Chicken Chat: It's a WIN WIN!!

Chicken Tips

*If your chicken has a booboo, you can apply neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment, but be sure it's the kind WITHOUT pain reliever. Pain relievers that end in "caine" are toxic to your bird.

*Food Grade Diotamaceous Earth or D.E. is a wonderful multi-purpose, natural helper of chickens.

-mix it with their feed to help prevent worms

-dust them with it to prevent mites and lice

-mix it in their bedding to kill and prevent mites and lice and fleas

-mix with water to white wash coop walls that may be infested with mites or other critters

-use to kill fire ants without putting poison in your grass where your chickens might get it

*Practice Chicken Biosecurity

-have visitors hose off their feet before coming to visit your coop

-protect your flock from unseen diseases by quarantining new birds for 30 days or more - and then introduce only one of your flock to the new bird.

-set aside a pair of shoes that you wear for trips to the chicken coop that you don't wear anywhere else, and hose them off often

**Remember, we can track in all kinds of diseases from other places on our feet and clothes.

Monday, September 13, 2010

It's a WIN WIN!!

Posted by Joy! at 9:59 PM

My fellow chicken loving friend Benjamin David had a broody hen. He placed 13 or so eggs under her that had already been incubated for over a week, so she did not have to set on them for the full 21 days. FOUR hatched! Back at the JoyHouse Ranchola, from the incubator, same scenerio. Several eggs in the incubator but because of all the construction at the house, (this months excuse) only FIVE hatched. Raising baby chicks is a worthwhile pain in the boody, but 5 little chicks are not as easy or "worthwhile" to grow as when there are 15 or 30. It is so much easier to let the Mama hen do all the work. So we picked up the Mama and removed all the dud eggs that had not hatched..... and we gave her ALL the chicks. She is so proud and she now has NINE in her little CLUTCH and she is very proud indeed.