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Keeping hens and ducks chat.
Comments
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We had some progress yesterday, bluey the bluebell laid her first egg woohoo!
Woohoo from me!!! It is so lovely when that happens. Well done Bluey!!!!!
Edwink x**3.36 kWp solar panel system, 10 x Ultima & 4 x Panasonic solar panels, Solaredge Inverter **Biomass boiler stove for cooking, hot water & heating **2000ltr Rainwater harvesting system for loo flushing - **Hybrid Toyota Auris car **1 ex-battery hen - RIP Pingu, Hoppy & Ginger ****Hens & Ducks**** chat thread. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=52822090 -
Hi Ali-t
Any more eggs today??? Hope so!! I remember when we got our first egg. We picked up our first ex batt hens and one of them actually laid an egg on the journey home in the car. Bless her!!
We have a drop in eggs now that our girls are slightly older. Still get plenty though!!
How is the egg laying going for the others one here?
Edwink x**3.36 kWp solar panel system, 10 x Ultima & 4 x Panasonic solar panels, Solaredge Inverter **Biomass boiler stove for cooking, hot water & heating **2000ltr Rainwater harvesting system for loo flushing - **Hybrid Toyota Auris car **1 ex-battery hen - RIP Pingu, Hoppy & Ginger ****Hens & Ducks**** chat thread. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=52822090 -
No more eggs from bluey - seems to have been a one off. The other 5 that lay have been doing so daily and we have another 4 that are still too young to lay but hopefully in the coming weeks will begin to lay too.If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you always got!0
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My six original hens are now three years old. Egg laying was dwindling a bit though still enough for us. I was begged to get some more hens from family and friends so caved in a few weeks ago. The night before I went to collect the new girls, someone had deposited two bantam cockerels over the hedge:mad: So on bringing the new girls back I was met with the sound of crowing. Anyway they all seem to get on well enough. The old girls chase the cockerels away but the new ones seem to be getting a bit of attention:eek:
Unfortunately some of these new arrivals brought red mite with them and I've been battling every since to get rid of them. Eventually after trying all the red mite powders, my vet ordered me some ivermectin. The new girls have now started laying and the old girls have upped production and I'm now having to throw between 10-12 eggs away every day until the 14 day egg withdrawal period has passed:eek:
If anyone's got any tips on red mite removal I'd be very grateful. So far I've used Nettex Total Red Mite Kill, Jeyes Fluid, Poultry Shield and plenty of Diatomaceous earth. I've got proper creosote but don't want to use it until the last resort. I've been reading about white wine vinegar and thought I might pop down to the cash and carry and stock up.0 -
If you've got a good, sympathetic vet, ivermectin might be cheaper from them. Otherwise, you can get it on-line, though it will be for pigeons, as it's not approved for poultry.
My birds approve of it anyway, though prevention is always better than cure.
When you bring in new birds, always isolate them for a fortnight, or at least until you're satisfied they're clean.0 -
When you bring in new birds, always isolate them for a fortnight, or at least until you're satisfied they're clean.
Thank you for your post. That is such good advice for anyone adding to their flock. Had we had known that ourselves 3 years ago we would not have had the Red Mite problem we had. It was awful!! We always keep our new girls separate until we are sure now!!
Edwink**3.36 kWp solar panel system, 10 x Ultima & 4 x Panasonic solar panels, Solaredge Inverter **Biomass boiler stove for cooking, hot water & heating **2000ltr Rainwater harvesting system for loo flushing - **Hybrid Toyota Auris car **1 ex-battery hen - RIP Pingu, Hoppy & Ginger ****Hens & Ducks**** chat thread. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=52822090 -
How long did it take to ge rid of the red mite Edwink? It's driving me mad. My skins crawling every day:eek:
I bought the new hens from the same place as the old ones and he has such a good reputation so I was perhaps a bit too complacent. I blame the cockerels and I couldn't catch them anyway but I could have kept the hens confined until I'd worked out what to do with the little chaps.
You certainly learn the hard way:)0 -
Horseygirl123 wrote: »How long did it take to ge rid of the red mite Edwink? It's driving me mad. My skins crawling every day:eek:
I bought the new hens from the same place as the old ones and he has such a good reputation so I was perhaps a bit too complacent. I blame the cockerels and I couldn't catch them anyway but I could have kept the hens confined until I'd worked out what to do with the little chaps.
You certainly learn the hard way:)
We had to replace the entire roof of the coop. We put a polycarbonate roof on and sealed all the edges with duct tape, so if the little fiends were in there they couldn't get back out again.
Inside the house I used lemon flash wipes to start with, (don't laugh!) then steamed it as best as I could given my very limited resources
Then once that dried, I sprayed it with a spray that I can't think of the name but got it from pets at home, then diatom'med the lot.
The perches and the bits the perches rest on were rubbed with fresh garlic then another covering of diatom.
When they aren't trying to nick it, garlic is very good for their giblets
We haven't had any RM problems since, and touch wood we won't either and even if we do, it's manageable this timeI’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Health & Beauty, Greenfingered Moneysaving and How Much Have You Saved boards. If you need any help on these boards, please do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert0 -
Horseygirl123 wrote: »How long did it take to ge rid of the red mite Edwink? It's driving me mad. My skins crawling every day:eek: You certainly learn the hard way:)
Hi Horseygirl
The only way we could get rid of our Red Mite was to remove the whole hen hut and burn it. It was a nightmare, we could just not get rid of them. They were everywhere. We sprayed them, powdered them and you name it but could not get rid of them. The only thing we did not do was use Creosote.
My brother has kept hens for over 15 years and introduced new hens during that time. Never once did he use powder on their huts against Red Mite and they never ever got them. I suppose it is the luck of the draw really.
When we had them and were trying to get rid of them we were getting covered in them. I feel for you because I know exactly what it is like. Horrible, just horrible!!!!
I do hope you manage to get it sorted and real soon!!
All the best
Edwink x**3.36 kWp solar panel system, 10 x Ultima & 4 x Panasonic solar panels, Solaredge Inverter **Biomass boiler stove for cooking, hot water & heating **2000ltr Rainwater harvesting system for loo flushing - **Hybrid Toyota Auris car **1 ex-battery hen - RIP Pingu, Hoppy & Ginger ****Hens & Ducks**** chat thread. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=52822090 -
Horseygirl123 if you have a felt roof on the coop you will probably never get rid of the RM. They get under there and you can't get at them.
We got RM with our first lot of hens, and did manage to get rid of them. Luckily the roof on our coop is wooden slats that Mr BD takes apart and sprays when he cleans. Coop is cleaned out monthly, sprayed with poultry shield, allowed to dry then dusted thoroughly with DE. Does the trick.
The chickens get garlic powder in their feed too. Our hens are all ex bats so shouldn't come with RM, but it RM are endemic in the environment so they are always about.
Dave will probably recall that I mentioned on the Daydream thread that at one point we got RM in the house, marching through the bedroom and in the dog bed :eek: It was when we lived in a bungalow. Mr BD cleaned out the coop, put the newspaper and shavings in the brown bin, and left it by the bedroom window. The little b*ggers decided to move from the brown bin overnight and swarmed into the bedroom. :eek::eek::eek: The dog bed was black with them.
The two new ex-bats now laying virtually every day, so no longer need to buy eggs which is nice.It is a good idea to be alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought.
James Douglas0
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