In any flock of chickens, there is a pecking order, ALPHA on the top, Omega on the bottom, and everyone in between. Basic flock psychology, is the flock is only as strong as the weakest member. We see this initially with baby chicks, if there is a weak chick, the rest of the flock will eliminate it from the gene pool. “Vote her off the island”, so to speak.
They may do this as adults as well, there may be a bird that they sense needs to be eliminated from the gene pool. This may be a healthy, egg producing hen. One of the ways they do this is to not allow the hen in question to drink. In hot weather they expire pretty quickly. I get phone calls from customers every summer, after the birds were posted, in most cases they died of dehydration. Adding a few extra water stations can easily prevent this, by allowing more options for birds to drink from. This simple step can be the key to keeping the entire flock healthy.
Great idea! Thanks… We put ice cubes in the water station every morning & another in the yard in the afternoon when we allow them to free range. There is also another smaller one on the “deck” Never thought about putting a second one in the pen. There is, of course , a large self tending water device in the coop, to which they also have access all day long.
what do you do for chicken that have lice or bugs on there foot or legs ????
Sounds like scaley leg mites. Veterinarian prescription works well, but another effective option could be olive oil or Vaseline. If there are bugs anywhere else, they are lice or mites and a poultry dust available at most farm stores works well. Best of luck!
Simply go to your local feed store farmers & ranchers use and buy a one pint bottle.of liquid Ivermectin. Costs around $15 for a small bottle. It works on all livestock and if you accidently get some on yourself, you too as it’s skin absorbable. Will handle a small flock of around 20 birds for several years. Put it in a small spray bottle. Catch your birds at night off of their roosts, real easy as they can’t see. A fishing net in the pen works well too. Lightly squirt under each wing base, the vent area and their butts. It will kill all mites & worms that bird might have including blue bugs. Use twice yearly, preferably once before the molt. The bottle will last a long time..
I use Diotomatiouse earth, found at any feed store “TSC” make sure it is FOOD GRADE DIO. EARTH,” there is another that has silica I think in it” and some “7 Dust” in their dusting area. This is in my rabbitry. It has a dirt floor with several inches of sand on top. I just sprinkle the 2 mentioned items on top and they create a dust storm when they come out and shake. You can also add the DIO Earth to their feed. It is great for internal parasites, I use a heaping table spoon in a bucket of feed and hand mix it. It can be fed to any animal and is added to tooth paste as well. I have used 7 dust since a child on chickens, pigeons, (cats and dogs as flee powder). but that was many, many years ago.