What do fleas , flies and feathers have in common ? They love their poultry hosts . In this episode , we look at some bugs that can bother our feathered friends and what we can do about them . We also treat the dangers of winter and the risk of frostbite , the importance of caparison for health and what to keep in your Gallus gallus first - aid outfit . Here we cover the letter F through I. Let ’s start with feathers . ( Read the other installments of the serial publication here : Part 1,Part 2,Part 4,Part 5,Part 6 . )
Feathers
Your poulet ’s feather are her home . They protect her skin and keep her isolate against cold ; feather wellness is a direct manifestation of a wimp ’s overall health . A healthy chicken ’s feathers are smooth and glossy , bright and colourful .
Feather health is important to the chicken keeper , too . A bird ’s feathers and the feathers ’ appearing are often a first indicator of illness , disease or accidental injury . How many fourth dimension have you find something amiss by the flavour of a biddy ’s feathers ?
Gallus gallus naturally lose their feathers once per year during the annual molt . It ’s easy to slip this natural process as a sign of inauspicious health . take care closely at your snort ’s behavior and determine whether there are other symptoms before panicking . That said , feather loss ( aside from the annual molt ) is grounds to pay close tending . Roosters often bear down bald patches on a hen ’s back from coupling ; feathering pick is a cannibalistic natural process that can be evidence of severe bullying ; and many mintage of louse prefer the plume as a home .
The right news is that you need n’t do anything special to care for your fowl ’s feathers . She ’ll take caution of that on her own . Your job is providing the opportunities for her to do what she involve .
Each healthy bird is responsible for for her own grooming and feather health . After a exhaustive detritus tub , the poulet finds a billet to roost and plume herself from head to shank . Sourcing a special feather vegetable oil from her preen gland , located at the stem of her poop , each chicken apply her beak to distribute the oil colour throughout her plumage . Your job is to supply decent dust - washup material — such as loose soil , mulch , George Sand or other wry , loose cloth — and a place to rest . She ’ll do the rest .
Chickens keep their feathers clean by dust bath . This is the act of roll or go around in grime to clean the skin and feather of leech , dead skin and other irritant . “ It also helps foreclose the buildup of the vegetable oil from preen , ” indite Jacquie Jacob , poultry extension project director at the University of Kentucky in “ Normal Behaviors of Chickens in Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks . ” “ When chickens do not have access code to debris bathing tub , they will all the same go through the motion of debris bathing . In behavioural bailiwick , hens have present a willingness to shape to gain access to textile for dust bathing . ”
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Fleas & Flies
Fleas and fly are insects that bung on the blood of volaille and live on off the body to breed and perpetuate their life cps . The European chick flea ( Ceratophyllus gallinae ) and the western hen flea ( Ceratophyllus niger ) are the two species most likely to move North American flocks . Both flea type breed in nests , bedding and dung , and they return to the birds for blood meal .
dim flies and biting fly sheet are larger insects found near stagnant pee . Filth fly breed in soggy manure and damp bedding .
What ’s the impairment in a flea or fly , you wonder ? Well , an plague of either worm can go to free weight loss or dull growth in young boo as well as physical damage to essence shuttlecock , and it might pretend testicle production in laying hens . Heavy plague of flea or flies can severely counteract chicks and sick of birds , perhaps resulting in death . These insects can also , of course , carry and spread disease from one birdie to another .
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Because population of these two insect are supported by damp conditions , keep bedding , nest boxes and litter dry . Check spigot , waterers and roof for leaks , and remove all source of stagnant piss . To control flies , houseclean the cage thoroughly after remove the litter and exchange with fresh bedding . Improve ventilation on very hot days specially , because rainfly do n’t wish move breeze . Flytraps give ear out of reach of the chickens as well as other commercially available fly - command product can help you control the tent flap universe .
The most effective path to control flies is by manure management . “ As many as 1,000 house fly sheet can complete development in 1 pound of breeding material , ” note extension specialist Jeffery Tomberlin and Bart Drees in “ Poultry Pest Management ” written for Texas A&M Agrilife Extension . “ Fresh domestic fowl manure contains 75 to 80 pct wet , which crap it idealistic for fly fosterage . you could practically pass fly multiply in this material by reducing the moisture cognitive content to 30 pct or less . dry out manure is prefer because once dried , it will occupy less place , usually has less odor and is more well enrapture off site . Also , high - moisture manure often results in gamy black garbage rainfly population . ”
Frostbite
In wintertime , a biddy sleeps with her promontory tucked under a wing ; a cock does not . In biting cold temperature , rooster ’ extra with child combs are exposed to the extremes , lay them at risk . When frozen , a cockscomb or lappet will appear pale . If you could catch this at the fixed stage , lend oneself a warm , wet cloth ; leave it to dry ; and then utilise food - ground level oil . If it has frozen and already thawed , you might find it ’s bright blood-red and swollen . It might appear painful . At this stage , you may still apply food - level oil or honey on the appendage to raise healing .
Serious cases of cryopathy can leave a rooster permanently ill or even unfertile . If you distrust frostbite or serious freeze , find out the rooster cautiously , as his wound could damp him , which can depart him susceptible to pecking from the rest of the flock . If necessary , isolate an injured skirt for care . If the wattle or comb bend contraband and the tissue paper is dead , it might take to be surgically removed .
There is n’t one easy way to prevent frostbite , but you may take several measures to assist . For this and many other reasons , make certain your hencoop is decent insulate but also has first-class ventilating system . Monitor chickens closely during the wintertime , and ensure they always have fresh pee .
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In cold weather , checker birds daily for sign of frostbite . “ Before giving frostbite an chance to stress and damage your birds , employ a thick level of [ petroleum jelly ] to the entire surface of coxcomb and lappet , ” says Brigid McCrea , poultry medical specialist at Delaware State University , in “ The BASIC of : Winterizing Your Coop . ”
Housing
While they ’re scrappy and tenacious in general , chickens are most vulnerable at dark . Their night vision is poor , and their defending team are minimum . Their beneficial defense against the predators of the night and cold during winter is a right shelter .
As a Gallus gallus keeper , this is where you come in . make a coop for poulet that is secure from marauder : It should be devoid of gaps and drafts . The roof should be secure . ironware cloth mesh is best to draw all of the window and door , with secure latches on all of the threshold and nest boxes . As mentioned antecedently , provide excellent ventilation system but keep the coop free from draft copy . For laying flock , provide one nest box for every four to five hens ; quiet but sturdy roost that are higher than the nest boxes ; and dry , safe bedding material — such as hay or pine shavings — on the flooring and in the nest corner .
Housing is an important subject in the human race of keep poulet . retrieve that your hencoop is the home base for your birds : They will issue forth back to it each dark at dusk and bank on its walls for their very safety .
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“ For backyard chicken - holding , you may have a variety of different setups , each with its own vantage and disadvantages , ” write Kevin McElroy and Matthew Wolpe inReinventing the Chicken Coop . “ decide which frame-up is right for you postulate many considerations , such as the amount of available place , local zone ordinances , weather , the figure of chicken you ’d like to keep and how much prison term you want to spend on maintenance . ”
Injury
A tussle with another bird , a streak - in with a predator , a tear on a loose opus of conducting wire — at any time in the spirit of a flock , an injury might occur . And just like with our own bodily needs , it help to have a workings , fully stocked first - aid outfit at the quick for the little injury .
Here are a few items to keep on hired hand for a wimp emergency :
cover open wound by jog feathers away from the edges of the combat injury , suggests generator and chicken keeper Christine Heinrichs in How to elevate Poultry . “ Wash with neat H2O and implement antibiotic emollient twice day by day , ” she publish . “ debris or spray insecticide around wounds to prevent maggots . ”
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keep back chicken is lease — the raspberry always keep us on our toes . This is especially true when they ’re disgusted , injured or roleplay host to one C of creepy crawlies . Some coop alimony and a little diligence in cleanup goes a long way toward preventing pests and injuries , keep your birds healthy and making certain their feathers smoothen brightly .
This history primitively appear in the May / June 2018 proceeds ofChickensmagazine .
