The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ki4got]

I tried to do a search but am new can someone tell me where they get there favorite nongmo feeds from that ship?

I buy my own feeds locally. I think it would be cost prohibitive to buy 100-150 pounds of feed a week and have it shipped. LOL

I haven't gone the non-gmo route yet, but I do ferment the feeds that I do get.

 

[tjo804]

Is there a strong smell? Any discharge...whitish?

It may be a yeast infection (commonly called "gleet") If that's what it is it is easily treated and prevented for future

No Smell or discharge.

He is the only one out of 9 total that has this.

if it is a yeast issue will putting raw ACV in water help to clear this up?

I plan to burn some wood today and do an ashing tomorrow just in case of mites.

Is there anything else I can do as a preventative / natural treatment to kind of fix all?

All Bedding and Run area have just been redone within the last 2 weeks

 

[Sally8]

I tried to do a search but am new can someone tell me where they get there favorite nongmo feeds from that ship?

I can't help you with that but I want to welcome you to a thread that is full of information and wonderful people that can help.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I tried to do a search but am new can someone tell me where they get there favorite nongmo feeds from that ship?

I also purchase from a local feed mill that has non-gmo, organic, and regular/gmo. I started out having them make a mix I wanted with no soy and organic. Now I just purchase the ingredients and grind my own.

If you are in an area that has farms, check around to see if there are any feed mills. Sometimes they'll have the non-gmo.


Otherwise there are places that ship but very expensive usually.

Countryside Organics is one you could check with.

 

[GreenSoul]

oh thank you everyone! Maybe I will just stick with local then. Our babies are only 9 days old today so still on chick starter. I need to do some more digging, we are currently station in Germany and they don't allow gmos here or in human food i would assume animal is the same so i will double check. Can you tell me what all you grind for yours, Leahs mom? I also want to make them there own snack/treat/scratch too so that it is healthy and nutritious for them.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
There is a product that is topically applied that a lot of people on this thread use that is anti-fungal. Some feel that it is not "natural" (that's the disclaimer) but it does work very quickly and has antifungal and antibacterial properties.

I don't think anyone has found it local, but have to order it. It's called NuStock. http://www.amazon.com/Durvet-001-0530-Nu-Stock-Ointment-12-Ounce/dp/B000HHSIYQ

It has a very strong smell is is mainly sulphur and pine tar. Also has mineral oil which will leach oil soluble vitamins out of the system (Vitamin A/D/E/K are oil soluble...they will bind to mineral oil and taken out of the system with it) so it should be used carefully in my opinion. Likely the strong smell will encourage folks to use it judiciously (I always wonder why these medications use mineral oil as the oil carrier...there are plenty of other choices that could work....)

The stuff really works topically and you don't have to use it long.... There is nothing I can find that states that it is approved for use in poultry. I, personally, recommend moderation if you decide to use it. I do have it in my first aid kit.


For the system itself...PREVENTION and MAINTENANCE:
Using a probiotic that is designed for poultry will help restore the system. The ONLY avian probiotic that I recommend is AVI-Culture 2. It is grown on a non-gmo substrate.

I spoke with every major producer of probiotics for Avian use and this is the only one that uses a non-gmo substrate. I spoke with the owner of AVI-Culture at length and am very happy with the product.

Their website leaves a lot to be desired, but the product is good. Only need a small container as it lasts a long time. http://www.nationalbirddesigns.com/shop.html

It also makes a GREAT "jump-starter" culture for those of you that are using lacto-fermented feed,

 

[Leahs Mom]

This is the usage sheet for the Avi-culture 2. Click on it and it should bring it up large enough to read.

 

[tjo804]

There is a product that is topically applied that a lot of people on this thread use that is anti-fungal. Some feel that it is not "natural" (that's the disclaimer) but it does work very quickly and has antifungal and antibacterial properties.

I don't think anyone has found it local, but have to order it. It's called NuStock. http://www.amazon.com/Durvet-001-0530-Nu-Stock-Ointment-12-Ounce/dp/B000HHSIYQ

It has a very strong smell is is mainly sulphur and pine tar. Also has mineral oil which will leach oil soluble vitamins out of the system (Vitamin A/D/E/K are oil soluble...they will bind to mineral oil and taken out of the system with it) so it should be used carefully in my opinion. Likely the strong smell will encourage folks to use it judiciously (I always wonder why these medications use mineral oil as the oil carrier...there are plenty of other choices that could work....)

The stuff really works topically and you don't have to use it long.... There is nothing I can find that states that it is approved for use in poultry. I, personally, recommend moderation if you decide to use it. I do have it in my first aid kit.


For the system itself, using a probiotic that is designed for poultry will help restore the system. The ONLY avian probiotic that I recommend is AVI-Culture 2. It is grown on a non-gmo substrate.

I spoke with every major producer of probiotics for Avian use and this is the only one that uses a non-gmo substrate. I spoke with the owner of AVI-Culture at length and am very happy with the product.

Their website leaves a lot to be desired, but the product is good. Only need a small container as it lasts a long time. http://www.nationalbirddesigns.com/shop.html

It also makes a GREAT "jump-starter" culture for those of you that are using lacto-fermented feed,

Thank you for the information I will be looking into this right away!

 

[ChickChickChicky]

Also has mineral oil which will leach oil soluble vitamins out of the system (Vitamin A/D/E/K are oil soluble...they will bind to mineral oil and taken out of the system with it) so it should be used carefully in my opinion.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8606037 to read the full abstract in PubMed, otherwise refer to the below snippet from the article...

"On the basis of these findings and reports on negligible epidermal penetration of topically applied white mineral oils, there is no evidence of any hazard identified for topical exposure to white mineral oils at any dose in multiple species. This conclusion is supported by the long and uneventful human use of white mineral oils in drug and non-drug topically applied products."

 

[Leahs Mom]

Quote:
This isn't the issue I'm talking about. In very "layman's terms" .... When mineral oil (used topically or internally) absorbs into the body, it is not digestible. It "passes through" the system and out. The problem is that oil soluble vitamins (ADEK) "attach" themselves to the mineral oil and are unable to be used by the body. When it goes out of the body, it takes those oil soluble vitamins with it.

Again...very layman's terms. But the idea is that it removes those vitamins from being able to be absorbed from the system.