The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

Frontline (Fipronil) sits in the oil glands and is gradually distributed through the skins surface of the animal, this is the process in cats and dogs. I would suppose it is less effective in chickens as the process of translocation through the oil glands would not apply, however enough of the product does appear to have the desired effect. 7 days of egg disposal is recomended by vets. It does not enter the blood stream, so I see no reason they could not be fed back to the birds.

I do not recomend using drugs of any kind with out the help of a licensed vet, and even then I usually have little trust unless they themselves own and raise poultry.
I do not think there is anything wrong with anyone using anything on there chickens, be it frontline or antibiotics. It is just not something I personally choose to do. I think it is a personal choice and I advocate other natural means.

 

[SandBsmom]

HI everyone. I'm looking for a source for some medicinal herbs. (not that kind!!!!!) There's a great and knowledgeable member here Wolfmom? Something like that. Who has a recipe for a respiratory tea. I wrote down the recipe but I can't figure out where to get the herbs. Any suggestions???

 

[delisha]

HI everyone. I'm looking for a source for some medicinal herbs. (not that kind!!!!!) There's a great and knowledgeable member here Wolfmom? Something like that. Who has a recipe for a respiratory tea. I wrote down the recipe but I can't figure out where to get the herbs. Any suggestions???

You can order them on line or call your health food store in your area. Look up herbalist in your yellow pages.
out of suggestions..sorry

 

[countrygirl74]

If you can, hold off altogether if you have roosters or non-laying birds. Offer a flock raiser, a grower or un-medicated starter indefinitely. Oyster shell on the side. Very few breeders actually use layer food because it can cause issues with the roosters.

If you only have laying hens, offer it once they start laying. Too much calcium that they don't require makes their kidneys work harder to release what they don't need - and that can put them into liver failure.

So, if I have a rooster with my 11 hens, it would be best to always feed them grower and not layer feed? Mine are all about 3-4 months old now and still on grower and I wasn't sure when to switch or what to switch them to. They are on an organic grower mash and I ferment it. Should I just stick with this forever as long as I have a rooster? And, if I end up not having a rooster, then should I put them on layer or just keep them on grower while supplying them oyster shell? I'm new at this... thanks for all the info!

Here is what I currently use for my ff:
http://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/1046/

 

[jockeyeba]

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First day of​

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Eggs!!!!​

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I know how you feel my 2 Wyandotte girls are both laying now

 

[countrygirl74]

I am so sick of you kids whining and complaining about the cold! By golly when I was a kid it was this cold ALL winter not just a couple of days. I remember we had to walk 8 miles to the school... each way....heated by a potbelly stove which rarely got it up to 45 degrees. And.... it was uphill both ways and through 3 1/2 feet of snow.
Anybody have an extra silkie? I ran out of charmin.....

No complaining here - Dry, sunny and a high of 60 degrees today! Warm enough to sit outside in a t-shirt while the chickens had some supervised free-range and ducks got to swim! So nice after being as low as 0 degrees only a couple weeks ago!

 

[jockeyeba]

Just ran across this and had to share the giggle!

HOW FUNNY.... the wife laughing was hysterical.. thanks BDM!

I bet that poor hen didn't have any fun laying that thing

 

[jlynnet]

That egg video is too funny!
The cold is too much for my girls! They've stayed inside most of the past two days. I'm so ready for 30 degrees. One of our heated dog waterers isn't working. Good thing we have an extra bowl.

 

[Sally8]

It's -5 here. I don't want to go out!!! So far, I've never kept them in, I let them make their own choices. I think if we were to have an ice storm, I would keep them in. What conditions would there have to be for you all to not let them out? So far, they make pretty wise conditions on their own.

I want to comment on the Frontline, we did use it, I think it was one of my very first posts on BYC and we did eat the eggs. We had mites terrible! After joining BYC, I use wood ash, a bird gets dusted every few days whether she needs it or not and they have it in their dust bath. Wonderful remedy. We don't seem to have a local vet to treat chickens unless I want to drive about an hour away to Cornell. I think wood ash is as effective as the Frontline or any other store remedy. (Do we talk about it in that place?)

One of my broody hens that has sat on her eggs for the nearly 3 weeks left her nest a couple of days ago. I had candled the eggs a week ago and the chicks were growing. This is her third attempt so I am going to band her leg so I know who it is and not let her set again. We lost many eggs this way. The other 3 haven't moved from their posts. I'm all set up for my hatchee's. Friday is the big day. More has made to hatch day than expected. I had started to collect eggs Dec 15 and put them in the incubator Jan 5. Unbelievably only 1 of those didn't progress. I'm so excited. I vowed I wouldn't set up a brooder in the house again but here we are. AND IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

Have a great day everyone and keep warm. Sue

 

[aoxa]

Hi all,

Frequent lurker on this thread and its predecessors. Does cold weather affect egg production? I live in New Hampshire, so by cold I mean sustained lows below zero and day time high temps in single digits to mid teens. I had 4 pullets laying before Christmas, then it got cold. One still lays like a champ and with the brief warm spell last week, one or two of the others produced, but by and large, nothing.

Who ever used the words -2 and "only" in the same sentence earlier - I salute you. I was born in NYC. When I started saying things like that I knew I'd gone native. I'm still amazed at how warm 10 degrees can feel under the right circumstances.

Alerts in effect for Moncton, NB​

Wind Chill Warning​

Issued at 4:40 AM AST Wednesday 23 January 2013​

SUMMARY

Extreme wind chill values of minus 35 to minus 41 are forecast for this morning tonight and Thursday morning. This is a warning that extreme wind chill conditions are expected in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..listen for updated statements.

DETAILS

Very cold Arctic air combined with northwesterly winds will produce wind chill values of minus 35 to minus 41 this morning overnight tonight and Thursday morning.
Glad I didn't get the chicks out of the heat lamp last night. I know Loan Wizard is tired of hearing of us complain about the cold, but it is bad today.

Note that -41C is -41.8F.

I did not open the barn door all the way, but they still have the option to go out. And low and behold... my broody's chick's are pipped. I'm glad they will stay under mama for a couple days. Brr!