Reducing feed cost

[Krissygirlusa]

I buy organic for about $30/bag. But I also supplement their diets with our family’s dinner scraps. They had chicken enchiladas for dinner last night and loved them more than my kid did!

 

[Fishkeeper]

If you can let them out sometimes to free-range for bugs, that'll help.

For the mites, what are you treating with? If you slather their legs in petroleum jelly, a really thick layer, rubbing it against the 'grain' of how the scales lay, that will smother the scaly leg mites. You have to make sure it stays on them for a few days, so you'll have to reapply, but it'll suffocate the leg mites.

 

[Bantamgirl715]

I am lazy, and have a lot of chickens, so a couple of times a week at breakfast I carry a large spray bottle filled with baby oil, and a drop or two of tea tree. As they are focused on their breakfast I blast them; legs, feathers, whatever. It has made a huge difference in external parasites. They do look a little dusty for a few days where the oil has coated their feathers but then they look fabulous, dahling. Take care not to get it in their eyes, of course.