What did you do with your flock today?

[MaeM]

Today I visited my chickens again after a hawk attack (with no losses).

Their caretaker doesn't let them free roam as the hawk is still nearby. She's seen it. So they've been in the run for several days now.

They look fine but the rooster is more aggressive than he used to be. He tries to attack his caretaker from behind the wire. She asked me to take a bowl of food out of the run because she was afraid of being attacked. And the rooster didn't seem to recognize me either, he tried to fight my arm as I put it into the run to remove the bowl.

He was never a sweetheart but he used to recognize me and respect me. Could the hawk attack or the time spent in the run (lack of free roaming time) have made him more aggressive?

 

[kurby22]

Today I visited my chickens again after a hawk attack (with no losses).

Their caretaker doesn't let them free roam as the hawk is still nearby. She's seen it. So they've been in the run for several days now.

They look fine but the rooster is more aggressive than he used to be. He tries to attack his caretaker from behind the wire. She asked me to take a bowl of food out of the run because she was afraid of being attacked. And the rooster didn't seem to recognize me either, he tried to fight my arm as I put it into the run to remove the bowl.

He was never a sweetheart but he used to recognize me and respect me. Could the hawk attack or the time spent in the run (lack of free roaming time) have made him more aggressive?

Probably more protective of his flock in less space like that. Plus he may be reading her body language as suspect somehow?

 

[Smokerbill]

I did some cleanup maintenance in the run today. When I originally added the partially composted wood chips to the run floor I was thinking going deep, so I covered the entire run floor with about 10".

After reading more about it I decided to go shallower, so today I hauled the top 4" or so down to the edge of the woods and built a 4' tall compost pile. I think it was 8 full wheelbarrow loads of chicken-essence infused wood chips that I hauled. LOL

I turned the remaining woodchips in the run over with my pitchfork to mix things up and opened up a spot down to the dirt so the birds would have something new to dig in. Then I covered part of that dirt with a big pile of sphagnum moss, thinking that they'd like that to use as a bathing area.

I removed the broken oak chair roost, and all the big roosting branches and tossed them out. They can sleep in the woodchips for a few days while I find something new (and clean) for them to jump up onto and roost.

I think that mixing things up and changing their environment from time to time helps keep their little chicken brains sharp. LOL. And relieves any pent up boredom. I might be wrong, though.

I cleaned and refilled the waterers for them, too.

I let them free range for the first time in three or four days while I was working. I guess I was a little ticked off at them (and myself) for letting them destroy part of my garden while I wasn't looking last time they were out. Payback!!!. I had to chase them out of the garden today a few times, but other than that they enjoyed their freedom for a few hours.

It was a good day for chickening.

 

[Shetland lover]

What do you do to get rid of them?

First thing I did was pull out all of the bedding and burn it. I used an insecticidal smoke bomb overnight (the girls spent the night in a dog crate in the house as obviously they can't be in the coop) and then the following day, I pressure-washed the coop inside and out. Once it was dry, I sprayed it thoroughly with Nettex Total Mite Kill. Once THAT was dry I refilled with bedding. Took two days for all that. I then checked nightly with a torch and picked off any remaining mites as I saw them. It took 3 weeks to be fully clear. I also treated the girls with an ivermectin spot-on treatment (which I continue to do every 3 months). I think it's important for the comfort of the girls as any remaining mites trying to feed on them will die. Officially, there is an egg withdrawal period of two weeks for hens treated with ivermectin but i personally don't observe that. A lot of withdrawal periods are more to do with the fact that the drug concerned isn't licensed for chickens and has been prescribed 'off-label' than any risk to human health. As ivermectin is used as a vermicide in humans, I'm not so worried about eating the eggs. That's my personal choice though. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.
I use a product called Red Stop throughout the summer months which is a herbal supplement which makes the hen's blood taste unpalatable to mites. There is a product I've just read about called Oblitermite which actually makes the blood toxic to red mite. It's by Smite and is 100% plant-based. If you're concerned about egg withdrawal, it might be worth checking out?
I clean the coops every week and always follow-up with a good spray of total mite kill and on alternate weeks I use a mechanical killer like Barrier's Red Mite X. It works by breaking down the waxy coating on the mite and causing it to dehydrate. I swap between them to try to reduce insecticide use and resistance.

 

[Shetland lover]

I did some cleanup maintenance in the run today. When I originally added the partially composted wood chips to the run floor I was thinking going deep, so I covered the entire run floor with about 10".

After reading more about it I decided to go shallower, so today I hauled the top 4" or so down to the edge of the woods and built a 4' tall compost pile. I think it was 8 full wheelbarrow loads of chicken-essence infused wood chips that I hauled. LOL

I turned the remaining woodchips in the run over with my pitchfork to mix things up and opened up a spot down to the dirt so the birds would have something new to dig in. Then I covered part of that dirt with a big pile of sphagnum moss, thinking that they'd like that to use as a bathing area.

I removed the broken oak chair roost, and all the big roosting branches and tossed them out. They can sleep in the woodchips for a few days while I find something new (and clean) for them to jump up onto and roost.

I think that mixing things up and changing their environment from time to time helps keep their little chicken brains sharp. LOL. And relieves any pent up boredom. I might be wrong, though.

I cleaned and refilled the waterers for them, too.

I let them free range for the first time in three or four days while I was working. I guess I was a little ticked off at them (and myself) for letting them destroy part of my garden while I wasn't looking last time they were out. Payback!!!. I had to chase them out of the garden today a few times, but other than that they enjoyed their freedom for a few hours.

It was a good day for chickening.

I change my run about a lot. I agree, I think it does keep them thinking and relieves boredom. A bored chicken is super destructive!

 

[Soujrnr]

First thing I did was pull out all of the bedding and burn it. I used an insecticidal smoke bomb overnight (the girls spent the night in a dog crate in the house as obviously they can't be in the coop) and then the following day, I pressure-washed the coop inside and out. Once it was dry, I sprayed it thoroughly with Nettex Total Mite Kill. Once THAT was dry I refilled with bedding. Took two days for all that. I then checked nightly with a torch and picked off any remaining mites as I saw them. It took 3 weeks to be fully clear. I also treated the girls with an ivermectin spot-on treatment (which I continue to do every 3 months). I think it's important for the comfort of the girls as any remaining mites trying to feed on them will die. Officially, there is an egg withdrawal period of two weeks for hens treated with ivermectin but i personally don't observe that. A lot of withdrawal periods are more to do with the fact that the drug concerned isn't licensed for chickens and has been prescribed 'off-label' than any risk to human health. As ivermectin is used as a vermicide in humans, I'm not so worried about eating the eggs. That's my personal choice though. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.
I use a product called Red Stop throughout the summer months which is a herbal supplement which makes the hen's blood taste unpalatable to mites. There is a product I've just read about called Oblitermite which actually makes the blood toxic to red mite. It's by Smite and is 100% plant-based. If you're concerned about egg withdrawal, it might be worth checking out?
I clean the coops every week and always follow-up with a good spray of total mite kill and on alternate weeks I use a mechanical killer like Barrier's Red Mite X. It works by breaking down the waxy coating on the mite and causing it to dehydrate. I swap between them to try to reduce insecticide use and resistance.

Thank you for the excellent and well-detailed response. I don't have an alternate location to keep my girls if I find mites. Is there a method you know of that would allow the girls to stay where they are while dealing with the mites or other pests?

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Mama's helpers...after pecking & weeding in the garden, 2 of my hens jumped up on my lap & wanted to help me mow.

 

[ChicksnMore]

Mama's helpers...after pecking & weeding in the garden, 2 of my hens jumped up on my lap & wanted to help me mow.
View attachment 3537445

That's so adorable

 

[ChicksnMore]

I did my rounds this morning and all the birds are looking good. Two little black shoulder peas have hatched and two Java eggs are due to hatch. The black shoulders belong to a friend, so hopefully he'll be along the next couple days to pick them up. The baby geese are growing fast... can't wait til I can move them out of their baby cage. My baby yokos are big enough to move into the integration cage. I have broody hens all over the place now. They certainly enjoyed not being scooted out and the irregular egg collecting over the last week! Not sure yet if I'm going to leave them be or try to break them out of it. To be honest, I'm still feeling exhausted. I keep trying to go to bed early or sleep in and I'm just no good at either. But I did take a nap yesterday with my sad, neglected little Tuck and that was good for both of us.

Goose finally has normal colored with a better texture. Not 100% healthy , but getting there. Bathed him with Sniper yesterday which the canine parvovirus.org site says is safe for decontaminating puppies and the poor baby hated it. I watched him close after and no ill effects from his cleaning. The more I clean, the more relaxed I feel.

Yesterday was hubby's bday. I made hubby a garden huckleberry pie since he's not really a cake guy, and we all watched the first Indiana Jones movie together and enjoyed some wonderful family time.

Editing to add a pic of a washed and sleepy Goose.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I've never tried sharing a YouTube video... This works!