The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Kassaundra]

I don't mind barn smells in a barn, but I live in town so barn smells are not really an option. But I keep dreaming about hair sheep to eat the grass, but realistically unless I move to the country it isn't an option.

 

[aoxa]

I've never had mites on the babies before but I think I'd carefully rub ash down under the down and feathers as carefully as possible so as not to get too much into their respiratory system. It only takes a little on a tiny one.

Now yours are with a broody and if you give her a dust bath area she'll have them right in there so they may be able to take care of it themselves. Just put a small amount of the ash into the dirt and see if mom will do the job.

I think that would be my first thing to try before doing anything stronger but watch closely. You don't want mites on the littles for long.



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On the spray, This is a recipe for ADULT CHICKENS.

10 ounces of water
1 ounce of garlic juice
1 teaspoon (total) any combination of these essential oils - bay, cinnamon, clove, coriander, lavender, spearmint, tea tree and/or thyme

Mix in a spray bottle and spray hens bi-weekly as a preventative or every other day for two to three weeks in the case of an infestation. Concentrate around the vent and under the wings.



BUT FOR THE BABIES I WOULD DILUTE IT WITH MORE WATER. Essential oils are very strong.

I ALSO WOULD NOT SPRAY ON THE BABIES. I'd take a little drop of it and put it on them - perhaps near the tail area so it's not right close to their eyes.

Would Vet RX work for mites? It does for leg mites and smells like essential oils I've put it under the wings of birds I bring to show, and on their combs because they pink right up.

For Show Birds: To protect birds from colds while travelling to and from shows, place a few drops of warm VETRx™ under one (1) wing. It does not stain, or harm feathers, wing, or color. Rubbing VETRx™ on the legs brings out the true color and helps to protect them from mites and lice. When the birds return from shows, keep them separated from the flock for one (1) week. Wash their feet and heads with a warm solution, and rub warm VETRx™ from the bottle on the heads and under wings.

Scaly Legs: When shanks of the bird appear dry, rub them with a small amount of cold VETRx™ from the bottle. In cases of heavy scale, apply cold VETRx™ and rub in thoroughly all over the shanks and toes. Repeat every three (3) days until the legs are completely free of scale.

Active Ingredient(s): Made with 3.3% (v-v) alcohol U.S.P. The mixture contains Canada balsam, camphor, oil origanum, oil rosemary, blended in a corn oil base.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Here's something to we all should take a look at:


Raising Chickens Naturally- GARLIC with Herbalist, Susan Burek
Quote: Read the Article Here: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/05/raising-chickens-naturally-garlic-with.html

 

[Leahs Mom]

PS: The article does not say no garlic should be given...just not given routinely over long periods of time. That it should be used in the right context for a purpose.

 

[aoxa]

PS: The article does not say no garlic should be given...just not given routinely over long periods of time. That it should be used in the right context for a purpose.

I don't feed garlic just because I find it really stinks up the feed and is too expensive to use with how many birds I have.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: This is the fair I liked best in our area last year. Their 4H poultry show was awesome and they even had heritage RIR. They did not have the blue sumatra chickens you have to head out towards Greencastle to see those. It is not in our plans to go this year as the poultry show is on July 4th.
http://www.bartholomewcountyfair.com/?page_id=988

If you are looking for a local chatty thread, here is a link to the Indiana thread. It moves fast most days.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/730582/indiana-bycers-here

And yes I was the one who suggested a medicine for the mites if the natural stuff did not work fast enough. I use natural remedies as much as possible but will use a medicine or chemical if I don't see results fast enough. For chicks, if one of them were to pass away from too many mites, I would be using frontline that day.

I don't use the garlic very often either. My reasons are also the smell and the cost. I do toss in the red pepper occasionally. No set dose or time frame, just when I feel like it.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

@RedRidge
We basically have our first breeding pen done. It does not have the divider in to make it a double. We were working with 8 ft wood so chose to make doubles instead of tripples or quad pens. My question is about feed and calcium stations. Do you have a few close up pictures of your breeding pen layouts showing the feeder and calcium locations?
I was thinking of using a PVC home made feeder like this one.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704443/diy-chicken-feeder-pipe/240#post_11031232
I'm thinking we will be using dog water dishes for the winter to keep the water from freezing but that really does not help with frost bite.

 

[aoxa]

@RedRidge
We basically have our first breeding pen done. It does not have the divider in to make it a double. We were working with 8 ft wood so chose to make doubles instead of tripples or quad pens. My question is about feed and calcium stations. Do you have a few close up pictures of your breeding pen layouts showing the feeder and calcium locations?
I was thinking of using a PVC home made feeder like this one.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/704443/diy-chicken-feeder-pipe/240#post_11031232
I'm thinking we will be using dog water dishes for the winter to keep the water from freezing but that really does not help with frost bite.

I had open water all winter and no frost bite on the wattles. I did get a couple with frost bite on their comb that decided they wanted to stay outside all night.. Ah well. The one that had the worst comb frost bite was a Naked Neck. The goats scared him, and he did not go back in. I was not walking through all that snow to get to him. The type of snow that is a little hard on top, and breaks when you step on it.. He could walk on top, but I couldn't. He lost his entire comb and looks so neat and tidy now lol.

He had a touch of frost bite on the tips of his toes, but did not seem to lose them. Just swollen around the nails. No biggie. He's no worse for wear.

 

[chicalot]

Would you all clean the eggs of a broody? She was sitting on the wrong nest on a fresh egg this morning. Her nest had yolk in it and the eggs looked shiny with egg. The nest was dirty with poo and yolk.I set her back on her nest and she stayed. Only 6 days to go.. I will try to candle tonight. Did look like there were missing eggs but they were the ones I think are infertile.

 

[Scott H]

@SallyinIndiana , I used Ivermectin on the girls as I wanted those things gone before the chicks hatched. And they were but I forgot that mites would hatch again.....until I started seeing them again. Don't think I'm going to use it on the babies and just hope the mites thin themselves out by feeding on the broody and dying. It's my understanding that mites don't live on the host but just feed there? That they generally live around the roost and feed on the hens at night but will infest a broody's nesting box as she's there all the time.
The coop was also cleaned and treated so the little buggers have no where to hide.

Chicken Mites