The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Shan30]

My two little BA mixes have dry cracking on their legs.  I treated their legs a few times with NuStock when the weather was warmer because their legs were getting a thick, chalky, dry look to them.  I thought I saw improvement, but with the bitter cold they are still dry.  I haven't wanted to put anything on them in the cold because I thought it might make things worse (wet lotion would freeze).  However, I apply at night when they are roosting and I suppose the cream would dry by morning since they sit on their legs while they roost.  I was hoping I could wait until spring warmth to treat more aggressively, but I need to do something now.

Any suggestions?  Should I just apply NuStock every few nights when they are roosting?

It's possible that you have already eradicated the little invaders. I was the one who recommended nustock to you and it is still what I would use. Since nustock is primarily an oil with a ton of sulphur you get the oil doing its job suffocating and the sulphur repelling any survivors. Sulphur is used to get rid of all kinds of mites in the garden and on humans and animals including demodex mites causing mange. I beleive its even a common scabies treatment.

I loved using Pam for follow up treatments every second night simply because its so easy and only ever did the one (heavy) treatment with nustock. I seem to recall it taking a long time to be able to see the difference as the old damaged scales stay in place for so long. Have you noticed any improvement or have they gotten worse?

 

[sunflower4you]

It's possible that you have already eradicated the little invaders. I was the one who recommended nustock to you and it is still what I would use. Since nustock is primarily an oil with a ton of sulphur you get the oil doing its job suffocating and the sulphur repelling any survivors. Sulphur is used to get rid of all kinds of mites in the garden and on humans and animals including demodex mites causing mange. I beleive its even a common scabies treatment.

I loved using Pam for follow up treatments every second night simply because its so easy and only ever did the one (heavy) treatment with nustock. I seem to recall it taking a long time to be able to see the difference as the old damaged scales stay in place for so long. Have you noticed any improvement or have they gotten worse?

Thanks, Shan. I thought I was seeing improvement, but once winter set in with the cold I think their legs are just lacking moisture now. I just noticed a small crack on one of my girls where the leg meets the foot. It looks like when you get really dry skin on your fingertips and the skin can dry out and split. So I want to give her some relief and I'm not sure what type of moisturizer/lotion to use. I treated with NuStock 3 times (once a week) and have not used anything since.

 

[hellbender]

Ok Ron, propylene glycol... not standard antifreeze. Where would one get this stuff?

I'm not saying I'm going to use it but if I am ever overrun by birds with scaly leg mites, I might just do it. I have a lot of birds too... somewhere around 100... shhhh.

I'm wondering if it would be good perhaps wash/check the chickens' feet/legs so they're clean and then just dip the leg, up to the feathers at the hock joint into this solution and then put the bird back on the perch?

I've never used what Shan30 uses but it sounds feasible but too many steps for me.

Propylene glycol can be bought at most farm stores (at least around here) on the net. But shop around...Some folks charge too much!

You could do what you say but I just had someone hold each bird and I applied the mixture by hand, using rubber gloves. Every 3rd or 4th bird, I would squirt a bit on my chamois cloth and give the whole foot and leg a good going over, making sure to cover the whole area.

I buy PG by the gallon because I use it for just about every type of animal on the farm, from pigs, goats and cattle.


EDIT: I hasten to add...there is nothing about propylene glycol to harm the animals or humans, I wear the gloves because of the Ivermectin. I dopn't know if that small amount would damage me but rubber gloves are really cheap insurance!!!

 

[hellbender]

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/ideal-animal-health-propylene-glyco-1-gal

 

[Tnic]

Here is another great video on chickens being fed on compost piles
http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/64322-chicken-tractor-on-steroids

That's an awesome vid.

I think I wanna go with the one that inspired Geoff tho.

http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/59960-feed-chickens-without-grain

 

[Shan30]

Wow 100 birds...catching and treating 35 sucked! Hmmmm, bucket of oil and the catch and dip method? A trough of oil that they have to walk through to go inside? Haha yeah they would probably eat that.

 

[ronott1]

Wow 100 birds...catching and treating 35 sucked! Hmmmm, bucket of oil and the catch and dip method? A trough of oil that they have to walk through to go inside? Haha yeah they would probably eat that.

A lot of things are hard to do on a large scale compared to a small scale.

Anything to make it easier is very helpful.

 

[vpatt]

That's an awesome vid.  

I think I wanna go with the one that inspired Geoff tho.

http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/59960-feed-chickens-without-grain

I am trying to do this, but the chickens scratch it and scatter it ......so I don't know if it will ever get deep enough to have bugs and worms. But I will keep trying. I had thought of covering it with a tarp until it is deeper.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I am trying to do this, but the chickens scratch it and scatter it ......so I don't know if it will ever get deep enough to have bugs and worms. But I will keep trying. I had thought of covering it with a tarp until it is deeper.

I believe that Geoff would have his workers go in the pen once per day and scoop everything back into a pile... this turns it and eventually, as the trailer is pulled away, the chickens are restricted from accessing the fourth pile.

I thought about how a person with a small flock could do this and this is my idea...

Have a bin in the center of your chicken yard. Only finished compost goes into the bin to rest. On each of the four sides of the bin you pile up your stuff for the chickens to eat... one pile per week. Let them eat and scratch at that pile for the week and the next week you start another pile... leaving the first one in place and daily go out there and rake up everything from being scattered back into their respective piles. Once you reach the fourth side and have to rake everything back together, you move the first pile into the bin in the center and don't let the chickens in there. Let that compost rest. Then you can add your fifth pile in the place of the first and go on the next week, adding the second pile into the bin... and so on and so forth.

Depending on how many chickens you have you must collect food stuffs for them to eat enough for a week. I think this system would work and yes it is more work and that is why buying feed in 50 pound bags has become so popular. No work involved.

 

[Tnic]

I believe that Geoff would have his workers go in the pen once per day and scoop everything back into a pile... this turns it and eventually, as the trailer is pulled away, the chickens are restricted from accessing the fourth pile.

I thought about how a person with a small flock could do this and this is my idea...

Have a bin in the center of your chicken yard. Only finished compost goes into the bin to rest. On each of the four sides of the bin you pile up your stuff for the chickens to eat... one pile per week. Let them eat and scratch at that pile for the week and the next week you start another pile... leaving the first one in place and daily go out there and rake up everything from being scattered back into their respective piles. Once you reach the fourth side and have to rake everything back together, you move the first pile into the bin in the center and don't let the chickens in there. Let that compost rest. Then you can add your fifth pile in the place of the first and go on the next week, adding the second pile into the bin... and so on and so forth.

Depending on how many chickens you have you must collect food stuffs for them to eat enough for a week. I think this system would work and yes it is more work and that is why buying feed in 50 pound bags has become so popular. No work involved.

Geoff's tractor was run on a weekly move schedule.

Once a week they moved it ahead 12 meters then cleaned out the DL from the shelter and started a new compost cage with the litter, manure and kitchen scraps and tossed in more scraps daily until the next move.

The piles got turned once a week when they moved the tractor.

I'm way too lazy for that.

I'm thinking up a way to get a pile started then turn the layers into it. Maybe a wood pallet cage/bin thingy. Your idea is fairly close to that. I'm going to put an acre or more in alfalfa and clover for summer forage and see what I can come up with for winter. Maybe a serious sprouting operation.

Harvey Usery has some good ideas in that direction too.