Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

KAAT_LADY

blottedcopybook wrote: »

Kitty it's totally normal, mine stopped laying around Hallowe'en and didn't start again until March last year :O Once they're through the moult they should start laying again but I'd take the opportunity now while they're not laying to worm them and frontline them so you don't have to worry about egg withdrawal periods

hello BCB ,, didnt know you could get frontline for chickens ,, is it the same as frontline for cats

KittyBoo_2

I don't want to sound totally daft but where on the chickens do you put the frontline.
I've done the cat before and have some of her stuff left.
Is it the same stuff?

blottedcopybook

It's the spray rather than the spot-on, just give them a skoosh at the back of the neck. It doesn't need to be applied to their skin the way the spot-on does because it works differently.

I'm not 100% sure that the spot-on would be of use with hens but it might be worth asking on practical poultry's forum? I've always just used the spray.

scotal73

Been keeping chickens for 6 months now - 5 x black rock but 2 new speckeldys coming in next few weeks.
Not had any problem with red mites etc yet but keeping our eyes open - been using Diatomaceous Earth which they say is a natural and effective control against many mite and lice problems including red mite. Can never get it onto their feathers so douse the straw in their nesting box with it and when they go in to lay they get it on them then. Also mix some in with their food as it will worm them as well.
(and been using it on my dog as well)
Buy it in bulk but make sure you get a puffer botle with it as well so you can spray it onto things.

blottedcopybook

I found DE was great for a quick hit but the problem with red mite is they're prolifically vicious wee !!!!!!s, if you miss one or two you'll be infested again in days. Ivermectin will kill *everything* and you only need a teeny tiny drop of it, but it's quite difficult to get as (I believe) it's not licensed for use on poultry without vet's recommendation

scotal73

So far we've been lucky and not had any problems - but maybe that's because we've been using DE as standard. Once we've cleaned out and the coop is dried then we give the whole coop s a good dusting of DE - combined with the lack of places to hide in an eglu and I'm hoping this means we wont have to resort to anything else.

blottedcopybook

Ahhh if it's an eglu you've got you're laughing, it's far more difficult for the red mite to find a hiding place in an eglu because there aren't cracks and crevices like there are in a wooden coop

If just had my cube delivered. Can't believe we spent so much on a coop but we've had to burn our two wooden ones because we couldn't clear the red mite so I figure it's an investment *sigh*

angelavdavis

I used my cashback from my credit card and quidco to pay for my Eglu cube to make it less painful! I don't regret buying it, it is so easy to keep clean and although it is a bit yuppy and expensive, I have found it easy and the chooks seem very happy in it. I have four chooks at the moment, but will hopefully get four more at the next battery rescue day in October.

Any tips for introducing ex-batts into an existing coop?

I was initially thinking of keeping them at least for a few days in quarantine in my (outside) lean-to in a cage to keep an eye on them and let them recover. I was then thinking I would place then adjacent to the existing coop for a while, but I'm not sure how long, etc.

blottedcopybook

That is probably the best way - you really want to keep them quarantined for a week if you can, anything infectious that could pass to your existing flock should have shown up within that timescale but be aware that if your ex-batts are really scabby your other hens will peck at them so it might be worth thinking about keeping them apart until the ex-batts have feathered up again?

you_llneverwalkalone

I hope someone can help.... I need to buy more supplies for our hens. I,m hoping someone could save me a few pounds and point in me the direction of who is the cheapest online supplier (other than ebay).

We usually buy from our local farm & pet store but they are getting very expensive.

Thanks for your help.