Happy chickens

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
So the chickens were enjoying the sunshine today ......

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ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
Are the frizzles adoptable???

We lost our one and only Bantam Frizzle to the "duckpond".. dipstick fell in when she was trying to get a drink..

And BG REALLY loved the little fluff ball.

I only have a few Polish frizzles. The ones I have are for my Tolbunt Polish chicken breeding program. The Tolbunt color is rare, and I, along with others around the Country, are helping to diversify the gene pool to strengthen the genetics to help them.

Try posting on the MD Poultry FB page and someone there may have some frizzles for sale. Frizzle is a feather type that can be bred into a variety of chicken breeds, not just polish chickens. I had one that was a Bantam Cochin named Zsa Zsa. Sadly she died a few months ago at the age of 7 years old. For free ranging you'd do better with standard sized chickens that are harder for the hawks to fly off with. I may have some Polish Frizzles next year available but keep in mind most frizzles sell for $50 and up each. Here is Zsa Zsa.

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IMNEMT-B

New Member
They look so healthy. My 6 barred rocks have mites badly. I have tried so many treatments and I just can't get rid of them. They look like they have mange. I feel so bad for them. They eat and give me eggs every day, but look aweful.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
They look so healthy. My 6 barred rocks have mites badly. I have tried so many treatments and I just can't get rid of them. They look like they have mange. I feel so bad for them. They eat and give me eggs every day, but look aweful.

I think a few of mine have mites. I treated Big Mama with Frontline as per a recommendation and she is STILL shaking her head. I feel bad for the one shaking their heads.

A couple months ago I treated all of the wooden roosting poles with a special insecticide hoping to stop the transfer and to kill any living there but I never saw any change. I think I must need to get a bright light and try looking at the affected chickens carefully? Works better if we can get someone to hold the chicken I'm sure. There must be some way to stop the mites?

What have you tried?
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
Just found this to help us:

"Mites


One of the most common problems encountered when raising and keeping poultry is mites. They can be introduced by wild birds or visiting rodents, or get picked up when your birds get into contact with other, infested, birds at places such as poultry shows, sales or auctions. There are several kinds of mites that will infest your birds. Infestations can cause a reduction in egg laying, pale combs and wattles, anaemia and in extreme cases, or with very young birds, death. Infestations also cause feather loss, usually on the back, because the chicken will usually over preen and pull out her feathers in an effort to get relief. Sometimes the chicken's skin will be irritated and red."

Mites - Chicken Pests - How To Protect Your Chickens From Mites - BackYard Chickens Community
 

Roman

Active Member
I think a few of mine have mites. I treated Big Mama with Frontline as per a recommendation and she is STILL shaking her head. I feel bad for the one shaking their heads.

A couple months ago I treated all of the wooden roosting poles with a special insecticide hoping to stop the transfer and to kill any living there but I never saw any change. I think I must need to get a bright light and try looking at the affected chickens carefully? Works better if we can get someone to hold the chicken I'm sure. There must be some way to stop the mites?

What have you tried?
Linseed oil, or vaseline applied to their legs might help. If they do have mites, get rid of their straw/hay, and ask a farm supply store what you can do to treat their environment.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
Linseed oil, or vaseline applied to their legs might help. If they do have mites, get rid of their straw/hay, and ask a farm supply store what you can do to treat their environment.

Per the article about chickens, it appears there are several different types of mites, and also lice that they can be affected by. Only a few of my chickens are shaking their head though. So I suspect it's a small issue and not affecting them all. My treating the roosting poles may have cut back the problem? I'm going to get Big Mama out later and sit down with a bright light to see what's going on with her. I picked her up yesterday and she has lost weight. She is also old so the weigh loss could be old age. I will check her later and report back.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
Dealing with Rooster attacks

I was looking through the other info. about chickens and saw this about rooster attacks:

I have been doing this already (pick them up and hold them) and I had not read this before. I used to hold them up so I could talk to their face, until one day I was pecked almost in the eye LOL - Now I just carry them around until they stop squirming, and I TELL them that I AM THE BOSS.

Dealing with Roosters - Roo Behavior - BackYard Chickens Community
 

Roman

Active Member
Per the article about chickens, it appears there are several different types of mites, and also lice that they can be affected by. Only a few of my chickens are shaking their head though. So I suspect it's a small issue and not affecting them all. My treating the roosting poles may have cut back the problem? I'm going to get Big Mama out later and sit down with a bright light to see what's going on with her. I picked her up yesterday and she has lost weight. She is also old so the weigh loss could be old age. I will check her later and report back.
They can also be infested with Chiggers. That's something I didn't know. You are a good chicken Momma, so I'm sure your little Chick is just getting old. I hope that she's OK.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
They can also be infested with Chiggers. That's something I didn't know. You are a good chicken Momma, so I'm sure your little Chick is just getting old. I hope that she's OK.

Big Mama was the top hen in the big girl pen. When she developed bumble-foot, the other hens vying for her spot took advantage of her having issues and they started picking on her. I moved her to the Polish chicken pen where the most docile chickens are (mostly polish) and she's been happy in there. Amazingly I have 5 roosters in the Polish pen also, and they all get along. Four roosters are about the same age at 8 months, and one is 2 years old. I do need to put at least 2 or 3 of the roosters into another pen (each rooster should have about 10 hens) - just trying to decide which roosters to move out.
 

ArkRescue

Adopt me please !
speaking of chickens ....

I am guilty of over-feeding my chickens because I keep their food bins filled at all times. I also add cracked corn in the Winter to help them stay warm.

"For years in my medical career, I have been diagnosing patients with fatty liver diseases. It is estimated that approximately 20% of adults have fatty liver syndrome, with the percentage rising in children at an alarming rate. You can imagine my shock when I learned that chickens too could suffer from Fatty Liver Syndromes of their own! Yes, we are discovering that chickens like people that suffer from obesity, have poor nutrition, and a sedentary lifestyles are developing fatty liver syndromes themselves."

Fatty Livers and Heavyset Chickens -- Community Chickens
 
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