5 Top tips for Poultry and Pet Care for surviving winter.
Tip No 1 for Chooks
Just like us, chickens feel the cold and change their laying habits during the winter months. They will molt and you will have reduced Continue reading
Tag Archives: chickens
Top Picks For Worming Pets and Livestock
Autumn is a good time to insure all livestock and pets are wormed prior to the colder winter months. This will give your pets and livestock a better chance to sustain weight and body fat during the winter months.
Below is a list of Continue reading
Keeping Poultry on A Small Scale Part 1
So what are the benefits of keeping Poultry?
Eggs are a high protein, nutritious food with very little waste. When properly managed 10 hens may produce:
2000 eggs/year = 40 eggs /week = 2kg of eggs.
As a bonus, they generate more than Continue reading
What is Coccidiossis and Why You Need to Know About It
Coccidiossis is a disease of birds and mammals that chiefly affects the intestines, caused by coccidia. It is one of the most common diseases to affect chickens and as such should be in the vocabulary of every backyard chicken keeper.
Coccidiossis is species-specific, which means if you have livestock around with coccidiosis they won’t infect your chickens and vice versa. However, coccidiosis doesn’t discriminate amongst the avian species – ducks, turkeys, geese can all pass the disease on to chickens and vice versa.*
Coccidiosis can be fatal to your chickens, however Continue reading
3 Top Tips For Preparing Your Laying Chickens For Spring
In the day of our grandparents every Aussie backyard had a Chook shed that provided eggs and the odd roast dinner.
Chickens are quite intelligent animals and require little upkeep in the grand scale of pet ownership, plus they have the added reward of egg production.
Here are 3 Top Tips To Keeping Your Flock Healthy For Spring and Maximum Egg Production..
Diatomaceous Earth For Your Flock and Stock
What is Diatomaceous Earth?
Diatomaceous earth is made from the fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a natural substance called silica. Over a long period of time, diatoms accumulated in the sediment of rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. Today, silica deposits are mined from these areas.
Silica is very common in nature and makes up 26% of the earth’s crust by weight. Various forms of silica include sand, emerald, quartz, feldspar, mica, clay, asbestos, and glass. Silicon, a component of silica, does not exist naturally in its pure form. It usually reacts with oxygen and water to form silicon dioxide. Silicon dioxide has two naturally occurring forms: crystalline and amorphous. Most diatomaceous earth is made of amorphous silicon dioxide. However, it can contain very low levels of crystalline silicon dioxide.*
What is the Uses for this Product, You Say? Continue reading
Controlling External Parasites in Your Flock
Most external parasites that affect birds don’t live on humans, but a few will take a bite out of you if they get on you. You don’t want parasites on you, and you may want your chickens to be as comfortable and healthy as possible.
Chicken parasites are a given in most backyard coops. External parasites — lice, mites, and ticks — are the Continue reading
Cheap Layer Feed.. Is It Really Cheaper?
Is Cheaper Better For Egg Production?
This article aims to give those who are feeding poultry a working knowledge of a few areas to consider when feeding poultry for egg production. Assuming that feed & cool clean drinking water is available and accessible to all birds 24/7 and that there are no health complications there are a two
key areas that Continue reading
Help, the chickens have had a pillow fight!
Does your Coop look like your chickens have been in a Pillow Fight?
No need to worry! It is usually due to regular moulting which occurs in Late Summer or Autumn (assuming your flock has no parasites, diseases, lack of normal light conditions, water or food).
What is Moulting?
Continue reading
Happy Hens, the Laying Phase
What you need to know to about the Laying Phase of your Hens
Laying Phase (18 – >52 weeks)
If you have reared your hens from chicks they can now be fully introduced to other mature hens if desired.
Although Vella Stock Feed Pullet Grower can still be fed to birds coming onto point of lay, it is desirable to us a true layer feed as it is more nutritionallybalanced to assist the bird with Continue reading