Texas

[Cockle-Dood]

Just wondering, does anyone have any guineas laying yet?

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I bet you'll find the Silkies your favorite chickens! Just sayin'. They are feather footed, so they won't trash your yard as much as the Ameraucana will. Your Ameraucana needs some buddies--go get those Silkies!

I decided to hold off on the silkies for now. I will get a cream legbar buddie for my Ameraucana. As soon as I know when my Ameraucana is coming I will get the CL chick reserved for pick up the same day.

Speaking of which, I am driving to Denton to get the chick, do I need to worry about keeping her warm on the way back with something? It will be about a 45 minute drive and should be in the 60's. Should I have anything special on hand for when I get home or is the warm brooder, food and water enough?

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Are mites and lice a big problem with chickens? Besides a good cleaning of the coop every week is there any other way to prevent them? I know DE in the dust bath will help, but DE is also bad for the lungs. Wouldn't it be bad for the chickens then?

The vodka cleaner will kill insects too. It might be worth the $10-15 bottle of vodka to make it then. I don't think the vinegar version will kill insects. Or will it?

 

[kenmlang]

Are mites and lice a big problem with chickens? Besides a good cleaning of the coop every week is there any other way to prevent them? I know DE in the dust bath will help, but DE is also bad for the lungs. Wouldn't it be bad for the chickens then?

The vodka cleaner will kill insects too. It might be worth the $10-15 bottle of vodka to make it then. I don't think the vinegar version will kill insects. Or will it?

we use DE in the coop, nesting boxes, and the runs. It helps keep the mites and lice at bay, and haven't had any respiratory problems with my birds. Our problem here is ants. We are going to try a trick I read about online, club soda. You take a 2 liter bottle and pour the whole thing in the ant bed and they say the carbonation actually removes the oxygen from the colony and the ants just smother. As for the vinegar, it does work , but only on certain bugs. I personally wouldn't waste good vodka like that.lol

 

[Ren2014]

Anyone near the Austin area interested in white leghorn roosters? We are new to chickens and these guys were 'warmer' chicks. They are 8 wks old and I don't want them harassing our BR and EE girls

 

[ThackerArrykka]

we use DE in the coop, nesting boxes, and the runs. It helps keep the mites and lice at bay, and haven't had any respiratory problems with my birds. Our problem here is ants. We are going to try a trick I read about online, club soda. You take a 2 liter bottle and pour the whole thing in the ant bed and they say the carbonation actually removes the oxygen from the colony and the ants just smother. As for the vinegar, it does work , but only on certain bugs. I personally wouldn't waste good vodka like that.lol

how would I do the vinager to make the repellant.... by the way what id DE??

 

[8isenuff]

Couldnt make it out of the chicken show with out getting two new chicks! A pair of Cream Legbars!

 

[Cockle-Dood]

Brought home tge first new batch today. Got 2 adults to roomie with my sole leghorn...felt bad for her, she was the only one to survive the great boston massacre of '13.

And got 6 new chicks, 2 whitefaced black spanish, 2 polish, and 2 silkies.

Next batch i want some bcm or heritage rhode islands. Will prolly invest in eggs and hatch those myself

 

[Cockle-Dood]

The 2 adults...well laying age so bout 10 mos, were some kind of fancy name but scream prod. Reds to me...the roo is a handsome fella with a blonde coloring and the hen is a deep red. Ill work on some pics when it stops raining and they get over the hour car ride witg my 2 year old, lol

 

[kenmlang]

how would I do the vinager to make the repellant.... by the way what id DE??

The vinegar is a repellant. You can just add about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a gallon of water then just let the birds drink at their leisure. This also helps with digestion. Now for DE. Diatomaceous Earth. (food grade only) This can be used on the coop, nesting boxes, runs, etc. When the DE gets on the bugs, it basically smothers them. It is a resiratoy irritant, but if you apply carefully, it should not hurt the birds. We apply the DE directly on the coop floor and then we put our shavings/straw on top. Same procedure in the nesting boxes. We sprinkle it freely in the runs, when the birds are out freeranging. This way it has time to settle and get rid of whatever bugs are in there.I hope this helped