Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[ClaudetteDay]

I am hopefully going to rescue some ex batts soon and was wondering what medication i should put them on to treat them for pretty much everything.

 

worms - i'm buying flubenvet

fleas/mites/ticks etc: - i've purchased Diatomaceous Earth

 

promote feather growth -

 

etc:

etc:

[Macfoy]

Nothing else......

 

Keep off the medication as much as possible.

 

Worm regularly.

 

Clean out the house and treat the red mite regularly. (I know you've already said that)

 

Make sure you give them a good supply of oyster shell and grit. Even if shell is in the food, keep a shallow dish of some sort with it always in......you'll be surprised how much goes.

 

You could get some wound powder or something for just in case. Their feathers will re-grow given time and good feeding..........

Ex batts have been looked after, even if they don't appear to be. They will also have been innoculated, which is moe than my birds ever have been, so theoretically yours should be more disease resistant.

 

A good way of getting calcium into birds is to save all your old egg shells. You can either bake them gently in the oven or just leave them to dry naturally. Crunch them up with your fingers and offer them. You'll be surprised how quickly that goes too.

 

Macfoy

 

ps. Garlic in the water is well thought of and also cider vinegar......in a plastic drinker not galvanised. A splosh is the recommened amount

TBQH I don't use either, but both are well recognised for their useful effects. Garlic as it will discourage worms and the vinegar will acidify the water which is generally better than it being too alkali

Edited December 8, 2009 by Guest

[ClaudetteDay]

thanks for the reply.

i've bought some grit, apple cider vinegar (wish i hadn't now! don't think i'll need it), diatomceous earth and will be purchasing some flubenvet.

 

many thanks

[Macfoy]

I've just edited to add cider vinegar as I'd forgotten it.......

 

Macfoy

[ClaudetteDay]

thanks very much

 

i'm glad i did buy apple cider vinegar now! i know it can help promote the growth of feathers and also helps aid digestion. so i feel its a necessity for ex batts!

 

and the garlic powder helps keep the poo smelling nice

[sandyhas3chucks]

you could add limestone flour and cod liver oil as they have been forced to lay their liitle bodies out of precious calcium, or a liquid like zolcal d or Nutrabol. they MAY be featherless, and extra protein would be useful. AFTER a good few days of settling down, ex bat crumb or good quality layers mash(as that is what they are used to.

Just to add that whilst they may have been vaccinated (some get missed) they will NOT have had any exposure to day to day bacteria and therefore will have little or no natural immunity.

As for "having been Looked after" , I just am not going there or I will go into a major rant.

I will say this: if WE "looked after" our chooks like they had the RSPCA would prosecute us and we would e banned from keeping them.

Good luck with your batties they will transform your life, they are THE most amazing little creatures with fantastic personalities

ENJOY

[ClaudetteDay]

I'll feed them some ex batt crumbs mixed with some grit (good source of calcium), and garlic powder. and i'll see if there is anything help with their immunity problem. perhaps Citricidal? this can help against colds.

 

 

and i'll be adding some apple cider vinegar into their water to promote feather growth.

 

can you overload a chicken with vitamins?

 

i hope it doesn't make them ill.

 

should i introduce each one slowly? i don't want to shock their little bodies!

[sandyhas3chucks]

I'll feed them some ex batt crumbs mixed with some grit (good source of calcium), and garlic powder. and i'll see if there is anything help with their immunity problem. perhaps Citricidal? this can help against colds.

and i'll be adding some apple cider vinegar into their water to promote feather growth.

can you overload a chicken with vitamins?

.i hope it doesn't make them ill.

 

should i introduce each one slowly? i don't want to shock their little bodies!

Grit & oyster grit often get confused, grit is the larger pieces of stones & shells, oyster grit is a fine ground up grey coloured product. The grit is for their gizzard to grind up their tea, because of the lack of teeth, the gizzard is their mechanical stomach, it's very muscular & stirs it all up & grinds it down, you will sometimes see these stones passed out the other end. The oyster grit is to increase their calcium in take as it's soluable.

Mine prefer the fine crushed oyster shell. Some grit has pieces of shell ixed in as does some mixed corn.

Citricidal as you say is excellent. I also use oegano oil based product.

Not quite sure why apple Cider vinegar might promote feather growth. although it has been suggested it helps calcium uptake.It alters the ph in the gut which discourages worms and some bacteria.

For the 1st few days just give them the ex bat crumb,it has ben designed especially. Their tums might be upset with the whole move, then add one thing at a time, you will then know if anything upsets them.

Mine never, none of the 3 separate lots will ever touch the water with ACV in it. Toads

They used to drink battles when I got my 1st 3. wish I had known about oregano backat the beginning

[ClaudetteDay]

I'll feed them some ex batt crumbs mixed with some grit (good source of calcium), and garlic powder. and i'll see if there is anything help with their immunity problem. perhaps Citricidal? this can help against colds.

and i'll be adding some apple cider vinegar into their water to promote feather growth.

can you overload a chicken with vitamins?

.i hope it doesn't make them ill.

 

should i introduce each one slowly? i don't want to shock their little bodies!

Grit & oyster grit often get confused, grit is the larger pieces of stones & shells, oyster grit is a fine ground up grey coloured product. The grit is for their gizzard to grind up their tea, because of the lack of teeth, the gizzard is their mechanical stomach, it's very muscular & stirs it all up & grinds it down, you will sometimes see these stones passed out the other end. The oyster grit is to increase their calcium in take as it's soluable.

Mine prefer the fine crushed oyster shell. Some grit has pieces of shell ixed in as does some mixed corn.

Citricidal as you say is excellent. I also use oegano oil based product.

Not quite sure why apple Cider vinegar might promote feather growth. although it has been suggested it helps calcium uptake.It alters the ph in the gut which discourages worms and some bacteria.

For the 1st few days just give them the ex bat crumb,it has ben designed especially. Their tums might be upset with the whole move, then add one thing at a time, you will then know if anything upsets them.

Mine never, none of the 3 separate lots will ever touch the water with ACV in it. Toads

They used to drink battles when I got my 1st 3. wish I had known about oregano backat the beginning

 

 

thanks very much i bought this grit for the chooks

 

http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Keeping&sub=Food%20and%20Food%20Scoops&product_id=229&sort=popularity&start=0

 

i'm sorry, i'm knew to the whole chicken owning thing!

[sandyhas3chucks]

hey , don't be sorry, we were all new once, wait till you readsome of the daft things LOADS of us said/thought when we 1st got chooks.

ex bat crumbs are meant to be nicely loaded with all the essential nutrients they need.

I sort of discovered the crushed oyster shell. Mine really love it, the stuff you got has some soluble in there too. I see someone felt it was too big for their girls. see how you go.

there are soooo many things you MIGHT get.

If you have look round at horey supply shops you will see many of the things lots of us use. Just go window shopping for now and make a note of where these things are IF you decided you need them.

I do feel thoughthat cod liver oil as you are getting in the winter months and lacking in Sunshine, would be a good thing, as it has Vit D3 needed for calcium absorbtion.

Just a thought here....

Hace you got an Eglu, nd have you ready some protetion to go over the run, as you will be needed something.

[ClaudetteDay]

hey , don't be sorry, we were all new once, wait till you readsome of the daft things LOADS of us said/thought when we 1st got chooks.

ex bat crumbs are meant to be nicely loaded with all the essential nutrients they need.

I sort of discovered the crushed oyster shell. Mine really love it, the stuff you got has some soluble in there too. I see someone felt it was too big for their girls. see how you go.

there are soooo many things you MIGHT get.

If you have look round at horey supply shops you will see many of the things lots of us use. Just go window shopping for now and make a note of where these things are IF you decided you need them.

I do feel thoughthat cod liver oil as you are getting in the winter months and lacking in Sunshine, would be a good thing, as it has Vit D3 needed for calcium absorbtion.

Just a thought here....

Hace you got an Eglu, nd have you ready some protetion to go over the run, as you will be needed something.

 

 

hi there, thanks for the kind reply

 

i've purchased my eglu classic, it's getting delivered on thursday! super exicited!

i've also purchased a winter cover for the run

 

i'll definitely buy some cod liver oil.

and i can always crush the grit for the chooks to make it slightly smaller

 

many thanks

[sandyhas3chucks]

righto... lets assume your girls are not well feathered (this is not always the case)

might be raining all day and it could well be really cold, possibly windy.

your girls will need some protection fro, the elements

A cheap shower curtain, pref light or white(to let maximum light in) held on with cheap bungie's, is one option.

Aint"Ooops, word censored!"odyhere has a brill photo with brill ideas that hopefully will pop in and show you., using 2 corrugated plastic sheets (held on with bungies. Prob cost about £5/6 per sheet at Wicks.

Or there are a couple of companies that sell clear tarps that are nice and strong and clear, and therefore don't flap in the wind like shower curtains.

[Egluntyne]

i've bought some grit, apple cider vinegar (wish i hadn't now! don't think i'll need it),

 

I use it and find it useful.

 

Apart from a decent wormer such as Flubenvet I wouldn't bother getting stuff till you actually need it, otherwise you will be bankrupt within a fortnight!

 

Having said that, ex-batts often have redmite, so something to treat that might be advantageous.

 

One point to mention re ex-batts, and slightly off topic, is that when they first come to you, they will stink to high heaven. This will fade within a week -10 days I always find, and doesn't require any treatment.

[ClaudetteDay]

righto... lets assume your girls are not well feathered (this is not always the case)

might be raining all day and it could well be really cold, possibly windy.

your girls will need some protection fro, the elements

A cheap shower curtain, pref light or white(to let maximum light in) held on with cheap bungie's, is one option.

Aint"Ooops, word censored!"odyhere has a brill photo with brill ideas that hopefully will pop in and show you., using 2 corrugated plastic sheets (held on with bungies. Prob cost about £5/6 per sheet at Wicks.

Or there are a couple of companies that sell clear tarps that are nice and strong and clear, and therefore don't flap in the wind like shower curtains.

 

 

i did buy a winter sheet for the run. but i think i might have to buy a shower curtain or something.

 

thanks for the ideas

[beulah59]

We started our chicken keeping career with ex-batts .. they are wonderful! I made up a mix of layers mash with a sprinkling of garlic, grit, diatom and poultry spice. And from time to time added in some limestone flour and cod liver oil. I put ACV in their water. And so far we've been generally well, although I lost a hen a couple of weeks ago with peritonitis.

 

I don't add the diatom any more, as I didn't like the dust in my face when mixing it. But I still use it liberally in the nest box and round the coop.

 

I didn't use 100% ex-batt mash ... it made their poo so soft it was horrid. So I use about 3:1 of standard layers to ex-batt ... we're onto pellets now after about 2 months, but they would have easily coped with pellets much earlier (only I bought a second bag of mash as I wasn't sure ... but I much prefer pellets!)

 

HTH

[sandyhas3chucks]

hi, read thread on Eglus runs etc on winter covers