Nesting Box Herbs - Chicken Aromatherapy

Fresh and dried herbs have amazing health and well-being benefits...and also provide a bit of aromatherapy for your chickens.

By Lisa - Fresh Eggs Daily Farm Girl

Freshly laid eggs in a nesting box full of herbs 

My coop never smelled so good until I started adding an herbal blend that includes mint, basil, lemon balm, lavender and rose petals in the nesting boxes.  The first time I put the herbs into the nesting baskets, one of my hens actually fell asleep after laying her egg. Now that's one relaxed hen !
  Buff Grace sitting in the nesting box

Fresh or dried herbs in your nesting boxes not only work as insecticides, but also have anti-bacterial properties, and can act as natural wormers, anti-parasitics, insecticides, rodent control, stress relievers and laying stimulants.  They will help a laying hen feel safe and relaxed while she is sitting, and calm a broody hen, as well as repel rodents, flies and other parasites. Plus they look so pretty !
Nesting boxes filled with fresh herbs

They will also benefit newly hatched chicks.  Research has shown that wild birds will line their nests with fresh herbs and flowers, especially those that contain essential oils. The newly hatched baby birds benefit by rubbing against these herbs in the first few days of life.  Same applies to baby chicks. The chicks will also eat some of the herbs, thereby garnering even more health benefits from them.

Here is a partial list of common herbs and flowers and their beneficial properties:

Basil - antibacterial, mucus membrane health Catnip - sedative, insecticide
Cilantro - antioxidant, fungicide, builds strong bones, high in Vitamin A for vision and Vitamin K for blood clotting
Dill - antioxidant, relaxant, respiratory health
Fennel -laying stimulant
Garlic - laying stimulant
Lavender - stress reliever, increases blood circulation, highly aromatic, insecticide
Lemon Balm - stress reliever, antibacterial, highly aromatic, rodent repellent
Marigold - laying stimulant
Marjoram - lay stimulant
Mint (all kinds) - insecticide and rodent repellent
Nasturtium - laying stimulant, antiseptic, antibiotic, insecticide, wormer
Oregano - combats coccidia, salmonella, infectious bronchitis, avian flu, blackhead and e-coli
Parsley - high in vitamins, aids in blood vessel development, laying stimulant
Peppermint - anti-parasitic, insecticide
Pineapple Sage - aids nervous system, highly aromatic
Rose Petals - highly aromatic, high in Vitamin C
Rosemary - pain relief, respiratory health, insecticide
Sage - antioxidant, anti-parasitic
Spearmint - antiseptic, insecticide, stimulates nerve, brain and blood functions
Tarragon - antioxidant
Thyme - respiratory health, antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-parasitic


Toss a few handfuls of mixed cut herbs into your nesting boxes and refresh them as needed.  Your chickens will benefit from them and you will enjoy how nice your coop smells.  

Read more: http://www.grit.com/animals/nesting-box-herbs-chicken-aromatherapy.aspx#ixzz3Gn6hlCQ2

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6 Pests That Can Wreak Havoc On Your Coop

Courtesy Catherine L. Walters/iStock/Thinkstock

6 Pests That Can Wreak Havoc On Your Coop (And How to Banish Them Naturally!)

Watch carefully for signs that mites, ticks and other nuisances are at work in the coop, and take immediate action to get rid of them for good.

By Audrey Pavia

Although your chickens may be the darlings of your farm, once a pest invasion strikes the coop, nurturing them back to health can be a headache. Chickens are keen at hiding signs of weakness, so you might not notice right away if they’re being attacked by biting lice, mites or flies. It’s important to take careful notice of signs that these poultry pests are at work and take measures to keep them and other chicken threats out of the coop. Here are six of the most common coop pests and natural ways to keep them at bay.

1. Ticks
A species of bloodsucking anthropod, Argas persicus, commonly known as the poultry tick or fowl tick, can discretely feed on your chickens. You’ll likely discover these pests by taking a close look at your coop—ticks hide in the crevices of the coop structure and crawl out at night to feed. Although it’s difficult to see ticks on your chickens, you’ll get a clue to the presence of these arachnids when you notice your chickens are reluctant to go inside the coop at night and seem agitated when they try to roost.
Treatment: To minimize the risk of ticks in the coop, caulk the crevices, which is where ticks hide and breed. If ticks have already taken up residence, use a knife to scrape out the ticks from every crevice and hose out the entire coop. Once the coop is dry, you can then fill all crevices with caulk.

2. Mites & Lice
Northern fowl mites (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) and chicken mites (Dermanyssus gallinae) can infest chicken coops, making your birds’ lives miserable. Like poultry ticks, they hide in dark coop crevices during the day and come out to feast on the blood of the chickens at night. They can cause chickens to stop laying eggs and to scratch and over-preen. You can see these tiny insects crawling around if you examine your chickens at night while they’re roosting.
Treatment: If your coop has been infested with mites or lice, scrub out the coop with a 3-to-1 water-to-bleach solution. Scrub coop crevices using a toothbrush, and dust the coop (and your chickens!) with food-grade diatomaceous earth. Give your chickens a tub with fine dirt or dust sprinkled with some of the DE so they can self-treat with therapeutic dust baths. In the case of a severe infestation, a vet may need to prescribe a medication, such as oral ivermectin.

3. Rodents
Mice and rats like to visit chicken coops and help themselves to the food. Lured by chicken feed, scratch and other chicken treats, rodents will leave their droppings behind and contribute to unsanitary conditions in your coop. They might even bring mites along, which can infest your chickens.
Treatment: Rodents are most active at night, so remove scratch and pelleted food in the evening and put it back in the morning. Surround your coop with tight wire mesh, attached to the frame, so mice and rats cannot squeeze through. If you already have chicken wire on your coop, reinforce it by putting the smaller mesh overtop.

4. Flies
House and stable flies are the most common fly pests to invade your coop. Attracted by fresh feces, they can cause terrible damage to chickens with open sores, so chickens that are being bullied and have missing feathers and wounds are most susceptible. Some flies even lay eggs on chicken’s vents if the chicken has diarrhea.
Treatment: It’s easy to keep flies at bay by cleaning your coop regularly and changing the bedding often. Monitor the health of your chickens, and intervene if one or more chickens are being pecked at repeatedly. Watch for chronic diarrhea, and treat with the help of a poultry vet. Practice natural fly control on your property by eliminating damp areas where flies breed, and by using sticky fly traps near the coop.

5. Ants
If you like to give your chickens fresh food, you’ve probably discovered ants in your coop. These busy scavengers are experts at locating fresh produce, no matter where it is. Ants are also drawn to broken eggs, and will swarm a coop not long after an egg breaks. While ants can’t harm a healthy chicken, young chicks or sick or injured birds can become victims of biting ants.
Treatment: To prevent ants, remove uneaten fresh food after the chickens walk away from it and clean up any broken eggs right away. If you find ants swarming in your coop, spray them with an all-natural kitchen cleanser or a 1-to-1 vinegar-water solution. This will kill the ants without harming your birds.

6. Predators
The deadliest pests to invade a coop, predators can decimate a flock. If domestic dogs and cats, coyotes, raccoons, or even bobcats find their way into your coop, your chickens can be seriously injured or killed.
Treatment: The best way to keep predators out of your coop is to ensure it’s secure. The coop’s mesh wire should be no larger than 1-by-1-inch and should be securely fasted to a wood or metal frame. Dogs and coyotes will try to dig under the coop to gain access, so a cement or attached wooden floor is essential to keep your flock safe. You can also bury mesh or wood to deter digging predators, but it needs to be at least 1 foot deep. Raccoons are dexterous and will open latches. Make sure doors are raccoon-safe by using a carabineer to secure them.

About the Author: Audrey Pavia is a frequent contributor to Hobby Farms magazine. She keeps a flock of bantam chickens at her home in Norco, Calif.

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5 Ways to Make Coop-Cleaning Easier

Courtesy iStock/Thinkstock

Cut farm-chore corners without putting the health of your chickens at risk with one or more of these coop-cleaning techniques.

Admit it: Raising chickens is fun, but cleaning the coop can be a hassle. However, it’s a necessary part of the chicken keeper’s job, preventing health problems and decreased production in the flock. Because I work a couple side jobs in addition to a full-time farming and breeding program, I need a coop-cleaning method that’s fast and efficient. Fortunately, there are many ways to clean a chicken coop, based on your location, housing and the number of birds you keep. Here are some methods you can try on your farm.

1. Hay
Although in Florida, where I live, many chicken coops have dirt floors, I like to cover the dirt with barn lime to dry the ground and kill bacteria, then add a layer of hay overtop to minimize health issues. Hay is easier to manage than straw and is clean and dust-free, unlike pine shavings. Plus, hay is economical and easy to obtain. Although you’ll need to change it out weekly, it can be dumped straight into the compost bin.

Diatomaceous earth is often used in coops to keep mites at bay, but I prefer barn lime. Poultry experts recommend against DE because it causes respiratory illness in chickens and is harmful to their lungs. Barn lime, on the other hand, is made of crushed limestone, or calcium carbonate, which aids in the formation of eggshells. Bear in mind, barn lime is different from hydrated lime; hydrated lime should not be used for animals.

To clean the coop, we rake the ground and move the old hay to the composting bin, then rebed with barn lime and fresh hay. We clean the coop every two weeks in hot, dry weather and once a week during the wet season. For a chicken coop of 100 chickens, it takes us about 1 hour to re-bed.

2. Dropping Boards
Chickens naturally head to the coop at night to roost, so you’ll typically find a hefty number of droppings waiting for you in the morning. Minimize your morning work by placing dropping boards under the roosts. Dropping boards are plastic trays or wooden boards that can easily be installed into your chicken coop by nailing, screwing or just placing them on the ground. You’ll need to measure your coop fit the appropriate size dropping boards. As an alternative, some chicken keepers build their coops with dropping pans, wooden boxes under the roost to aid in easy cleanup.

You can find manure scrapers on the market to clean the dropping boards, but a spare taping knife or spatula can be used instead. To clean, use the scraper to pull all the droppings into a bucket. Voila! You’ve cleaned the coop! Compost the manure and use it as a natural fertilizer in the garden.

3. Removable Roosts
Many coops are constructed with built-in roosts, but you can opt for removable ones for easier cleaning and disinfecting. Use undiluted distilled vinegar or Oxine, an animal-safe product effective against bacteria, fungi and viruses, for disinfecting the roosts and inside the coop.
 
4. Deep Litter Method
For colder climates, the deep litter method is a wonderful way to keep your coop warm and easy to manage. As the name implies, the deep litter method is a way to allow your litter to build up and compost over a period of time, from a couple months to a whole season. As the litter and manure composts in the pen, it provides warmth to the chickens. For the colder states, the litter can build up the entire winter. To start the deep litter method, sprinkle barn lime to help with odor and fly control. Top with 4 to 6 inches of pine shavings or hay. Every few weeks, stir the litter, adding more barn lime and fresh shavings or hay to the mix. For natural mite and lice control, you can mix in ash once a month.

5. Tarp Method
My friend Hope E. Tolda, owner of Fancy Feathers Farm, uses the tarp method on her farm and is able to clean 15 coops in less than 1½ hours. Lay a tarp on the coop floor and top with straw. When the straw needs to be changed, fold the tarp and dump the manure and straw into the compost pile. Pressure wash the tarp and disinfect it with vinegar or Oxine before rebedding the coop.

About the Author: Alexandra Douglas is the owner of Stellar Game Birds, Poultry, and Waterfowl and author of Coturnix Revolution (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2013). She graduated from Oregon State University in 2009, majoring in Animal Sciences with a Poultry and Prevet option. She specializes in quail and shares a diversified farm with her partner, Eric.


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The Molting Process

Shorter days and cooler temperatures...For people, it’s a sign that it is back to school time and fall. To chickens, it’s a sign that it is time to renew their feathers. Losing feathers and re-growing them is called molting and occurs every year when the days get shorter.

During molt, chickens typically stop laying eggs and use this time to build up their nutrient reserves. Even though they are not laying, it is critical that your chickens have a high quality diet during this time.
Feeding a high quality ration through molt will help your birds get through the molting process and back to laying eggs as quickly as possible.
Top tips for feeding through the molt:

• Feed a 16% protein layer feed like Nutrena NatureWise® or Country Feeds® that provide a complete nutrient and energy package for your birds
• Make feed available free choice
• Supplement with extra protein like sunflower seeds, cooked eggs, or peas during molt
• Limit scratch to 10% of diet during molt so you don’t dilute the protein content of the ration

Molting and growing new feathers requires a lot of energy. Feathers are 85% protein… so be sure your birds’ diet includes a highly nutritious feed like Nutrena NatureWise or Nutrena Country Feeds that consists of at least 16% protein. You don’t need to add medications or other vitamins if you’re feeding one of these feeds.

Just as your chickens have individual personalities, they will go through molt differently as well. Some lose a few feathers and grow them back in as quickly as 3-4 weeks. Other chickens lose a lot of feathers and take 12-16 weeks to grow them back.

Other tips for helping chickens get through molting:

• Reduce stress as much as possible, avoid bringing new birds into the flock if possible
• Chickens should act normal during their molt – if they seem sick, something else is wrong
• Both roosters and hens go through molt
• Avoid handling your chickens during molt, it is painful for them and increases stress

Chickens will lose feathers in a sequence starting with the head and neck and then down the back, across the breast and thighs and finally their tail feathers. The new feathers that emerge are called pinfeathers and will grow in following the same sequence they were lost.

So don’t panic when your chickens start losing their feathers and stop laying eggs. Molting is a normal and natural process of shedding feathers and re-growing them that all chickens go through. The best thing you can do to help your chickens through molt is to feed a high quality, high protein layer feed.

http://www.nutrenaworld.com/knowledge-center/poultry/the-molting-process/index.jsp

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About Chicken Molting & Mites

Feather Fixer Poultry Feed

Feather Fixer™ with Mite-Fighter™ Technology is a unique and innovative life-stage product that can also be fed year round if desired. It solves two big problems: what to feed your flock to help them get through molt quicker and helping to prevent mites.

• Optimal protein and energy levels for chickens regrowing feathers
• Mite-Fighter™ technology helps prevent mite infestation
• Organic trace minerals support feather regrowth and eggshell strength
• Added prebiotics and probiotics support proper digestion and nutrient absorption
• Natural source of greens for periods when grass is limited
• Tagetes (Aztec marigold) extract for golden yolks
• Proprietary blend of nutrients naturally supports the immune system and overall health of your flock
• Pelleted form

How does Mite-Fighter™ technology work?

• Mite-Fighter™ is a natural, proprietary ingredient that is not a chemical or a drug.
• The Mite-Fighter™ ingredient passes through the digestive system of the chicken and is excreted in the feces, making the area around the vent inhospitable for mites and helping to deter mite infestations.
• The Mite-Fighter™ ingredient has no effect on rate of lay, egg quality, egg safety for consumption, or meat quality.

About Molting & Mites:

• All hens and roosters experience molt, the normal, natural process of losing and regrowing feathers.
• Molt’s purpose is to supply chickens with fresh, new feathers.  Read more about molt in our Knowledge Center.
• Mites are external parasites that all poultry are highly susceptible to.

Comments from users:

• “Some of the chickens grew their feathers back very quickly, faster than I have ever seen before. I would definitely use it again.” - Mike H
• “The rate at which feathers re-grew and egg production returned was unbelievable. We had eggs within 2 weeks of feeding the product.” - Andy W. 
• "My chickens were quicker to re-feather by about 1 week faster than normal.” - Kristi P
• “When we began using Mite-Fighter technology on a flock with significant mites present, we immediately noticed a reduction in mites. In subsequent flocks, we are using it before infestation and to this point have not seen mites develop as in the past.” - Brad L.

• Guaranteed Analysis
• Feeding Directions
• Tips for Molt
• Ratings & Reviews

Nutrient	Level
Crude Protein	18.0%
Lysine	0.75%
Methionine	0.35%
Crude Fat	4.0%
Crude Fiber	6.0%
Calcium	3.25 - 3.75%
Phosphorus	0.45%
Salt	0.25 - 0.65%
Sodium	0.15 - 0.23%

For more information visit:  http://www.nutrenaworld.com/products/poultry/naturewise-poultry/index.jsp


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