Indice dei contenuti per March/April 2017 in Chickens

Mosquito infestations are problematic for many chicken owners, especially in humid and rainy regions where moist conditions prevail. As with flies, the key to keeping your coop skeeter-free is to ensure your henhouse is clean and dry. • Provide ventilation to reduce the moisture inside the coop. • Keep the coop interior clean, regularly removing droppings and replacing soiled litter with fresh bedding. • Change the nest-box pads or litter frequently. • Clean up food and water spills quickly and remove damp litter. • Dispose of manure and soiled shavings well away from the coop. • Ensure there is no standing water in the chicken run. Recent research conducted by Rickard Ignell, a professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science, yielded startling results: In studying Anopheles arabiensis, a malaria-carrying…

I warn people when I see them smiling into the brooder tanks of chicks at my local farm store: “Chickens are a gateway drug to farm life.” It was chickens that got me hooked on that life 5 years ago when I founded Dickie Bird Farm. Since then, my farm has flourished. Today, the list of livestock includes chickens, turkey, game birds and goats. I also grow a half-acre of vegetables; tend a miniature orchard of fruit, berries and nuts; operate a goat micro-dairy; and make my own fresh chèvre and goat’s milk soap. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s go back to where it all began: chickens. Finding a Farm My husband, Kipp, and I found our farm nestled in the hills of southern Ohio. The house…

Backyard chicken keeping has many benefits aside from farm-fresh eggs. If you garden, chicken manure is black gold when composted and applied appropriately, returning nutrients to the soil and helping produce better plants, fruits and vegetables for you and your family. In a 2014 survey conducted by UC Davis Animal Science Master’s student Carine Elkhoraibi and her adviser, Dr. Joy Mench, more than 1,400 backyard chicken-keepers responded. When asked the major reasons they kept backyard chickens, 95 percent of the respondents mentioned food for home use followed by 63 percent who listed their chickens as gardening partners: Think pest control and manure as a fertilizer. While this suggests that composting is common, we need to be careful how we handle, compost and apply compost in order to avoid contamination of…

The cost of raising chicks may surprise you, which is why it’s critical to feed them correctly for their age and type — egg-layers or meat chickens — from the day they hatch or you bring them home. Proper feeding insures they’ll repay you by reaching their full potential for size, egg production and beauty. Chick and pullet rations can be homemade or purchased commercially. However, commercial brands are generally recommended because manufacturers have honed their formulas to yield excellent growth and performance. Producers segregate these formulas by age and, further, into those for egg-layers or meat birds. The ingredients are similar, but the proportions vary to provide the proper nutrition for each bird. Both medicated and nonmedicated feeds are also available. It’s simply a matter of selecting the correct…

As soon as humans domesticated animals, they began treating their ills and injuries with the same medicinal plants they used for themselves. We can do that, too! While herbs are often used to cure disease and dress wounds, they’re best used for preventative health in both animals and humans. Getting started with herbs shouldn’t cost you a mint; it’s easy to grow your own or start with wild herbs you can gather in your own backyard. Wild Herbs Herbalist Susan Burek of Moonlight Mile Herbs (www.moonlightmileherbs.com) develops recipes and products designed for the avian body that are made using natural foods and herbs that birds seek out in the wild. “Some of the most potent and beneficial herbs can reside right outside in your yard,” she says. “Poultry naturally eat…

Once parasites are found on a bird or in a flock, treatment must be done carefully. “There are limited treatment options available for backyard flocks,” says Amy Murillo, Ph.D., at the University of California, Riverside. Commercial pesticide products are available at farm-supply stores, but some of these products can’t be applied directly to the birds, only to the coop or surrounding environment. Regulations may also prohibit the use of some treatments on birds destined for human consumption. “Read the label carefully for instructions on use and any restrictions,” Murillo says. “Some of these products may target lice, but not control mites and vice versa.” In some cases, pesticides are necessary to regain control. “‘No mite strips’ are an effective way to apply an insecticide to your flock,” Jacquie Jacob, Ph.D.,…

Winner!   MELISSA DEAN • Brookville, Pennsylvania SHARE YOUR PICTURES! You can send us the best images of your chickens one of two ways. • Email us an image of your chicken(s) to chickens@luminamedia.com with the subject line Shutterclucks, and include your name and mailing address. • Put your poultry images on social media, and label them #Shutterclucks. If we’d like to use the image, we’ll contact you for details and permission. We’ll send one random photographer two security lights from Nite Guard Solar® (www.niteguard.com), which scare the wits out of night predators — including coyotes, foxes, hawks, owls, raccoons, skunks, weasels and more.…

Choosing your first chicks is kind of a big deal. It’s not such a big deal that you should lose sleep over it — unless you’re just that excited and it keeps you up all night in happy anticipation! But it’s a big enough deal that you should put some thought, research and planning into it. When you set out to buy your chickens, think of the long game: These will be the birds that you raise and care for, and in return, they will care for you by providing healthy eggs and/or meat, weed-eating services, bug removal, entertainment and friendship. Getting started on the right foot will ensure many healthy years of cohabitation for everyone. When you start a flock with healthy chicks, you set yourself up for success.…

1. These metal farmers market trays are great catch-alls for the kitchen or living room. Prices vary by retailer for a set of two; RAZ Imports; 800-443-3540; www.razimports.com 2. Welcome spring with a rustic, brown, burlap, artificial-speckled Easter egg wreath with twig accents. $44.99; Sears; www.sears.com 3. These all-new incubators are ideal for small-scale hatching, with the Mini II holding seven hen eggs; the Maxi II, 14; the Ovation 28, 28; and the Ovation 56, 56. Prices vary; Brinsea Products; 888-667-7009; www.brinsea.com 4. This canvas chicken pendant lamp comes with a cloth-covered lamp cord and two ceiling hooks and plugs into any wall outlet with no wiring required. $52.99; TrailsEndHomeDecor; www.etsy.com/shop/ trailsendhomedecor 5. The AdorStore.com Come Home Feeder Kit feeds snacks to lure your birds home to the coop. Connected to a button and/or to an…