The chickens seem to be relatively free of red mite all of a sudden - don't
know if there was a cold snap that wiped them out, or what, but I haven't
(touch wood) seen one for over a week, I think ... and even better, we got 5
eggs today, which means one of the bantams has started laying again!
Hurrah. (one of them was very pale looking last week, presumably due to the
mites nibbling on her)

--

wrote in message
...
The chickens seem to be relatively free of red mite all of a sudden -
don't
know if there was a cold snap that wiped them out, or what, but I haven't
(touch wood) seen one for over a week, I think ... and even better, we got
5
eggs today, which means one of the bantams has started laying again!
Hurrah. (one of them was very pale looking last week, presumably due to
the
mites nibbling on her)

--
What are you using against red mite?

Tina

Christina Websell wrote:
What are you using against red mite?

Well, to start with we used the red mite powder (which was vile, and I could
smell it everywhere!). Then Nick steam cleaned the nest box, which got rid
for a while, but then they came back.

Since then there have been peripheral things done - wiping out patches of
them when found, adding extra garlic to their water, etc, but I have nagged
him to steam clean them again, etc, and he hasn't.

It's possible he's been doing something else for them which I've forgotten
or don't know about, but as far as I know, he's not done anything recently
that could have got rid of them, hence assuming it must be the weather.

wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:
What are you using against red mite?

Well, to start with we used the red mite powder (which was vile, and I
could
smell it everywhere!). Then Nick steam cleaned the nest box, which got
rid
for a while, but then they came back.

Since then there have been peripheral things done - wiping out patches of
them when found, adding extra garlic to their water, etc, but I have
nagged
him to steam clean them again, etc, and he hasn't.

It's possible he's been doing something else for them which I've forgotten
or don't know about, but as far as I know, he's not done anything recently
that could have got rid of them, hence assuming it must be the weather.

I have none now because I sprayed 50/50 Dettol solution into every crevice
every week x 6. That did for the little blighters

"Christina Websell" wrote in
:


wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:
What are you using against red mite?

Well, to start with we used the red mite powder (which was vile, and
I could
smell it everywhere!). Then Nick steam cleaned the nest box, which
got rid
for a while, but then they came back.

Since then there have been peripheral things done - wiping out
patches of them when found, adding extra garlic to their water, etc,
but I have nagged
him to steam clean them again, etc, and he hasn't.

It's possible he's been doing something else for them which I've
forgotten or don't know about, but as far as I know, he's not done
anything recently that could have got rid of them, hence assuming it
must be the weather.

I have none now because I sprayed 50/50 Dettol solution into every
crevice every week x 6. That did for the little blighters



We used 20% Dettol(bought a cheaper brand actually) to 80% water once this
year in March and the mite has gone and not returned.
Red mite powder makes me baulk!
We only have 6 chickens all hens(or layers or pullets or whatever yo want
to call them)Rhode Island Red.
(Our resident nym shifter Pete will no doubt be pulling me for my spelling)
They give us at least 4 huge eggs per day so I think they are a fairly
happy brood.
I am told that as the birds get older they give a smaller egg and fewer
too.
Can we use the oldies for the table and get new young ones? Or have I got
the wrong end of the stick.

Baz

"Baz" wrote in message
...

We used 20% Dettol(bought a cheaper brand actually) to 80% water once this
year in March and the mite has gone and not returned.
Red mite powder makes me baulk!
We only have 6 chickens all hens(or layers or pullets or whatever yo want
to call them)Rhode Island Red.
(Our resident nym shifter Pete will no doubt be pulling me for my
spelling)

( au contraire - I detect a marked improvement- pity you will not be able
to see this though)

They give us at least 4 huge eggs per day so I think they are a fairly
happy brood.
I am told that as the birds get older they give a smaller egg and fewer
too.
Can we use the oldies for the table and get new young ones? Or have I got
the wrong end of the stick.

Baz

"Baz" wrote in message
...
"Christina Websell" wrote in

I am told that as the birds get older they give a smaller egg and fewer
too.
Can we use the oldies for the table and get new young ones? Or have I got
the wrong end of the stick.

Well, you can use them for the table but there will be nothing much in the
way of meat on them. Chickens that are bred for eggs and those who are bred
for meat are totally different these days.

Your old hens, if you get fed up with them not laying as much as you want,
can be used to make nice stock for soup.
Myself, I just let them "geriatric around" when they get old, giving me the
occasional egg, but I have room for that without it making a difference
about getting some young ones.

Tina


Baz

"Judith in France" wrote in message
...

LOL. My very elderly neighbour kept just a couple of chickens for
herself, I have no idea how old they were but they had no feathers!



Hardly an endangered species - they should be necked when
the feed/keep expenditure exceeds their egg income.

" I've just realised I'm talking retirement homes for
hens here!! ;-) "

Silly talk, most definitely (:-(

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

"Sacha" wrote in message
about getting some young ones.

Do you separate them, Tina? Elderly ladies in one enclosure, younger ones
in another? I've just realised I'm talking retirement homes for hens
here!! ;-)

Yes, I do. Once you have a group it's not easy (but not impossible) to
introduce others. I've had younger ones killed by the older ones doing that
so I don't try it now.
Tina

"Pete" wrote in message
...


"Judith in France" wrote in message
...

LOL. My very elderly neighbour kept just a couple of chickens for
herself, I have no idea how old they were but they had no feathers!



Hardly an endangered species - they should be necked when
the feed/keep expenditure exceeds their egg income.

" I've just realised I'm talking retirement homes for
hens here!! ;-) "

Silly talk, most definitely (:-(


That's your own opinion, Pete. Whilst I agree if you rely on egg sales for
your daily bread of course they have be killed and replaced, if you don't
and you wish to keep them after a few years of good production to give a
retirement I think that is perfect.
Unless you don't have room for the new ones, but luckily I do. If you don't
then you just have to go out there one evening, snatch them off their perch
when they are going to bed (best time, so as not to upset them) and break
their necks.
Tina

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

That's your own opinion, Pete. Whilst I agree if you rely on egg sales
for your daily bread of course they have be killed and replaced, if you
don't and you wish to keep them after a few years of good production to
give a retirement I think that is perfect.
Unless you don't have room for the new ones, but luckily I do. If you
don't then you just have to go out there one evening, snatch them off
their perch when they are going to bed (best time, so as not to upset
them) and break their necks.

Well --

even if you are not relying on egg sales for your daily bread, it makes
little sense in keeping unproductive birds.
If you reclassify them as pets - then its up to you- still a waste of feed
that could be put in to producing eggs.

It not a lot to do with "daily bread" - just simple economics !

Pete

"Pete" wrote in message
...


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

That's your own opinion, Pete. Whilst I agree if you rely on egg sales
for your daily bread of course they have be killed and replaced, if you
don't and you wish to keep them after a few years of good production to
give a retirement I think that is perfect.
Unless you don't have room for the new ones, but luckily I do. If you
don't then you just have to go out there one evening, snatch them off
their perch when they are going to bed (best time, so as not to upset
them) and break their necks.

Well --

even if you are not relying on egg sales for your daily bread, it makes
little sense in keeping unproductive birds.
If you reclassify them as pets - then its up to you- still a waste of feed
that could be put in to producing eggs.

It not a lot to do with "daily bread" - just simple economics !

OK, go out there and screw their necks then! It's easy for some, but not
me.
Imagine, walking down the path towards their house where they think they are
safe and have been for many years. They are used to you and trust you, so
if you take them off there they think they are OK.
Sorry I can't do that. I'd rather pay a bit for their food with no return
so they can geriatric around after their lifetime of service.
I can, and have, killed them if they were were ill and suffering, but I will
not do it merely because they are old.
I'm not as young as I was once myself.
Tina

Christina Websell wrote:
Well, you can use them for the table but there will be nothing much in the
way of meat on them. Chickens that are bred for eggs and those who are bred
for meat are totally different these days.

I have to say, our speckledy is fattening up incredibly in the past week or
two!

And it looks like I spoke too soon about the mites, found a few the past day
or two. Although nothing like they were, and the little chickens are
looking a bit healthier (not so anaemic), and one has started to lay quite
surprisingly large eggs! (And one looks very white, so we think she
probably went through a moult)

Your old hens, if you get fed up with them not laying as much as you want,
can be used to make nice stock for soup.

Aww. What a waste of a friendly little bok-bok. :-(

Myself, I just let them "geriatric around" when they get old, giving me the
occasional egg, but I have room for that without it making a difference
about getting some young ones.

I think the 6 we currently have is our capacity, when we had 7 it had a bit
of a cramped feel. As it is, I did open up the roost box one night to check
they were all ok and found speckledy sat on the back of the nera! (who
didn't seem at all perturbed, amusingly)

"Christina Websell" wrote in
:


Well, you can use them for the table but there will be nothing much in
the way of meat on them. Chickens that are bred for eggs and those
who are bred for meat are totally different these days.

Your old hens, if you get fed up with them not laying as much as you
want, can be used to make nice stock for soup.
Myself, I just let them "geriatric around" when they get old, giving
me the occasional egg, but I have room for that without it making a
difference about getting some young ones.

Tina




I suppose that they would have to be killed eventually then whwn they have
served the purpose of laying eggs for us.
Sounds bad I know, but we have no room for them when they have finished
being productive.
Cant imagine how to find the justification to kill them whan the time
comes. It will not be easy and we might go back to buying our eggs from
local smallholders.
Boiling them to get some stock is not an option because I beleive the
carcas contains very high colesterol in the bone marrow, and even so to
pluck, draw and present a skinny thing like that would turn me off chicken
for life, and would be time consuming for so little reward.

Baz

wrote in message And it looks like I spoke
too soon about the mites, found a few the past day
or two. Although nothing like they were, and the little chickens are
looking a bit healthier (not so anaemic), and one has started to lay quite
surprisingly large eggs! (And one looks very white, so we think she
probably went through a moult)

If she looks very white she is anaemic and the probably cause of that is red
mite. They do not IME go white when they moult although the combs shrink as
they stop laying but their faces should always be pink when they are out of
lay and bright red when they are.

Tina




Your old hens, if you get fed up with them not laying as much as you
want,
can be used to make nice stock for soup.

Aww. What a waste of a friendly little bok-bok. :-(

Myself, I just let them "geriatric around" when they get old, giving me
the
occasional egg, but I have room for that without it making a difference
about getting some young ones.

I think the 6 we currently have is our capacity, when we had 7 it had a
bit
of a cramped feel. As it is, I did open up the roost box one night to
check
they were all ok and found speckledy sat on the back of the nera! (who
didn't seem at all perturbed, amusingly)