The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

I am SO glad to see that mine are molting now. Last year it wasn't until December when it was ungodly cold.

Do y'all think that's an indication of a hard winter coming....or are my birds just getting into a more normal molt cycle?

that is totally interesting, beause I've never ever had hens molt this early either - usually it is a late Oct early Nov thing. And I've never had them molt as a group so hard - pick one up and feathers explode into the air.

I lost a sulmtaler hen - she wasn't looking good in the morning, and was dead when I returned home from work. It was getting dark, and I was thinking I ought to do a necropsy, and I was moving her legs to see how bad rigor mortis was, and she expelled some egg white and a tiny bit of yolk with fluids - seemed kind of clear yellow, not yolk yellow. As I said, it was dusk and it was hard to see clearly. I decided it was probably egg bound peritonitis, She had laid a soft shelled egg the day before...

And, I still have that darned little pullet who will not go in the coop unless the people door is open. I've taken to picking her up off the roost (best award for dramatics go to her) and putting her on the chicken ramp and into the coop, but I think she is so hysterical that she has no idea of where she is. And Eddie aka Edie is her best bud, equally skittish and also can't figure it out. He spent the night last night outside as I got her down from the trees, but couldn't find him. Hopefully he'll turn up.

 

[lazy gardener]

You might try giving her some ramp lessons during the day. Is it possible that there's a bully staking out the ramp in the evening? Even if that's not happening now, if it did in the past, she may remember being attacked when she used the ramp. I've had that happen, so have just left their big loft door open. Hopefully they'll be moved into the new coop b/fore it gets real cold so it will no longer be an issue.

 

[lalaland]

she is one of the pullets hatched out by a broody this spring - and is skittish as the dickens. I can't get near her during the day and it is even a challenge to get her off the roost! I'm trying to give her one ramp lesson each evening, but can't always time it right. I am starting to wonder if the ramp is the issue, maybe I should add some jumping points - stumps - ala leah's mom.

 

[Shan30]

Shan,
Is it mild enough there that the bears don't hibernate?

Yes it's that mild. Some might in the mountains on the north tip of the island and I believe that they used to but not anymore. We also used to skate on the lakes when we were little kids and that was only 15-20 years ago.

 

[Renee97038]

ArmorFlylady, how do you use the wood ash mixed with peat moss to control lice and mites? Do you catch each bird and rub it into vent area, under wings and top and bottom of their neck? Just wanting some real time tips on this since I just finished doing my whole flock of 30+ with the dreaded chemical poultry dust twice, 7 days apart. I do have a nice swim pool dust bath with lots of wood ash, fine dirt from mole hills, and sand all mixed up for them now. And do you just sprinkle the wood ash mixture into the nest boxes on top of the shavings or what?

 

[armorfirelady]

ArmorFlylady, how do you use the wood ash mixed with peat moss to control lice and mites? Do you catch each bird and rub it into vent area, under wings and top and bottom of their neck? Just wanting some real time tips on this since I just finished doing my whole flock of 30+ with the dreaded chemical poultry dust twice, 7 days apart. I do have a nice swim pool dust bath with lots of wood ash, fine dirt from mole hills, and sand all mixed up for them now. And do you just sprinkle the wood ash mixture into the nest boxes on top of the shavings or what?

When they had mites & lice I hand dusted them every night in the wood ash for 7 days. Then 10 days later I did them again. I now make sure they have a dust bath area full of peat moss and wood ash always available. I also mix wood ash in with their shavings in the nesting box.

I havent had any more problems since. But I also make sure I am not lax in keeping the dust bath full either. When I add more to the dust bath during the winter I just dump the old stuff into the deep litter

 

[Lacy Blues]

When they had mites & lice I hand dusted them every night in the wood ash for 7 days. Then 10 days later I did them again. I now make sure they have a dust bath area full of peat moss and wood ash always available. I also mix wood ash in with their shavings in the nesting box.

I havent had any more problems since. But I also make sure I am not lax in keeping the dust bath full either. When I add more to the dust bath during the winter I just dump the old stuff into the deep litter

Since you use this stuff for killing lice/mites, is it not hazardous for your deep litter crawlies you want to keep? Sounds counterproductive but... ?

 

[armorfirelady]

 
When they had mites

Since you use this stuff for killing lice/mites, is it not hazardous for your deep litter crawlies you want to keep?  Sounds counterproductive but... ?

You know I never thought of that. But I don't routinely put it in the DL. The little that goes in there wouldn't hurt much. It's only in the winter I dump some in the DL because the girls usually fill up the container with shavings and such. When there is no snow their dust bath is outside under cover. I do know their DL breaks down wonderfully all year long

I know I've seen bugs crawling around in our fire pit so maybe it just affects the mites and lice?

 

[lalaland]

Hey, just a heads up in case any of you deal with Mt Healthy hatchery in Ohio - big CDC warning yesterday on people getting sick with salmonella from backyard flocks of chickens sourced from that hatchery.
http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-05-14/index.html

 

[LakeMomNY]

Since you use this stuff for killing lice/mites, is it not hazardous for your deep litter crawlies you want to keep?  Sounds counterproductive but... ?

It does sound counterintuitive, but I know people put wood ash in their compost piles, and DL is really just a compost pile, so I would imagine it's a-ok.