The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SherrieC]

No it was pretty cool yesterday, we will have a minimum of 0C tomorrow morning and a sunny day then the nights warm up a little. I took a photo of all my girls today, my poor Plymouth in the middle which my daughter named Goldy because of her legs is not molting gracefully, her proper molt will be an interesting one I think. The blue Australorp was my broody

 

[Chaos18]

Do any of you guys use oregano oil instead of antibiotics?

 

[SherrieC]

I have read about that a few times but have yet to come across any. In the meantime I just pick some oregano and put it in their mash in case it helps.

 

[slordaz]

here is a link to some information on essential oils and using them for live stock. just might give us some other ideas besides the great OT's here

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/07/essential-oils-livestock.html
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/essential-oils-for-natural-chicken-care/

my dad thought I was crazy asked him to make me a small still to be able to make my own lol

 

[Jessimash]

I gave them a wood ash dusting last night. I have decided that they are not fleas, but it is possible that they are mites. I didn't see any bugs crawling on any of them during the bath - nothing around the vents. I went ahead and put antibiotic ointment on their combs and wattles. The rooster still has some of those little black things on his comb (this is what led me to believe that there were bugs.) This morning, they all act like they are feeling better. Almost no head shaking at all. I'm going to grab the rooster again this evening and try to get the rest of the little black things off of him. Since I won't be in such a hurry to get everybody taken care of, maybe I'll have a chance to get a better look at what they are.

We did clean out the coop with bleach and sprayed it down with neem oil. After cleaning out the boxes, we gave them the same treatment and put DE and wood ash at the bottom, and gave them fresh straw.

I have heard that if they have mites, it is possible that they have worms. Is this true? I found a recipe for a natural dewormer that includes pumpkin seeds. Only problem is that pumpkins are out of season. Does anybody have any more recommendations to treat worms?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

I was reading an old pamphlet on the site I get my lye from. It said to mix lye with water and spray the chicken bedding down to help it compost faster. Anyone still doing this? If so can you tell me how it works and if its worth the hassle. I was going to try it but I don't want to kill off all of the good bugs in my deep litter and have to start over. Our runs are deep litter as well as the coops the runs are deeper of course.

 

[tjo804]

I was reading an old pamphlet on the site I get my lye from. It said to mix lye with water and spray the chicken bedding down to help it compost faster. Anyone still doing this? If so can you tell me how it works and if its worth the hassle. I was going to try it but I don't want to kill off all of the good bugs in my deep litter and have to start over. Our runs are deep litter as well as the coops the runs are deeper of course.

I would clarify if This is a method meant for deep litter or the composter.

 

[sweetlife]

I add garlic to their feed about once a month or to yogurt.  It has great probiotics in it to keep them healthy

...

powdered garlic is just about useless, as the helpful component is in fresh, and deteriorates rapidly.  So fresh crushed garlic is what you want for a booster.  

Thank you for the info : ) trying to learn as much preventative care as possible and love all the feedback that is offered on this awesome thread... I am still trying to catch up from the beginning and have only gotten to page 100 something lol... Still trying to read everything but still kinda need info in the present so sorry if i ask something that has already been covered, but reminders for others could always be useful too right ; )

 

[Diannastarr]

I gave them a wood ash dusting last night. I have decided that they are not fleas, but it is possible that they are mites. I didn't see any bugs crawling on any of them during the bath - nothing around the vents. I went ahead and put antibiotic ointment on their combs and wattles. The rooster still has some of those little black things on his comb (this is what led me to believe that there were bugs.) This morning, they all act like they are feeling better. Almost no head shaking at all. I'm going to grab the rooster again this evening and try to get the rest of the little black things off of him. Since I won't be in such a hurry to get everybody taken care of, maybe I'll have a chance to get a better look at what they are.

We did clean out the coop with bleach and sprayed it down with neem oil. After cleaning out the boxes, we gave them the same treatment and put DE and wood ash at the bottom, and gave them fresh straw.

I have heard that if they have mites, it is possible that they have worms. Is this true? I found a recipe for a natural dewormer that includes pumpkin seeds. Only problem is that pumpkins are out of season. Does anybody have any more recommendations to treat worms?

 

[Diannastarr]

Do any of you guys use oregano oil instead of antibiotics?