Yesterday I butchered the 6 cornish cross that I had tucked under my setting hens. I did a very bad job of it, couldn't find the vein so went to loppers, couldn't get the guts out so just cut into pieces as I went, just a fiasco from the start, but got it done and they are in the freezer. Then I turned my attention to the coop. Just to bring you up to speed on the situation, I had hens sitting on non-fertile eggs for awhile, then tucked chicks under them--so my coop didn't get a thorough cleaning for over 2 months (I usually do it at least monthly). OMG! I had bird nests in the rafters, mice in the bedding, chick food dust all over the floor, ants, flies and chick poop cemented to the floor. Yes, mama took the chicks out, but Cornish Cross tend to sit around and the food was in the coop, so that's where they stayed. Then, as I'm cleaning the sand in the poop board, I see worms. Lots of worms, segmented and looking like white inch worms. Yuck.
So, I cleaned the coop thoroughly. Some of the bird nest material fell down into the space between the eaves and the wall, but I can't get to it to get it gone. Once I got all the bedding, sand, bird nests and cobwebs out, I sprayed everything to dripping wet with Sevin liquid. Should I have used Permethrin? Even with new bedding, I can go back and hit the rafters and roosts if I need to. Now, since it's still dark out, I'm heading out to dose with equimax for the worms and ivermectin for any lice/mites (with birds in there, I'm sure there are mites even though I won't know until I look now when I go out.
I'm kicking myself for not noticing these issues long ago. Even with the chicks, I could have cleaned and should have. I hesitated because one chick had been injured by getting stepped on and hobbled until the last 2 weeks, so this one couldn't really scratch and peck like the others. It ended up puny and could have used another week of growing, but I was done.
I'm in Alabama, so it's hot, humid and thunderstorming every day. With the coop open, rain comes in the window and door if it's blowing just right. That doesn't help to prevent ants or moldy bedding. I have some of those vents used over air ductwork that I want to install for ventilation, but just haven't done it yet. Any thoughts on that? I had planned on getting rid of all the birds but now, with inflation, I'm thinking that might not be wise. Thanks for listening to my rant. I'm all alone and have no one to tell other than you guys. Any suggestions on how to prevent or fix this current situation is welcome. It's been a rough year--covid, husband dying, other major events that put me out of commission for several weeks at a time and then not really able to tend the house and yard, much less the chickens, as I normally do. But all of that should be in the past now, I hope, and I plan to do much better going forward. I just need to stick with the treatment plan until all issues are resolved.
So, I cleaned the coop thoroughly. Some of the bird nest material fell down into the space between the eaves and the wall, but I can't get to it to get it gone. Once I got all the bedding, sand, bird nests and cobwebs out, I sprayed everything to dripping wet with Sevin liquid. Should I have used Permethrin? Even with new bedding, I can go back and hit the rafters and roosts if I need to. Now, since it's still dark out, I'm heading out to dose with equimax for the worms and ivermectin for any lice/mites (with birds in there, I'm sure there are mites even though I won't know until I look now when I go out.
I'm kicking myself for not noticing these issues long ago. Even with the chicks, I could have cleaned and should have. I hesitated because one chick had been injured by getting stepped on and hobbled until the last 2 weeks, so this one couldn't really scratch and peck like the others. It ended up puny and could have used another week of growing, but I was done.
I'm in Alabama, so it's hot, humid and thunderstorming every day. With the coop open, rain comes in the window and door if it's blowing just right. That doesn't help to prevent ants or moldy bedding. I have some of those vents used over air ductwork that I want to install for ventilation, but just haven't done it yet. Any thoughts on that? I had planned on getting rid of all the birds but now, with inflation, I'm thinking that might not be wise. Thanks for listening to my rant. I'm all alone and have no one to tell other than you guys. Any suggestions on how to prevent or fix this current situation is welcome. It's been a rough year--covid, husband dying, other major events that put me out of commission for several weeks at a time and then not really able to tend the house and yard, much less the chickens, as I normally do. But all of that should be in the past now, I hope, and I plan to do much better going forward. I just need to stick with the treatment plan until all issues are resolved.
Hope that today is a better day.
