What do you use for deworming

[flowerbug]

Sounds like you need a good dog at your place, FB!

no way. Mom won't ever have a dog again (we had them when i was a kid) nor any other furry animals. i'm glad i get away with keeping worms (some which technically do have little hairs - but i've never told her that lol ). she likes animals to be outside and wild and left alone. i am ok with that.

to counter all the wild stuff that is going on i work on better fencing and to remove hiding places as i can and to encourage other animals which will eat or discourage the others and also learning as much as i can. it's going ok. i like to keep things simple if i can. it's easier on both of us.

 

[bambi]

Just giving an update on the hens and they are all doing well and wanted to give a shout out for all the good advice I have received, thank you.
I don't remember who it was or what conversation that was started about hay verse straw to lay on the ground, I believe they were using it around the chicken coup but anyway if this was your input or if you have any thoughts how thick a layer you should use I would be most thankful.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

In the coop? In the run? I never use straw b/c it is close to $10.00/bale now. Hay, even mulch hay is around $3.50. I use hay when I run out of leaves. Every fall, I drive to a neighboring town that has a fall leaf pick up. I can usually pick up about 45 bags of leaves packed in paper recycle bags in 2 trips with the truck.

What ever kind of bedding you use, use how ever much it takes to get the job done. My goal is to have a good layer of deep composting litter built up in the chicken run. It took me 3 years to meet that goal! But, finally, I can say that the entire area is covered with a good layer of black compost.

 

[CrealCritter]

Dried Habanero hot pepper flakes, cures em right up.

 

[baymule]

Dried Habanero hot pepper flakes, cures em right up.

100% right! Chickens don’t taste the heat but their intestinal worms sure do. It doesn’t kill worms, but the shock of the hot pepper makes them turn loose and pass out in droppings. I usually scramble some eggs for them, Shell and all. Like Bee said, I don’t bother with worming but if I just need to feel better about it, I use hot pepper.

 

[flowerbug]

100% right! Chickens don’t taste the heat but their intestinal worms sure do. It doesn’t kill worms, but the shock of the hot pepper makes them turn loose and pass out in droppings. I usually scramble some eggs for them, Shell and all. Like Bee said, I don’t bother with worming but if I just need to feel better about it, I use hot pepper.

will chickens eat raw garlic?

 

[baymule]

Some will,some won’t.

 

[Beekissed]

will chickens eat raw garlic?

If you mix it in with wet feed, it all disappears. Around here they will eat anything that doesn't eat them first.

Using hay and straw around the coop for better footing.....tricky, as it tends to hold in moisture and create an even slicker, more muddy place in the long run. I've found it best to use bark pieces and even cedar or cypress mulch....something that doesn't decompose quickly, or at all, and will mush into and bind with the mud so as to let it dry out when there is no rain/snow but still give good traction when it's wet.

If you just use it thicker, it will still be mushy to walk upon and, if you are on a slight slope like me, can go out from under your feet at a crucial moment....like when carrying a heavy bucket of water. I've used both in the past but now avoid using hay, straw or leaves in areas that I want traction but no added moisture and mud.

Right now I have huge pieces of bark around the coop in the high traffic areas and also in the sheep pen at the same places. They sink into the mud but allow it to dry out as they don't cover it completely like hay, straw and leaves tend to do. Easier to trip over them, but they do the job better and build a more firm floor on that surface than any of the other materials.

In front of the shed and back porch steps I've taken to using some cypress mulch....best thing I've found to firm up those areas in wet weather.