The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[ChickensAreSweet]

@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

There are a couple of kinds of mites. The Northern Fowl Mite lives on the chicken but you have to treat the coop too as they swarm everywhere.

The Red Mite (chicken mite) lives in the cracks of the coop and comes out at night to feed.

Lice (straw colored) live on the chicken.

If you are seeing mites on a chicken it is most likely the Northern Fowl Mite, I believe. Those things require getting rid of bedding/nesting material, treating the chickens every 7 days x 2, and treating the coop twice as well. If you don't get rid of the hiding spots in the coop too for them (like the shavings and nesting material) they come back, I have found.

I switched to sand and now just shake the Poultry Dust (permethrin) all over and it mixes with the sand. So I don't throw away my sand. For itty bitties who are under their mama I would dust the mama but not the babies as they will be dusted under her anyway. Mites/lice can kill chickens and so a bug-free policy is best.

I have dealt extensively with the Northern Fowl mite and this is what has worked for me. For lice the life cycle is longer and requires another treatment at 14 days as well.

Sevin dust used to be approved for chickens (worked great). Some mites are resistant to permethrin. Some are resistant to carbaryl (Sevin).

 

[ki4got]

I'm wondering now... has anyone ever had success with a broody hen taking quail chicks? (coturnix) I've got some of them, blrw, sfh and some cochins due to hatch tomorrow.

 

[Scott H]

I have not seen mites on the chickens yet but will look more closely today. The only place I noticed them was in the nesting box. I completely cleaned the coop and sprayed it while everyone was out of the coop.

 

[Leahs Mom]

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.

@SallyinIndiana
Can you tell again how you used it on the chicks? How much, where, and did you have to re-treat?

ETA: And have you personally used it?

 

[armorfirelady]

Any help with my mite situation? I got a Frontline suggestion....I treat the hens with Ivermactin but the lttle chicks?

wood ash- dust daily for about 5 days then dust again 10 days later to get whatever may have been missed- then leave wood ash out for them to dust bathe in daily. I add some peat moss to it. The peat moss helps with the DL as it gets spread around

 

[4Hgirl]

The Broody Sumatra and one of her adoptees. She is such a good mother hen! We notice it is so much easier to raise them like this than in a box with a light. And even my daughter said the chicks seem so much happier being raised naturally!

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote: I have used it on hens and roosters. It was recently suggested on the HRIR site. We spray our coops with bug stuff every so often, but I wanted to be extra safe with my breeders. With this past winter, every thing was more than overcrowded considering they could not get out or would not go out. I have not had to use it on chicks.
For a large full size hen I put 4 drops under the wing on the skin. For the large RIR rooster he got 5 drops under a wing on the skin.
The pattern, the drops went onto the skin. Just like with cats and dogs, the drops need to get on skin. I have seen my cat cleaning minutes after the frontline dose and he has lived just fine so I'm not worried about the chickens cleaning their feathers. After the dose the breeder eggs were set and just because I had space I set the production eggs for 2 weeks too. But I don't think there is a rule that says you can't eat the eggs. The box of frontline said it was safe for a nursing mother dog, well the box used other words but it meant it would not hurt the puppies getting food from the treated mother.
As for retreating, we did the first treatment on 5/1. I have not seen scratching or signs of mites, but the box said for the first few treatments to do it every 30 days then every 3 months. I plan to only treat the hens I have in breeding pens. I have a few non breeders in the pen right now to make enough hens for 1 rooster. The main reason for the treatment of the breeders is that they do not have a dusting area in the breeding pen.

 

[aoxa]

I'm wondering now... has anyone ever had success with a broody hen taking quail chicks? (coturnix) I've got some of them, blrw, sfh and some cochins due to hatch tomorrow.

I wouldn't put them with large fowl. They are sooo tiny. I definitely would try a Silkie though!

 

[CoopChick719]

We are keeping this little girl. She is way too cute. Alpine father and her mom is Alpine and Nubian cross.

She's adorable!!

If you live in a dry area where grass does not grow freely like it does on my property - it may be tougher to deal with small space. However, my grass needs to be mowed at least twice a week or it is unsightly. Here is an example. We still leave our pasture long of course.

I agree she is very striking!!

My chicks are coming up on 7 weeks old, and they are always crusty. They look like they have been in a never ending food fight. Evidently, their feed tastes much better when they stand up to their knees in it.

Also tastes better if you lay in it so everyone else has to eat around you! My meaties have made friends with the layers.

 

[lazy gardener]

I let the chicks out into the enclosure with the hens today. The hens were so totally not impressed, and one by one, they went into attack mode, and were promptly issued an invitation to a time out in the coop. Gosh darn it, if they were equally unimpressed with that solution! Chicks sure had fun though. Hoping to get the 1600 s.f. run divided this weekend so chicks and hens can each have some nice run space.