Speckledhen's Ten Commandments of Good Flock Management

[speckledhen]

That is interesting. I was positive it killed MG because Oxine is known to kill every bacteria, virus, and mold it has ever been tested against and is 200 times more effective than chlorine bleach, but if someone actually called the company and they said it would not, that would seem to say no. I think maybe it would be a good idea to call them myself and verify. I would like to be sure of what I tell folks.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm going to see if I can put this here off the Biocide website-sorry, it's not that easy to read, but it was a pdf file on the site. I'll contact them to specifically ask about mycoplasmosis/CRD:

Quote:

ETA: I called the company and spoke to a microbiologist. They cannot say it kills MG because it has never been tested against MG/CRD. Personally, I would bet money on it doing so, but of course, the company cannot say it does without actual test results.

 

[Suzierd]

Thanks for posting all that Speckeledhen, Oxine is great stuff! I will deffently continue using it. If it kills all that you would think it would get MG that dies fairly quick out side the chicken. I appreciate you taking the time to call for us.

 

[TheReadyBoys]

Thanks for sharing! Very good guide lines!

 

[Quack and Cheep]

Hi there

Thank you for the advice everyone.

I am new to this forum and didn't realise that I wouldn't be notified when a reply came in!

I called my vet and he was next to useless, so I went online to search about turkey poults. The first thing I discovered was that they were on the wrong feed.

Turkeys need much higher levels of protein than hens and ducks, also they need medicated feed.

These poor little things weren't getting the basics so I searched for their food and got some in from a friendly farmer who was also a bird nutritionist.

He was extremely helpful, he offered to come and inspect the birds and he said they were doing well. The five remaining from the first night are alive and well and stopped smelling after two weeks or so, so maybe they were just soaked in excrement as you say because they didn't look like they had poo on them, poor little things.

They are all thriving now and there are two more poults that I hatched later living in with them, they are outside and getting bigger by the day now :0)

~Thank you for all the advice everyone ~

As an aside ~ The nutritionist also told me that I can feed the chickens and ducks on the turkey food as well and it won't do them any harm, they will just grow quicker!

 

[Kansas Prairie]

I have a queston on rule #2, I have an elevated coop about 24 inches off of the ground. I have 2 floors one is hardware cloth, the other is wood. When the temperatures got over 95 I pulled the wood floor and put the wire floor in. I was trying to keep my girls cool and it dropped the temp in the coop. After reading #2, I'm concerned if the wire floor is a bad idea.

 

[speckledhen]

What kind of wire? I see you are in Kansas and have some actual winter snows. I do not raise birds on wire so can't really speak to that; all my coops have wood floors and mine do just fine. Can you put a temporary floor in during winter? My concern with wire floors would be 1) bumblefoot and 2) predators getting through it.




Quack and Cheep, I'm not sure how the farmer qualifies as a bird nutritionist exactly, but if the starter is over 24% protein, I'd say it's too high for chicks, personally. Turkeys and guineas do need higher protein levels than chickens as babies.

 

[Kansas Prairie]

Speckledhen, I have 1/2 x 1/2 Hardware cloth on the floor of my movable coop. We have several days of triple digit days in the summer. I have a different coop/barn for winter.

 

[speckledhen]

If your hardware cloth is attached with screws backed by washers or the heavy duty U-staples you hammer in place, you're probably okay as far as predators go. And if it's for summer, you're fine anyway. Drafts are a problem in winter. Summer, you need all the airflow you can get.

 

[chickenarmy]

Thank you!

I have printed 4 copies- so far. From now on, anyone getting a chicken from me or anyone else gets a copy on parchment paper!

I love it! Thanks speckledhen!