Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

ionahenor2

zafiro1984 wrote: »

I don't often post on the forum but just to say
Chickens are so addictive, I started with 4 but now have 320 in 4 acres of fox proof fenced paddocks with loads of trees for cover not to mention the alpacas which do a great job of guarding them as well as putting the dogs in their place.

Have they all got names? :rotfl:

steady__eddie

What do you do with all the [STRIKE]guano[/STRIKE] eggs ?

BitterAndTwisted

Alpacas! Are they really as sweet as they look? And how much can you make by selling the fleeces? Another question is: how are they related to llamas and is their wool as nice or equally expensive. I always gulp when I see anything made from alpaca wool.

I'd be really grateful if you could post up some pics of your alpaca and your chooks.

4Chickens

I have had my chickens since October 2009. After about 6-8 weeks they starting going a bit bald in places.
I have 4 and 3 of them have bald bums and crops, the other one has some thining of her bum feathers.
The do not have red mite, I constantly check for this.
I have just started using anti-peck spray, if this works, how long will it take for their feathers to grow back?
What could be causing this in 3 of the 3 birds and what can I do about it?

Cheers

ALIBOBSY

jumblejack wrote: »

Hi mardartha. I have had a massive outbreak last year.

I have got round it by creosoting the coop. I know it isn't sold anymore but I was given some off freecycle and I used it responsibly. There are alternatives which work but not quite as well.

I stopped using bedding in the coop sp that I can clean it more easily and I spray jeyes solution in there regularly.

The VERY best preventative and curative solution however is DE (diatomaceous earth). You can buy it from the bucket on eBay. It is completely safe and natural. It kills mite and lice by attacking their exoskeleton and they dehydrate and die. It can also be mixed in with the chicken feed as it eliminates worms. It even acts as a natural deodoriser. You can puff it onto the chickens directly, puff it into all the nooks and crannies of the coop and dust bathing areas and mix with the feed.

Please google it. You will be completely blown away.

We use this as it was what the farm we got the chooks from recommended, so far so good. You can also use it against mites/fleas/worms on cats and dogs (got rid of fleas and worms on our puss). They also reckon it works on plants against saw fly/aphids/coddling moth/wooly aphids/blackfly etc etc.It is even safe for human consumption where it is suppose to help in the gut?

Pretty good stuff lol, thinking of using it on the goosegogs this year as those darn sawflys are a pain here.

ali x

ALIBOBSY

rachbc wrote: »

I've just seen a doodlehouse on ebay - looks great - nicer design than egluu, cheaper and plastic so eay to clean - even hubby might be won over...

now - what kind of chooks to people have -I like the look of bluebelles....

We let the kids pick at the farm and DD1 picked a bluebelle which she named bluebelle, she usually gets bluey or belle for short and she is lovely, but likes her food. She is the tamest of all our 4 although they are all pretty good. She also lays massive eggs lol.

Just for the record DS picked a white star and calls it runner or titanic (white star lines-he is into his history at the mo) she is smaller than the others but really fast and a bit of an escape artist, OH picked a black rock for the baby she gets rocky and she is the boss and very intelligent.Finally DD2 picked a black tail who looks very much like the typical brown hen, but with black feathers in her tail. DD2 is only 3 so he name is a bit odd she is "kangaroo chicken".Don't know why lol except she does hop up and down on things alot-but they all seem to like pearching anyway.

Love them they are definately addictive.

ali x

rachie_2011

4Chickens wrote: »

I have had my chickens since October 2009. After about 6-8 weeks they starting going a bit bald in places.
I have 4 and 3 of them have bald bums and crops, the other one has some thining of her bum feathers.
The do not have red mite, I constantly check for this.
I have just started using anti-peck spray, if this works, how long will it take for their feathers to grow back?
What could be causing this in 3 of the 3 birds and what can I do about it?

Cheers

It could be the pecking order, so maybe splitting the 3 hens from the other 3 hens for a while so they can regrown their feathers would happen. Chickens peck any thing red, so if it's rather saw looking they will peck it. The feathers won't take that long to grown back... a few weeks max I should think. You can then re-introduce them to the other hens and they should be much happier!

don't forget also, it could be down to the time of the year... plucking their own feathers out to make way for new growth. Just like our cats and dogs when they mault every spring/summer.

zafiro1984

Alpacas! Are they really as sweet as they look? And how much can you make by selling the fleeces? Another question is: how are they related to llamas and is their wool as nice or equally expensive. I always gulp when I see anything made from alpaca wool.

I always think of the alpacas as inquisative long necked sheep, quite aloof, but no trouble to keep. One is halter trained and the other two follow, because they are herd animals. They are related to camels so can spit, but they have have never done it to me. I've never had llamas, so, although they are closely related I don't know too much about them.
Fleeces - we have only three alpacas so I give the fleeces to the birds (not chickens) why can't they have nice soft nests? I got them to look after the chooks so being inquisative was more important than looks or the quality of the fleeces. They are not the 'top quality' animals but having said that I really do like them more than I thought I would. I can see how people become so attached to them. One is a female, an original from Chile, one is her son and the other her grandson - both the males are gelded. I approached a breeder and explained exactly what I wanted them to do, these three were looking for a 'new home' as the previous owner was somewhat incapacitated.
I would certainly recommend them to anyone with space (approx 5 to the acre) who has chickens. I really do like mine a lot. I'll try to work out how to post a picture of them.

PlumberPaul

Wow, this thread takes some reading!!! All good stuff - wanted to ty all for tips and info

moominyak

Hi PP,

Just to say welcome aboard as it's got a bit quiet recently!

Do you have (m)any chooks? I recently got another 4 rescues and there was a bit of bickering going on between the old guard and the newbies, but 3 weeks on and they seem to be sorting it out now (maybe it was the threat of some 'orrible smelly stuff being sprayed on 'em!).