There were two things that kept me away from keeping poultry for years: poop and parasites. I've had at least one child in diapers since the early '00s so I really didn't want to add yet more poop management to my daily duties. Thankfully, I found out about using in my chicken coop and it really minimizes the amount of work with manure. That still leaves the parasite part, though. Chickens are prone to getting several varieties of lice and mites, as well as intestinal worms. I don't do bugs. At all. To give you a sense of the depth of my phobia, my parents tease me about the time when I was a little girl and I cried when a butterfly came too near me. I still don't like butterflies. I didn't make the jump into chicken keeping until I was able to resign myself to the fact that a) I would probably see bugs on them and b) I would have to do something about it. Chickens naturally take dust baths as a way to get rid of external parasites. They throw themselves down in a dusty spot and roll around until they get dirt in all their nooks and crannies. Dust baths are very effective but even so, chickens can suffer from lice and mites. But then I learned a way to soup up my chickens' dust baths by providing them with a box filled with pest repellent materials. Here's how I did it. I sent Hubby Dear to a big box pet store to buy the biggest litter box he could find. He certainly delivered.
A king-sized litter box fit for
This is 34.5" x 19.5" x 10". Two chickens could bathe in here at the same time. The depth is the most critical dimension. You want all your bathing materials to stay in the box when the chickens do their thing. (Ever ? They can go kinda crazy.)
Adding the first layer of peat moss
You can fill your dust box with any number of materials. Harvey Ussery recommends peat moss, dried and sifted clay, and/or small amounts of wood ash. I used peat moss (I always have some handy) plus some sand I had left over from another project.
Food-grade DE. Do NOT use any other type of DE with your poultry.
Now for the good stuff. You can add garden lime, food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE), or elemental sulfur powder to really sock it to those parasites. Remember to wear a good dust mask whenever you work with DE. It is really fine and you'll breathe it in and irritate your lungs.
I should mention that Gail Damerow, author of Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, doesn't think you should use DE in dust boxes for parasite prevention. Chickens can be prone to respiratory problems and breathing in DE is not a good thing for anyone. Damerow thinks you should only use DE and other heavy-hitting anti-parasite products when there is an obvious infestation. Harvey Ussery, on the other hand, routinely uses a small amount of DE in . I decided to go Ussery's route and use DE as part of my dust box mix.
I also mix a little DE in with my chickens' feed. Some people claim that feeding DE to poultry will serve as a natural dewormer. Gale Damerow has a negative opinion of that as well. She says that DE only works to kill worms, etc. when it is dry. Once it has made its way through the chicken's digestive tract, it is not dry and no longer has any of the microscopic cutting edges that serve to kill the bad guys. I still do it on the off chance that it will work!
Peat, sand, and DE, ready to be mixed
After I mixed it all together, the dust box had about 5 inches of material inside it. I laboriously dragged the heavy and awkward box outside and placed it in a sunny part of the chickens' run.
All done
After my chickens began spending more of their time outdoors instead of "cooped up", I went ahead and moved the dust box up into their coop. The behemoth does take up quite a bit of floor space, but that's not as much of a big deal now they are outside from dawn until dusk. The important thing is that the dust bath will remain dry so the chickens can bathe to their hearts' content no matter the weather.
References:
1. by Harvey Ussery 2. by Gail Damerow Calling all poultry owners! Do you provide a dust box for your chickens? Do you use DE on a routine basis?
Baby Chicks House in
Loretto, Pennsylvania
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Loretto Pennsylvania,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Loretto
Pennsylvania also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Loretto Pennsylvania, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Loretto PA.
Baby Chickens
Black in
Loretto, Pennsylvania
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Loretto Pennsylvania
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Loretto Pennsylvania * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Loretto
Pennsylvania * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Baby Chicks
Diet in
Loretto, Pennsylvania
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Loretto Pennsylvania is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Loretto,
Pennsylvania Baby chicks are extremely
charming and
difficult to resist,
but it's ideal to plan for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare first
by gathering not only the
right materials, yet
likewise the correct
knowledge to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably
easy, you just have to offer them with the following: A
clean and cozy
environment Lots of food and also water Attention and also
love Habitat Your habitat can be a straightforward box, fish tank,
pet cat carrier, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and
coverings (without any loose
strings!) to begin, as well as after a
couple of weeks utilize straw over paper.
Keep in mind: Avoid making use of just
paper or various other slipper
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
misshapen. You additionally need
something to dish out food as well as
water in, such as a chicken feeder and water
meal from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
lid for food and also a pet dog bird water dispenser from a pet store. Additionally, as the chicks grow older you can present a perch
into the habitat to obtain them
educated on perching. Warmth To
keep your chicks warm you need to
give them with a heat source.
This could be as easy as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design lamp from a
hardware store, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb also function effectively (my
recommendation). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 until their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which can occupy to 2 months). The freshly
hatched out require a temperature level
between 90 and 100 levels,
as well as each week this can
be reduced by
roughly 5 degrees approximately. The heat source should be on just one side of the cage
to allow chicks a range of
temperatures. The chicks are your ideal
thermometer- if they are concealing in the
other corner of your heat
light, you have to
minimize the temperature level. If
they are smothering each other under the
warmth (not just snuggling),
you should put some heat.
Housekeeping
Cleanliness is key and also it maintains your chicks healthy. Be sure to change
the bed linens
usually as well as
always supply clean
food and also water Food as well as water.
Chicks expand really fast
which needs a lot of clean
food and also water. Provide
sufficient in any way times as well
as examine
frequently to avoid thirsty and
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than grown-up chicken food, and also it comes
in both medicated and non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the
initial two months, then
switch over to a raiser food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for an additional 2 months,
and then to a slightly
reduced protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Soil Some chicks prefer to obtain a head start on taking
dust bathrooms, while others will not take
up that task till they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
room, present a tray of sand or
dust for them to wash in.
Interest and love There are a
few advantages to spending quality time with your chicks. To start
with, they will certainly more than likely bond with you as well as
not escape as grownups. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily as well as
enjoy their behavior, you can
capture disease or other troubles earlier. Watch out for hissing, limping, or
various other unhealthy
indications. Make certain to
also consider
their poop, as diarrhea could cause matted plumes as well
as obstructed cloaca.
Last but not least, it is very
important to watch out for social problems, such as the
smallest chick obtaining teased. Vacant nest disorder So your
chicks are currently fully feathered
and its time for them to leave the
safety and security of your house
and move outside right into a cage. Check out our
part on chicken coops to learn more
concerning cages and
appropriate cage environments.
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