Keeping hens and ducks chat.

suki1964

Flubenvet here. I weigh out 2kg of pellets then in a bucket I add a cupful , a measure of the wormer and shake it up, add another 2 cups, shake it up, add more, etc until all two kilos are mixed With the nine birds it took 4 kilos to do the 7 days - 2 measures of the wormer

edwink

suki1964 wrote: »

Edwink, from what I can gather it's any wet cat food

Ok thank you for that info much appreciated

suki1964 wrote: »

I'm getting egg boxes next week and the sign out on the road, see if the girls can earn their keep

Earn their keep? My girls don't know the meaning of the word. They just roam around my garden all day doing just what they please. They lay an egg when they feel like it. Dust bathe and leave soil for me to sweep up. Poo all over my garden for me to scoop up and eat me out of house and home. When I mention my wages they just laugh their little heads off at me :rotfl:

suki1964 wrote: »

How much do you all charge for eggs? I was thinking £1.20 and £1.50 for the jumbos.

We charge £1.80 for our eggs and they sell really well in that we normally end up having a waiting list. I just sell them as they are laid cos the fresher the better. My boxes are of mixed sizes I don't sell small or large when it comes to the hens eggs. We do sell small and large with the ducks eggs because there is quite a difference in the two sizes. I think where you live can make a difference to your pricing. HTH

Edwink x

edwink

On the subject of worming we use Verm-X as you do not need to withdraw the eggs during treatment. I just mix it with their morning feed and it is soon gobbled up. I purchase it in a 1.5kg tub as it is cheaper that way and last us ages. It is just little pellets that are slightly smaller than their normal pellet feed,

Just out of interest for others I recently purchased a 5kg tub of Smite Organic Red Mite/Louse Diatomaceous Earth Powder on eBay for £20.49 with Freepost. Previously to purchasing that I would purchase the little 25g canisters at around £4.50/£5 each at a local cash and carry type pet store. Now we just refill one of the canisters from the 5kg tub. It now works out at £1 every time we fill it up. So it is definitely worth buying in bulk if you can and you have somewhere to store the tub. You can also purchase it in smaller quantities if you prefer. Hope that info is useful to others.

Edwink x

Beckyy

I use flubenvet but find it a nuisance to mix up if I'm honest. I did buy it premixed once and it was handy but meant changing their layer pellets to the brand it was mixed with, what was left went past it's use by date too so it was very expensive. After that I bought it to mix myself.

skipton

I use Flubenvet and mix it in their morning porridge. If I bought ready mixed pellets the squirrels, mice, blackbird and pigeons who are helping themselves to the girls food would be treated as well!
I'm worming mine this week as egg production last week dropped rapidly from 5/6 a day down to 2.

Happygreen

I use the pre-mixed Flubenvet. I found it hard to mix it evenly myself. It is a different brand from our usual pellets but they all get used to it within a days or so.

ali-t

Think I will go for the porridge approach as they love oats and wheatabix and it will guarantee that they all eat it.

edwink

ali-t wrote: »

Think I will go for the porridge approach as they love oats and wheatabix and it will guarantee that they all eat it.

Hi Ali-t please remember to be careful giving your girls porridge oats in the summer as it can be a bit dangerous for them because oats can make them overheat.

Really lovely sunny day here today so hopefully will manage to get some nice pics to post on here later of my girls sunbathing. At the moment they look as though they are all in a heap sunbathing together as they have found a really warm spot in the garden. Camera at the ready.

Edwink x

Happygreen

As far as I understand Flubenvet should be given as exclusive feed over the period. I always stop giving them wheat (their main feed normally) but of course I can't stop them foraging

ali-t

edwink wrote: »

Hi Ali-t please remember to be careful giving your girls porridge oats in the summer as it can be a bit dangerous for them because oats can make them overheat.

Really lovely sunny day here today so hopefully will manage to get some nice pics to post on here later of my girls sunbathing. At the moment they look as though they are all in a heap sunbathing together as they have found a really warm spot in the garden. Camera at the ready.

Edwink x

Thanks for the info, really useful to know and ill take it on board. Its still pretty chilly here in north east scotland and sunny days are still to make an appearance. Maybe back to the drawing board for my worming plans.