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 Chickens Hatching in
Rio Frio, Texas
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Rio Frio Texas,
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. Rio Frio
Texas also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Rio Frio Texas, 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 Rio Frio TX.
Baby Chicks Order Online in
Rio Frio, Texas
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Rio Frio Texas
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
Rio Frio Texas * 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 Rio Frio
Texas * 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.
Raising Baby Chickens in
Rio Frio, Texas
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
Rio Frio Texas 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 Rio Frio,
Texas Baby chicks are extremely
cute and
difficult to stand up to,
however it's finest to plan for their
arrival prior to you obtain them. Prepare first
by compiling not only the
appropriate products, however
also the proper
knowledge to take care of
them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably
straightforward, you simply have to provide them with the following: A tidy and warm and comfortable
habitat Plenty of food as well
as water Focus and
love Habitat Your habitat can be a straightforward box, aquarium,
cat provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels and
blankets (without any loosened
strings!) to start, and also after a
couple of weeks utilize straw over newspaper.
Keep in mind: Avoid making use of just
newspaper or other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs can grow
misshapen. You also need
something to serve up food and
water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water
dish from the feed store, or a pickle container
lid for food as well as a family
pet bird water dispenser from a family pet store. Also, as the chicks age you could present a perch
right into the habitat to obtain them
trained on setting down. Heat To
keep your chicks warm you should
offer them with a heat resource.
This can be as simple as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp design light from a
hardware shop, or an infrared reptile heat
bulb likewise function very
well (my
suggestion). Chicks require this
heat 24/7 till their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which can use
up to 2 months). The freshly
hatched need a temperature
in between 90 and 100 degrees,
and also every week this could
be decreased by
around 5 degrees or
so. The heat source must be on merely one side of the cage
to permit chicks a range of
temperatures. The chicks are your ideal
thermostat- if they are hiding in the
other edge of your heat
light, you have to
lower the temperature. If
they are smothering each various other under the
heat (not simply curling up),
you should put some warmth.
House cleaning
Sanitation is essential and it keeps your chicks healthy and
balanced. Be sure to change
the bed linen
commonly and also
consistently provide tidy
food and water Food as well as water.
Chicks grow really quick
which calls for plenty of tidy
food as well as water. Give
enough in any way times as well
as inspect
frequently to avoid parched and
hungry chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, and also it can be found in both medicated as well as non-medicated selections. Feed chick food for the
first two months, then
change to a grower food (~ 17 %
protein) for one more 2 months,
then to a slightly
lower healthy protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have levels). Soil Some chicks want
to get a running start on taking
dirt baths, while others will not take
up that activity till they are
older. If you have the room in your chick
unit, present a tray of sand or
dirt for them to shower in.
Focus and also love There are a couple of advantages to hanging
out with your chicks. First off, they will certainly most
likely bond with you as well as
not flee as grownups. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily as well as
watch their behavior, you can
capture disease or various
other troubles previously. Watch out for hissing, limping, or
other unhealthy
signs. Make sure to
additionally take a look at
their poop, as looseness of the bowels could cause matted feathers and also blocked cloaca.
Finally, it is important to watch out for social issues, such as the
tiniest chick obtaining badgered. Vacant nest syndrome So your
chicks are now fully feathery
as well as its time for them to leave the
security of your home
and also relocate outside into a cage. Have a look at our
area on chicken coops to find out
more
about coops as well as
proper coop habitats.
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