Topic of the Week - Chicken Myths, True or False?

[casportpony]

Here is more on medicated feed and ducklings:

Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=s...guide to raising ducks medicated feed&f=false

Thread source here:
Is Purina Medicated Chick Starter Safe for Waterfowl?

post here:

Hi Kathy –

The issue here is not so much one of safety as it is one of regulations. Amprolium, the medication present in our medicated chick starter, has never been approved by the FDA for use in waterfowl. Therefore, we cannot legally recommend its use for these birds. However, veterinarians have been using it very successfully off-label for years as a coccidiostat for all kinds of birds, including waterfowl.

The fear of medication for waterfowl dates back to the early days of medicated feed, when sulfa drugs were used. Waterfowl typically eat more than chickens do, so when they ate feed medicated at a concentration that was ideal for chickens, they tended to over-imbibe the medication, which was often fatal. Amprolium is not a sulfa drug and does not have that effect.

Start & Grow is formulated to meet the growth needs of baby chicks until they reach 18 weeks of age. We recommend Start & Grow for chicks and Flock Raiser for waterfowl or mixed flocks. If you feel your waterfowl need medication, consult with your vet to determine what would be best for them.

 

[brucifer]

One thing I do want to add about folk wisdom is that there often is a lot of wisdom in it. Sometimes it's just difficult to separate truth from myth.

A few months ago I ran across a bit of folk wisdom that I didn't think was true, but I found out otherwise. Some guy the goes by the name Ol' Duke had a Youtube video out where he was selling this device call a "Worm Gitter." It's basically just two sticks. One stick has a row of four notches with a point on one end of the stick, and the other stick is simply a dowel rod. O'l Duke claimed that if you stick the pointy end of the one stick into the ground and rub the other stick along the notches to make a drumming sound, kind of like running a stick across a picket fence, that it would cause the worms to come to the surface. I thought this was total malarkey; however, the demonstration proved me wrong. I was amazed!

Ol' Duke actually knows a thing or two about worms and turning compost into nutrient-rich fertilizer made of worm castings. His method could be VERY helpful to those of us with chickens who want to know how to process our compost heaps into usable compost.

Ol' Duke may not be sophisticated, but he's got a lot of salt-of-the-Earth, country wisdom. I was very impressed with this video and many others he has out there:

ETA: Contrary to the uncanny resemblance, no, I'm not Ol' Duke, but we are both from SW Louisiana!

 

[casportpony]

My MIL used to swear round eggs = hens and pointy eggs = cockerels and therefor only set round eggs (until she hatched 7 cockerels out of 7 eggs, but that's another story)...

I think @ronott1 will appreciate this!

 

[Abriana]

Myth ... All roosters are mean and wont get along with each other.

Take the Anthropomorphism out (attributing human emotions) and they are doing what they do naturally... I have had as many as six roos within a smallish flock of about thirty hens. Usually three adults and Three or so Juveniles.

Alpha roo is the boss and whips the others in line. Two other roos take guard duty... Juvies hang together and the adults smak em up when they need it. including the hens....

Now I had a mixed flock of mutts...

deb

Not every rooster is mean, and not every rooster fights with one another! I have done some significant research on Australorps. The roosters are very sweet to people, and the roosters are known for rarely, if ever, fighting with one another. Also, if you keep rooster flocks, roosters will not fight. No girls, nothing to fight about. Just ask @RoostersAreAwsome.

 

[casportpony]

How about some crop myth/trivia?

Crops are on the chicken's right side. Would you believe me if I told you that sometimes it's on their left side?

 

[driver]

My hens never seem particularly angry when they're wet ("madder than a wet hen")

 

[Blooie]

My hens never seem particularly angry when they're wet ("madder than a wet hen")

Good one! And my chickens have never "Flown the coop", come to think of it - they might run out when they get the chance but the coop always stays firmly on the ground....guess I should have built a cockpit on top of it so they could fly it.

 

[RodNTN]

An old timer told me that if you rub butter on an egg it won't hatch

The same old timer told me that on the first day of spring an egg will stand on its pointy side We tried that and to no avail.

 

[eresospam]

Rice at weddings.
Don't throw rice at weddings, birds will eat it and their insides will swell up and they will die!
Some people take this a step further and say no rice to chickens either for the same reason.
Folks, birds can regurgitate. They will not die from having too much swollen food inside them, they will just throw it back up. Same with throwing pepcids or tums at seagulls. There will be no exploding birds.
I had 15lbs of rice get infested with house moths. My birds loved it and they are distinctly not exploded, thanks.

I live in Greece and everyone has chickens in their backyards here. I was told by an old guy to raise my small chicks on a mixture of chick feed and broken rice which they sell here. I have been and they seem to be growing well.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

Not exactly a myth, but - what's the difference between a crop and a breast? I consider the front-middle of a chicken to be a crop, but I know that in reality the crop isn't as big as it feels (well, at least when it's semi-empty.) Please explain this to me!