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So, if you cull the infected chicken, this would prevent mosquitoes from biting it and transferring that disease?
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So, if you cull the infected chicken, this would prevent mosquitoes from biting it and transferring that disease?
I can understand that, seeing where you live. I'm all for allowing the flock to develop immunities to pathogens that will be present in their environment and it sounds like this is a constant in your area. Sort of like taking your kids next door to play with the kids that were just diagnosed with chicken pox so that you can get it over with...not that I would do that, but I've heard of it being done.
Fowl pox in my area would be a little more unusual...we've never experienced it here in our flocks and, to be honest, if I found one of my birds with crusted eyes and nostrils with lesions in their mouths making it difficult to eat and with difficulty breathing, etc., I'd probably cull it.
From what I've read, it says it can be transmitted from bird to bird, as well as with the mosquito bites and that it is slow spreading..so if I found one bird with it, I'd cull to see if I could slow or stop that progression through the flock. If more than one, it would be a losing prospect and I would have to let it run it's course and only cull birds that are suffering too much(if the wet form of pox).
Suzierd - I have read not to feed chickens potatoe skins.I can't imagine why...nothing poisonous about cooked potato skins that I know of. Same way with feeding grapes to dogs....someone should have informed my dogs because they stripped my grape vines each year. Garlic for dogs is supposed to be toxic...but I've been feeding it to my dogs for years. No dead dogs in my yard yet that weren't there due to a .22 lead injection.
Quote: another DLM question for you - my pine shavings are beginning to smell ammonia-like. I removed about a quarter of the most used shavings, raked around the rest of the shavings - added a couple of inches of new shavings -- about a week ago. Noticed a smell again today. Seems like the ventilation should be ok - I have many air vents, a screened window left open 24 hours & the pop door is open 12 hours. The coop is not real big about 28 sq feet - but I only have 6 hens. They appear to congregate mainly in one area - they're pile-on sleepers still... They aren't roosting yet - altho I put some mealworms on the roost & have found them gone twice in the last week - so MAYBE we're making some elevation progress (they're still adolescents - 4 1/2 to 5 months old - one is laying). I can tell they aren't up roosting overnight, as I have a poop door/ clean out area under the roost that's frustratingly clean.
o - & that was the first time I removed shavings or thought things looked bad or smelled at all since the birds moved into the coop the first of July - floor is painted with several coats of heavy duty polyurethane - so no air or moisture from below (coop floor raised off ground level)
do I need to mix the shavings up more? - I usually stir them around every 4 or 5 days. And top off/add maybe every 10 days or so. Must be 5 - 6 inches depth of shavings when they're fluffed up - no noticeable decomposition/mulch yet -- just the ammonia smell is new. - Shavings were all I smelled up until about a week ago. It's starting to cool down at night - into the 40's - could I be noticing smell because of that? -- Would a little sweet PDZ sprinkled over the shavings adversely impact starting some decomposition going? I sure don't enjoy the ammonia smell - can't imagine it's good for the birds.
What do you think? - worst case I give up the DLM - rather than risk respiratory stuff. But I'd really rather have DLM than to clean out shavings weekly, as my brother does - he won't do DLM - says smell is too bad.
any thoughts about what I can try/do differently?