The road less traveled...back to good health! They have lice, mites, scale mites, worms, anemia, gl

[Beekissed]

Bee I have a question for you. I supplement my girls diet with lots of fresh greens I get for free from the farmers market every weekend. I try to let them free range at least an hour each morning and sometimes they get as much as 3 hours .... But since they are cooped up most of the time, I want them to have good healthy greens available and something to keep them occupied all day long. Well they have all been on FF for 2 months now but I have a few that have runny poops. Could the abundance of greens be causing the watery poops??? I am guessing the old saying too much of a good thing.... right? My girls only get fed in the morning ... I scoop out their FF and throw in a bunch of greens... everything from beet tops, carrot tops, collards, fennel, turnip, radish, lettuce etc etc I also get the occasional blemished tomato, pepper, watermelon, squash etc etc. So yes my girls eat well. I don't give it all to them at once ... I spread it out over the week but they do get a healthy portion of greens daily and the bonus things as a special treat. I guess I should cut back and see if that fixes the problem ..... poor girls now what will they do all day

Yes. It sounds like it. My rabbits used to do that when the boys would pick them lots of clover or give them lettuce and veggie scraps. Any sudden change in the diet can do that to an animal...and even to us. When my chickens would over gorge on their winter pumpkins I would see a few messy butts too.

You could try getting them some good hay and chop it up fine for them and offer that free choice~that is more natural to what they could find this time of year. If you leave it in long pieces it could be a problem. When chickens graze out on the range they usually just nip small pieces of the grass off each time. anything longer can bind up their crop a little.

If you still wanted to give the greens it would be alright..just not so much each time. Just a dab each evening.

 

[Beverley Anne]

Hi There
I have a story with a HAPPY ending. I gave away most of my chickies this fall to a lady
that wanted "more" to keep her hen house warm this winter. Let me tell you Saskatchewan gets blinkin cold. Anyway... she is doing a good job looking after those I gave her. I did keep a few back as they were either maimed or not looking up to snuff... I always try to nurse them back to health. Well, one ISA brown hen was not doing well at all so I put her in a travel cage by herself (yes, in the house) and did the "Nightingale" thingie but she simply drooped. In desperation I gave her two full (small) syringes of straight ginger beer. Nothing... did the same the next day.... still nothing... so I was almost resolved to the worse for her..... then about three days later I noticed in her droppings a few hair worms, not moving at all.... and the same the next day. The following morning she passed a MASS of worms all dead. I can't believe the change in this little hen. She is literally ravenous now.... running around and singing. What a joy.
She is starting to put a bit of weight on her emancipated frame and I am totally convinced again on the value of ginger beer. (I use it for upset stomach or travel sickness on ME)
Hope this can help you too, as I do NOT like to use chemicals on my critters. TTFN Bev

 

[Beekissed]

That is very interesting! Where would one find ginger beer? Never heard of it.

 

[BusyBlonde]

When I lived in upstate NY, you could find ginger beer in most grocery stores (over 20 years ago). Here in NC, you only find it in 'upscale' grocery stores. It's with the 'craft' rootbeers here, usually. It's like rootbeer, but with ginger instead - more powerful tasting than ginger ale.

 

[Beekissed]

Someone could probably just get ginger root and grind it up and put it into the FF and get a desired effect, could they not?

 

[off-grid hen]

I don't know. I'm sure there is a recipe for ginger beer somewhere. If it calls for grated ginger root, or if the ginger has t be steeped or infused and then strained... It could have a different effect. I'll do some digging.

You can still find ginger beer here in the adirondacks. It's so goooooood!

 

[Bulldogma]

What are your girls' crests like? I know mine can barely see. Poor things. I like that about them, but need to trim for safety.



Poor ranging silkie



Roo that can see really well and does very good on free ranging. He's always eyes on the sky. Love this boy. He's my Mr. Broody.

More great pictures, Aoxa! Don't tell Bee, but I'm currently trying to track down a Silkie hen for my daughter for Christmas. The bantam cochins are just getting tired of being loved on all the time and I need a little alien that enjoys so much little girl attention - LOL!

The whole darn bunch are looking svelte and good besides the frayed feathers. Bertha still hasn't picked out her butt feathers..but when she does, they oughta be really fluffy.

That just sounded so funny!


Sheesh - I'm having a tough time keeping up with this thread - let alone getting a chance to weed through the OT thread. I need a few more hours each day!

Bee - LOVE, love, love the post detailing the BA conformation!! Expect to see that one up on the blog soon!

And that reminds me - I put up a new blog this morning, but am only now getting to let everyone know - LOL

New Blog Post!

 

[off-grid hen]

Yay for new blog!

Re: the ginger beer recipes. Of course they're all calling for juiced fresh ginger or cooking up fresh ginger with sugar to make a simple syrup then straining it- because its a drink! :duh:

I would probably purée and strain or as you say, mix it in with the fermented feed.

 

[aussie pete]

here u go - Bee - ginger beer recipe

my grandma used to make it
Aussie favorite for a refreshing summer drink
will explode tops off bottles if filled too much

Ingredients

Serves: 20

• For the Ginger Beer Mother:
• 1/2 teaspoon dried yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons ground ginger
• For the Sugar Syrup:
• 4 cups sugar
• 1.5 litres cold water
• 4.5 litres warm water
• 1/2 cup strained lemon juice

Preparation method

Prep: 4 days | Cook: 5 minutes
1.
For the ginger beer mother, place the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar in a large jar and add the warm water and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. Mix well, cover the jar with a cloth and leave at room temperature for 8 days, mixing in 1/2 teaspoon each of sugar and ginger every day.
2.
For the sugar syrup, put the sugar and cold water in a large saucepan and heat, stirring, just until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the warm water and the lemon juice. Stand, if necessary, until just comfortably hand-warm.
3.
Strain the yeast mixture into the syrup, through a sieve lined with a double thickness of muslin, and stir well. Keep the sediment on the muslin for making further batches of ginger beer. Stir the syrup mixture well and pour into clean, sturdy bottles, preferably fitted with clip-on seals, or else with screwtops. Fill the bottles only to the base of the necks, and seal. Leave in a cool, safe place for about five days – in hot weather, the ginger beer will be ready in three or four days.
4.
To make further batches of ginger beer, return half the ginger beer mother left on the muslin to the jar (discard the rest) with 1 teaspoon each of ground ginger and sugar and 1 cup of water (no more yeast is added).
5.
Repeat the process as before, feeding the mother with 1/2 teaspoon each of ginger and sugar daily. After 8 days, mix with the sugar syrup and bottle as before.

 

[delisha]

Quote: I have no idea, I only do one teaspoon at a time. When it starts, the whole bag is full of sprouts. This is all that is left from last week start.