger than normal and feed is disappearing at lightning speed, and because egg production has dropped significantly. All are the same signs of the mites/worms my chickens had well over a year ago and luckily haven't had since. Until now. I haven't actually seen any mites or worms but I don't want to wait until it's so serious that I do.
So, will my worming my broody hen (and everyone else in the flock) with Wazine this week and also dusting everyone with Permethrin this week cause any problems for the developing chicks who are due to hatch in 19 days? Also, in a week I will have to redust and a few weeks after that I will have to follow up with another round of worming with Ivermectin pour-on. Will that put my soon-to-be-alive chicks at risk in any way?
I have a full barn converted to a coop where my flock of bantam hens and roosters live together. There is a side room attached to this barn-turned-coop that used to be the original coop before we converted the entire barn into the main coop. That little coop is what I will now use as the nursery for my broody hen and her new chicks. So the chicks, once hatched will only have contact with momma hen, but they will be in the same building with the same circulated air as the main flock even though they're separated by a wall and a wired/screened door.
As far as the yard, the main flock has an electric fenced in yard where only they (and the feed sneaking squirrels, wild bunnies, and wild birds) roam free all day. The attached mini coop (soon to be nursery) has a fenced in chicken run inside of that electric fenced in yard where the chicks and momma can get sun and fresh air and still be safe from most predators inside of their little chicken wire run. The new chicks will be able to see the flock through the fencing when the flock is out in the yard and the chicks are out in their chick run so they will have slight contact with the flock but they won't ever be in direct contact with the flock until they are old enough to not be picked on.
I guess my question should be - will the Wazine, Permethrin, and Ivermectin pour-on that my main flock will be dosed with put my new chicks at risk somehow? And what should I treat mamma hen with, and what should I not treat her with, so that I don't put the chicks at risk?
PS Thank you for all of this wonderful info. I've been learning so much from reading everyone's posts.
Heather
My question is this - I would like to do my Spring worming, dusting and coop cleaning now before she hatches the eggs in 3 weeks. I want to worm and dust because we're due and also because I have a hen who just came out of being broody and she seems very light, because I've noticed some loose stool here and there, because appetites are larger than normal and feed is disappearing at lightning speed, and because egg production has dropped significantly. All are the same signs of the mites/worms my chickens had well over a year ago and luckily haven't had since. Until now. I haven't actually seen any mites or worms but I don't want to wait until it's so serious that I do.
So, will my worming my broody hen (and everyone else in the flock) with Wazine this week and also dusting everyone with Permethrin this week cause any problems for the developing chicks who are due to hatch in 19 days? Also, in a week I will have to redust and a few weeks after that I will have to follow up with another round of worming with Ivermectin pour-on. Will that put my soon-to-be-alive chicks at risk in any way?
I have a full barn converted to a coop where my flock of bantam hens and roosters live together. There is a side room attached to this barn-turned-coop that used to be the original coop before we converted the entire barn into the main coop. That little coop is what I will now use as the nursery for my broody hen and her new chicks. So the chicks, once hatched will only have contact with momma hen, but they will be in the same building with the same circulated air as the main flock even though they're separated by a wall and a wired/screened door.
As far as the yard, the main flock has an electric fenced in yard where only they (and the feed sneaking squirrels, wild bunnies, and wild birds) roam free all day. The attached mini coop (soon to be nursery) has a fenced in chicken run inside of that electric fenced in yard where the chicks and momma can get sun and fresh air and still be safe from most predators inside of their little chicken wire run. The new chicks will be able to see the flock through the fencing when the flock is out in the yard and the chicks are out in their chick run so they will have slight contact with the flock but they won't ever be in direct contact with the flock until they are old enough to not be picked on.
I guess my question should be - will the Wazine, Permethrin, and Ivermectin pour-on that my main flock will be dosed with put my new chicks at risk somehow? And what should I treat mamma hen with, and what should I not treat her with, so that I don't put the chicks at risk?
PS Thank you for all of this wonderful info. I've been learning so much from reading everyone's posts.
Heather
