What Preps are you doing this week? Part 4

[BlinkingCory]

Dont forget the Red Mites ! Never a dull moment with hens what breed have you got ?

Six Neras and three Goldlines (about to be retired over the coming
couple of weeks)

The Goldlines were amazing layers, pretty much an egg a day last year, hopefully the Neras will be as good.

We've been really lucky with mites, but I do use poultry shield for their gaff.

[jansman]

I had a bad year with mites in 2015. I burned the housing ( 10 years old) and started again. Now I use mite powder and a regular spraying of Jeyes Fluid. Had no problem at all last year. Back in the day I used Duramitex. Worked great but was banned as I believe it was an organophosphate. Hell, I even bathed the lurchers in it! They never got fleas or ticks though!

Good luck with the new stock.

[BlinkingCory]

Thanks jansman.
I love keeping chickens, only problem is the mrs wont eat em!
I'm happy to in the knowledge that they've had a great outdoor life.
We are getting three more in a couple of weeks, it's very rewarding that we and the family eat the (as you know) tastiest and freshest eggs possible.
As well as helping our neighbour (and friend) with eggs, the mrs takes any surplus to work every Monday. They get snapped up at a very reasonable price. Proceeds go to our fave charity.Win-win all around.

[jansman]

LIKE^^^

[gamekeeper752]

Touch wood, never had a mite problem,scaly leg, gapes or anything else, but I put that down to good husbandry.
The girls get cleaned out completely weekly with out fail, and Jays fluid cleaned twice a year, and repainted inside and out,once a year.
There's a covered area for them to dust bath as well as grit and shell for them to eat,but most importantly they are picked up everyday and checked over top to bottom literally.


And what can be better, when life seems a bit daft, than to watch them scratching around.

[shocker]

Gamekeeper in name and deed!

When I still kept Bantams, before fox hunting was severely curtailed (they ate 'em all) I had immense problems catching my birds to look at them. They even took to roosting in a tree so I couldnt get to them while they slept. If I had to cull a cockerill I had to shoot the bugger with an air rifle. And softy that I am I would only take a head shot. It took a while.

[gamekeeper752]

Rabbit snare on a pole, shine the torch, out pops the head to have a look loop over the neck quick pull and bobs your uncle.

Bantams are great and hassle free, but give them space, and suddenly you've wild birds every where and each broad that make it, get wilder and wilder. Gotta keep them fenced in, and treat them like chickens if that makes sense, also you can keep an eye on what goes broody and get them to hatch what you want( and for a giggle watch a bantam hen with a brood of ducklings and what happens when they first go into the water)

Will cheer up even the darkest day.

[MBJ]

This arrived today from Military Mart. It's a Swedish Army 6 pocket (2 in the rear) M39 Wool jacket.

I've been looking for a wool jacket / coat for awhile since wool is an incredibly good material for keeping warm and will maintain your body temperature even when wet.

Surprisingly, it is in extremely good condition considering its age and use.

The best bit? The price. Cost me £15. Bargain!

[shocker]

I used to keep Indian Runner ducks purely for entertainment value - the best slapstick comedy going

[Le Mouse]

Picked up a weeny First Aid Kit in Poundland today. Not much in the way of contents, although the scissors are a better size for EDC than the whoppers that come with the kit I bought from St John Ambulance after my training. And the little red zip-up pouch is a) easier to fit in my bag and b) bright and obvious enough to be found in said bag. I'll have a look online for supplies to top up the contents. I did also pick up a pack of aspirin for the kit - in case of heart attack (hopefully not me). One layer of tablets for the main FAK, the other for the EDC kit.

I'm very grateful to my work for paying for my First Aid training. It does mean that I am first aider for *a lot* of people at work, but not a bad price to pay to have the skills which might save a life one day - possibly even my own. I work at a university so I mainly encounter staff members needing plasters for blisters, and the odd poorly student, normally around exam time because the silly beggars haven't had breakfast and they've come over all faint. The only thing major I've encountered so far was a student who hadn't taken her medication that day and was having a terrible allergic reaction. When I got her to the medical centre on campus, I went to get her some water and found a man all alone having an epileptic fit in one of the treatment rooms!