PixieDust Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 OK so there is still this outstanding issue of the roof, but that will either happen or it won't. I have a list of things I should get before I get the girls and hope I have not missed anything out. If so, please post. Bin for food storage Poultry Shield Mixed grit Layers Pellets DE Auboise Louse powder Ant powder Feeder/Drinker Now, the Red Mite issue. Someone told me I should spray the house with Ficam-W before the girls have moved in and then yearly. I know it is not for use for poultry and although it zaps the red mite, I am loathed to use it. Apart from DE and Poultry Shield, what do others use to help in the Red Mite fight? I will get some pellets with Flubenvet but I am also loathed to use Invermectin (sp) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Meal worms. You will be able to persuade your girls to do *anything* with a few of these! Gentian violet or purple spray in case of any minor injuries Coop cups , just in case you get a meany who tries to keep the others away from the feed. She won't be able to guard all the feed stations! Ground sanitiser, we use biodri Edit: What's the ant powder on your list for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieDust Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Brain drain - didn't mean ant powder - meant mite powder - but I don't know what would be best to use. I have just ordered some 1/2" x 1" weld mesh wire from eBay for the run. Where do you buy Biodri? And mealworms? Gosh, I sound completely dumb, sorry lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Ha ha I was really confused for a minute, though after a bit of a Google it seems some people are using ant powder for red mite You can get dried meal worms in any garden centre, I only know about them because I've always fed them to the wild birds. You can get live ones too in pet shops. Mine go mental for the live ones, horrible little witches! They also love chasing live crickets around the garden (also from pets shops). I kid myself that I feed them the crickets for the protein to help their feathers grow back, but if I am honest I mostly do it for my own entertainment because they are hilarious to watch tearing around trying to catch them We got our galvanised mesh (is that the same thing as welded?) from Tool Station I think. Biodri I ordered on Amazon as far as I recall. It was the cheapest place on a Google shopping search! This website is useful, it was recommended to me as the cheapest place to get Marriages pellets with Flubenvet http://www.farmandpetplace.co.uk/. Not that my monsters want to eat them. They seem to like trying to make my life as difficult as possible ha ha. Have you got something appropriate to bring your girls home in? We only had a 5 minute drive from where ours came from to home, so used cardboard boxes, but I’ve read that these can be dangerous as they cause the chickens to overheat when its warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 We get dried mealworms from eBay. We buy approx 10-15kg at once, which works out much, much cheaper and lasts a while and works well for us as we have a large shed in which to store them. It might seem a lot but we do feed them to an army of wild birds and a small party of hedgehogs as well as the hens. We get a lot of hen supplies from Flyte so Fancy. They're delivery charges can be high but they are really quick at delivering stuff (even if I order late in the day, I know it'll arrive the next day and be packaged well) and their customer service is absolutely excellent. I second the Farm & Pet Place recommendation too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 PixieDust I wouldn't worry too much about a store of medications as it is the law of chickens that the one you don't have is the one you'll need and the ones you do have just sit in the cupboard gathering dust. From your list: - Bin for food storage - yes, a must - Poultry Shield - I've got some but have never used it - Mixed grit - yes, a must - Layers Pellets - or you can get mash but I find Pellets is less messy. Omlet does some but a real favourite is Garvo - DE - yes a must. I use this after every main clean. - Auboise - excellent stuff! - Louse powder - good to have to hand - Ant powder - or mite powder - If you keep your house well aired and clean then you should not need this. DE does the job too. - Feeder/Drinker - I love my Omlet Grub and Glug. If you are not going in for an Omlet house ( I don't have one) then you can use their frame to hold these. Otherwise coop cups, or a saucer that would go under a plant pot, or a heavy china dog food bowl would do the job and I'd add - Mealworms - dried one can be bought from anywhere that does bird food e.g. your local garden centre or hardware store. (Non dried ones are, well but can be bought from any fishing shop. - Scoop - so that you don't end up spilling all your pellets when filling your food container; especially useful if you get a Grub / Glug combo. - Tub trug with some old compost for their dust bath - Purple spray if you are getting hybrids as these can inflict nasty injuries on one another. Banties are less likely to need this but on the other hand it is good to have in your medicine cabinet. - Apple cider vinegar (1lt bottle): an excellent tonic that you put in their water for about one week every month, and that is a very good worm deterrant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pottage Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Those "free" eggs you thought you were getting are turning out expensive huh? I worked out our first box of eggs had actually cost us something like £265 ha ha ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieDust Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Thank you all for your input. I had forgotten the Apple Cider Vinegar and the Gentian Violet. Yes, OH was shouting about each egg costing us nearly £100 during our roof argument last night lol. Still, I bet he will fall in love with them and see it's not about the free eggs. I am going to use shredded paper for the nest boxes as I have tons and tons of it which could go to good use. The Auboise will go in the house, but my coop has a wooden, slide out tray. I am wondering if I should get an off-cut of lino to line it with and make cleaning easier? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Oh yes - cleaning: a pair of rubber gloves needs to be added to your list Nothing beats daily poop picking with rubber gloves and the aubiose makes that easy peasy I admit that I've not found the slide out trays all that useful as the poops don't always land conveniently on the tray, but stick on the bits that don't slide out Still I do have a lining on the floor of my chicken house and find that extremely useful. But do remember that you will need to take it right out regularly and clean it to ensure that no nasty mites decide to make a home under it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PixieDust Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 I will only have Auboise in the coop. The run will have wood chips. Luckily I don't have a fancy looking house. It is practical and the lid lifts up. It's a Littleacre house. Yep rubber gloves and a mask for the DE; on the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
