Hi all, I am so sorry that I have not written for so long it has just been so hectic - I will try to write more often when I believe I have something that may help.

In the last 6 weeks we have sold more feather peck spray than in the last 12 months, feather pecking seems to be on the up. Due to the wet 2008 and cold winter 2008/2009 feather pecking is dramatically on the increase and I believe this is a quick protein fix for the birds.

It is important to use Ukadex to stop the pecking but also pro-poultry vits with their feed to condition them up so the protein fix/craving is removed, without removing the craving feather pecking is likley to return. You can also boil and then mash up some eggs and mix with some layers pellets for a week which should help with boosting their protein levels - NEVER GIVE THEM RAW EGGS.

What I would also suggest is to stop next winters feather pecking is to use pro poultry vits again from mid september and also give the birds a handful of cut maize every night raising to 2 handfuls at the end of october until mid december, then moving on to mixed poultry corn from december to mid-end of feb. This should allow the birds to fatten up (condition) themselves for the winter and really start the season off running from early March.

Layers pellets is fantastic feed and gives the birds most of what they need but a helping hand over the darker colder months really brings them through ready to get back to good quality healthy laying during the warmer lighter months. I always find feather pecking is not a problem this way and egg quality / volume is better this way.

I hope this helps your girls

As I am asked this question on a daily basis I thought it best to put it here on the blog.

“What is the doesage for my chickens?” - Well there are really three measures, 6 drops for large fowl - 4 drops for bantams and 2-3 drops for seabrights.

As chicken wormers go I am wavering from flubenvet my all time fav to this, as I have started getting lazy and using this as a louse prevention as well makes my life easier.

Please dont forget to worm your chickens every 3-6 months and with all good wormers there will be an egg withdrawl period from human consumption. 14 days is the period for Ivermectin chicken wormer.

Yes we all have seen a huge surge in all forms of mite this year, it is not our fault but that of amazing weather conditions but treatment is costly so accurate treatment is vital.

We have had so many orders for red mite powder this year which is great for me but overall not good news for you, but correct usage will help you and your birds and save you a few £ and lose me a bit of revenue. Our aim though is also to sell you a product that works.

If you have a chicken house that has thousands of mites or even 100’s then red mite powder will NOT work, this is classified as an infestation. At this stage you must let the birds out do NOT clean the house and use our mite kill spray very liberally then close the house for 60 minutes and let it do its job. The mites are dead. Now clean the house (if you cleaned the house before you were rescuing them by removing them outside before spraying them. Repeat this spraying in 5 days no later than 7 days as all the eggs will hatch and you will be infested again, kill them in 5 days and you have d=broken their cycle, do not spray in 5 days and the first spraying becomes a costly respite only as they are back.

Now you have sprayed the second time the red mite powder comes into effect as a PREVENTION rather than cure, sprinkle small ammounts of red mite powder where the perches meet the walls of the houses and in the knooks and crannies of the house. I work on the principle of mites come down to feed and back up to hide and rest so think like a hungry mite and you will know where to sprinkle and kill them.

Large ammounts of red mite powder are usless, think light dusting on a regular basis and it will work, a large clump makes it ineffective.

Hopefully this will save you a few £, keep mites away and make keeping chickens more enjoyable for them and you.

(Sorry if you have a felt roof on your house the above does not really work as the mite will breed under the felt and you can not treat them, please remove the felt and worse case replace with corragated roofing so mites will not live there then use the method above)

Another week is almost over and again I have had 100’s of emails with regards sick chickens. It is great that you all care so much but please remember chickens given the correct living enviroment are very hardy creatures.

I would like say again, as I am sure I you will remember me saying before, please remember to worm your chickens every 3-6 months. This in my opinion is so over looked but such a vital part of chicken keeping.

I would say with this being done on a regular basis would reduce your worries by 50% on the emails and calls I get.

Next please remember to clean houses regularly and check for mites and lice often, keeping these down will help keep birds healthy.

Finally number 3 keep bedding and house dry with ideally 2-4″ clear air movement under the house and you should significantly reduce mycroplasma (the cold) but can be fatal if not treated fast.

If you do the 3 things above then I have found that sick chickens are 80% down on current numbers.

I know how much you all care about your birds as wonderful pets but if you also think of them as grazing livestock then this should also help remind you of the big 3 above and you should have many happy and rewarding years with your flocks

We now offer ivermectin 0.8% mite and parasite killer for chickens. This great product has many uses, it can kill chicken lice, red mite (that bite birds) and as a parasite killer it is also a wormer. It is amazing just 6 drops on the nape of large fowl or 3-4 drops on small fowl and the job is done for you it can be found on our site at Ivermectin .

Like any bird wormer there is a withdrawl period of 10-14 days for eggs for human consumption. If you are also using for red mite, this treats the birds only against mites that bite them. RED MITE are house dwellers so you will need to treat the house as well. Ideally using red mite powder and mite kill spray.

Chickens should be wormed every 3-6 months and this makes the job super easy.

Of course we make money selling red mite sprays and powders but we prefer healthy chickens for our customers. Red Mite will live and breed under felt and you will never be able to kill them off, you will spend £10’s to £100’s on treatments that will never kill the safe eggs under the felt on the roof. Please save yourself money and hassle and stay away from chicken houses with felt roofs. It really is not worth it.

Chickens do need to be wormed on a regular basis. I am saddened to hear recently of chickens dying from worms and secondary infections. Treating your birds every 3 to 6 months will be ideal and hopefully keep them heatly pets and good egg layers, not worming your chickens may and often does lead to fatalities.

Worming chickens is easy, you can use flubenvet which is a powder, I mix the daily dose with cod liver oil and mixed corn so it sticks and I know it will be consumed quickly and with cod liver oil i am also giving the birds a good conditioner. As it has oil on it I do not feed with the normal feed, I have a seperate area for the treated feed.

If this is too much for you dont worry there is a chicken wormer called Verm-X which you add to the water, it is not as good as flubenvet but if you stick to the treatment as advised on the label, regular use will keep internal parasites at bay.

Bout products are available in our shop or others do sell them, please where evey you get them from use them as guided and keep your chickens healthy, they deserve it.