San Diego Chicken meetup and Chat thread

[OffGridMAMA]

Sharing cuteness my 8 Turkey poults

 

[ozexpat]

what is stevena? I put poultry dust under the hay in the nest last time and the ants swarm the hatching chick and killed it

After hauling eggs 7500 miles I had my hatchabator invaded by fire ants and lost all my chicks.

That was 6 months ago. Now my incubators and brooders are all on legs, The legs are sitting in paint cans with a mix of water and bleach. No more ants. Once the chicks are a few weeks old, they will eat the ants.

I just hatched 110 quail. They are ant free.

 

[niqueie]

I had a baby chick that was 2 weeks old get out of the brooder and then try to squeeze in between the brooder box and the wall then get stuck. She then started pooping in her stuck position. The ants sent the call out and swarmed her and the poop. Luckily I saw the ant swarm and moved the brooder to see what was going on. I found her swarmed by 100's of ants. I grabbed her then washed her till the ants were gone. Then babied her like crazy. She is doing great now 1 week later. Thank heavens. I HATE ants.

 

[alisar]

Oh my goodness, that's so crazy. The giant fireants that live with my chickens in Valley Center don't seem to bother each other. The ants will steal the chicken feed though. You'll see them dragging pieces of crumble away.

 

[alisar]

Sharing cuteness

my 8 Turkey poults

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

I had a baby chick that was 2 weeks old get out of the brooder and then try to squeeze in between the brooder box and the wall then get stuck. She then started pooping in her stuck position. The ants sent the call out and swarmed her and the poop. Luckily I saw the ant swarm and moved the brooder to see what was going on. I found her swarmed by 100's of ants. I grabbed her then washed her till the ants were gone. Then babied her like crazy. She is doing great now 1 week later. Thank heavens. I HATE ants.

So glad you found her in time!! I hve a neighbor whose desert tortoise had a huge hole eaten through it's neck by the **** things. I spread DE in my tortoises yard and check them throughout the day. Different types of ants eat different things. Some are attracted to sugar, others meat, some grain. Years ago when I lived in Egypt I changed the baby's diaper and forgot it on the bed. I later found hundreds of these ginormous ants on the bed....what the heck???? They were attracted to the baby $]*+ and were feasting !! Those suckers were over an inch long. As much as I hate ants, I'm greatful that we at least don't have mammoth ones.

I find DE only effective if kept dry and if sprinkled very liberally at least once a week.

 

[cracking up]

OffGridMama - I can't believe how big they look! Love those long turkey legs.

 

[RHRanch]

My friend who is a pastry chef recently told me that ants won't cross a line of flour. If it's not windy, you might try flour in the areas ants are traveling. I know from personal experience that ants hate cinnamon, and won't cross a line of ground cinnamon - this is great for keeping them out of cabinets and pantries without using poison. There is also a non-toxic spray made out of mint and another made with orange oil that works great on ants.

 

[OffGridMAMA]

Of course! When the time comes Turkey for everyone!!!! Lol .
..
Going to try my best to them to adulthood

 

[ozexpat]

Of course! When the time comes

Turkey for everyone!!!! Lol .
..
Going to try my best to them to adulthood

dibs on some eggs