Mareks Disease paralysis

 

Mareks Disease

Mareks disease is a Herpes virus infection of chickens and turkeys that live with chickens.  The eighties and nineties brought some highly virulent strains to the U.S. and Europe.

Symptoms are neurological problems such as floppy necks, transient paralysis, long standing paralysis of the legs or wings, eye lesions, tumors in the hear, ovaryies, testies, muscles, lungs, and feather follicles.  It is highly contagious, between ten and fifty percent of a flock will come down with the  virus and mortality reaches one hundred percent.  Once it roars through a flock the mortality will continue for nearly three quarters of a year and the weakened bird are susceptible to other bacterial, viral, and parasitical diseases.

 

Usually spread through respiratory means and also dander from infected feather follicles.  The surviving birds remain carriers for life.  The virus is quite hardy, surviving outside of a host for over a year and resistant to ammonia and phenol based disinfectants.  It easily survives freeing and thawing.
Signs of Mareks disease are paralysis of the legs, wings, and neck, loss of weight, grey or irregular pupils, partial blindness, skin around feather follicles is rough and raised.  .Prevention depends upon biosecurity, sanitation and hygiene, all in and all out production where possible, purchasing resistant strains, and vaccination.  Once again a good bird proof treadle feeder is a must.

 

Mareks paralysis

 

Even when extreme biosecurity is practiced Mareks disease can find its way into your flock.  Due to the tenacity of the disease it is a good idea to disinfect after visiting a feed store, not allowing other flock owners to visit your coops, not visiting other coops, and purchasing hatching eggs instead of hatched chicks.  Commercial or backyard flocks will spread the disease through wild birds and the disease is so hard to eradicate that farmers once recommended burning the entire chicken house to the ground along with the chickens in it.  However keeping a closed flock, vaccinating, and possibly even breeding for resistance to the disease is worth trying. 

Vaccinations do not actually stop the transmission of the disease but it does lessen the severity which in turn allows the bird to live to spread the disease.    Breeding for resistance would require being hard hearted, not treating birds that contract the disease but culling the birds and burning the carcasses.  
 

.  That also means not relying upon disinfectants other than lime to expose the birds to all sorts of bacteria and viruses.   Good nutrition, clean and un-crowded coops are a necessity if you attempt this route.  Deliberate exposure to disease rather than attempting biosecurity and allow the fittest to survive.

 

Purebred animals are always less vigorous and less hardy and that extends to disease as well.  Deliberately exposing the birds instead of biosecurity, antibiotics, and coddling the flock is the only possible way to breed resistance into the flock.  Any surviving birds will be the most resistant to the disease and should be used as the brood stock for future generations.

 

 

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Infectious Coryza

 

Infectious Coryza

Infectious Coryza is a really, really, bad cold that chickens, pheasants, and guineas can catch.  It is an upper respiratory infection with lots snot and mucus.  Caused by the bacteria Haemophilus paragallinarum, it occurs mostly in flocks that tend to be self perpetuating rather than commercial flocks where the entire flock periodically are replaced.  Once a bird has survived the disease it is not likely to become re-infected but it is a carrier of the disease for the rest of its life.  It is highly contagious but the mortality will be less than 20 % if secondary infections do not set in.   The bacteria is spread mostly through nasal discharge with an incubation period of one to three days followed by the sudden disease lasting around ten days.  The bacteria is hardy and can survive for several days outside a host but is easy to kill using heat, drying and disinfectants.   

Symptoms include facial swelling, eye and nasal discharges, swollen wattles, sneezing, listlessness, egg production dropping,  and lack of appetite.  The birds don’t like to drink water as much and the head and mouth will have a putrid smell.  As it is a bacterium, streptomycin, Dihydrostrepomycin, sulphonamides, tylosin, erythromycin, and flouroquinolones are useful and effective.    Water based antibiotics are less effective.  Bytril (enrofloxicin) is effective but expensive and available only through vets.  Tylan is an inexpensive antibiotic available over the counter.  Dosage is ¾ of a CC injected into the breast muscle, followed by a second shot in four days if the bird hasn’t fully recovered.

As the disease is more common in multi generational flocks, a policy of all in and all out where possible like meat birds or layers helps.  Two doses of bacterin might reduce the severity of the disease when it hits.  Vaccines are available and the vaccines do provide some cross protection from other strains.

Once the disease has entered a flock it is never eradicated as all surviving birds will be carriers.  New birds brought in will catch the disease and any birds sold or given away will spread the disease to other flocks.  Wild birds visiting your flock’s feeders or waterers will either carry the disease or spread it to other flocks nearby so at the risk of sounding like a broken record a good wild bird proof chicken feeder is an essential, not a luxury.  The most surefire way of eradicating the disease is to kill the entire flock once they have recovered and heavily disinfect the entire coop and surrounding areas.  Scrub and disinfect everything including the ground.  A good coating of whitewash and digging some lime into the ground is a good idea.  Let the building and equipment sit vacant for two months before bringing in new birds from a trusted hatchery.

 

 Replacing the entire flock isn’t overkill when you consider the inability, or inadvisability, to sell live birds once you know your flock is infected and carriers.  Entire generations of birds to come will have to be treated and they in turn will spread the disease to the next batch.

 

 

 

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Infectious Bronchitis

Probably the most common of all the respiratory diseases, bronchitis virulence will depend upon the ate of the bird, prior vaccinations or maternal immunity in young birds, the strain of the bronchitis, and any byproduct infections such as mycoplasma, E. coli, or Newcastle disease.

Between half and one hundred percent of the flock will catch the disease and the mortality rate will run between zero and twenty five percent.  It is caused by a virus that has a high mutation rate.  Infection occurs through contact, sneezing, and coughing, with an incubation rate of eighteen to thirty six hours.  Birds can be carriers for up to one year and the virus can survive for up to four weeks without a host.  Poor ventilation and crowded conditions increase the risk of infections.  The virus can be killed using solvents, heat, alkalis, and disinfectants.

The symptoms are huddling, listlessness, loss of appetite, coughing, gasping, wet liter, diarrhea,
Treatments include Sodium salicylate 1gm/litre (acute phase) and antibiotics to control secondary infections.   Soluble Tylan for mycoplasma infections is a good idea.  There are live vaccines, maternal immunity will protect chicks for two to three weeks and immunity will begin ten to fourteen weeks after vaccination.

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Past the above treatments simply keeping the birds clean, warm, and dry is about all you can do other than giving the coop a good disinfecting.    As wild birds will spread the disease we come back again to the value of a good bird proof/rat proof treadle feeder to prevent diseases. 

 

 

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Cholera

 

Fowl Cholera

Cholera can come on suddenly.  It is bacterial, Pasteurella multocida, highly contagious, and will affect chickens, turkeys, and water fowl.  The incubation rate is around five to eight days.  Mortality rate can be as high as 100%.  The disease is spread through nasal contact, feces, contaminated soil, equipment, or people.
The bacteria can be destroyed using disinfectants but is very difficult to eradicate from the soil.  Rodents, cats, wild birds, even pigs can carry fowl cholera.  Once again we see the importance of keeping rats and mice at bay by using a rat proof treadle feeder.   Crowded conditions and other respiratory diseases will predispose birds to catching cholera. 

 

Treatment

Sulphonamides, tetracyclines, erythromycin, streptomycin, and penicillin will treat the infection but long term medication is required along with a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the coop and surrounding area.  Keeping biosecurity tight, good rodent control, and hygiene helps prevent the disease.   There are vaccines available for six week old birds and bacterins should be given at eight and twelve weeks.  While Fowl Cholera isn’t the horror it is in human epidemics it is something to work at keeping at bay through biosecurity including the elimination of rats, mice, squirrels and wild birds.

 

 

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Botulism paralysis

Botulism

Botulism is a bacterial toxin produced by Clostridium Botulinum, types A and C.    Rotting animals produce the bacteria as well as rotting plant matter, even mud can have the bacteria and the toxins.  Most domestic fowl can be harmed by botulism, it does not spread like a viral disease as the birds have to consume the bacteria or the toxin.  Mortality is high and the spores and toxin are stable and can survive a long time outside of a rotting carcass or rotting plant matter.  Dead poultry carcasses buried in the litter or meal worms that have consumed a rotting carcass could be the causation.

Signs of botulism.

Nervous system problems, weakness, progressive paralysis of the legs, wings, then the neck, followed by death.  Chickens tend to lay in the litter with eyes closed, the beaks are sometimes dirty from resting on the litter more than usual.  The body will be extremely limber and a bird will not be able to hold up its head.  Eventually the paralysis spreads to the heart and lungs and causes death.

As with most diseases, prevention is better than a cure.   Try to keep rotting food away from the birds and clean up any stagnant water.  Remove all dead birds as soon as possible.  Feeding road kill by hanging and allowing the maggots to drop into the pen is not a good idea due to botulism risks.

Treatment, there is an antitoxin available from vets.  Bactracin and streptomycin sometimes have been said to work.  It is possible to flush the bird at the onset of symptoms, flushing out the rotting food starting with Epson salts or molasses flushes but that itself can kill the bird and is considered a last ditch effort.   You can also use the selenium treatment, one part potassium permanganate to 3000 pars of water. 
Past the anti-toxins and flushing all you can do is nurse the bird and try to get it to eat so the old rotting food gets flushed out.  Some people claim that if caught early, burned black toast or medicinal charcoal, apple cider vinegar, mixed with water in a blender will help flush the toxins out of the bird’s guts.

 

 

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Fowl Pox eye discharge

Fowl Pox, Pox, Avian Pox

Pox is a viral disease recognized by skin lesions on the inside of the throat and nasal cavities of chickens, turkeys, pigeons and canaries.  It is highly contagious and the mortality rate will be zero to fifty percent.  It is relatively slow moving as it is spread by skin abrasions, bites, respiratory methods, or bits from mosquitoes, mites, and wild birds.  The virus is persistent, lasting for months without a host.   Male birds get it quicker due to fighting that causes abrasions.  The disease will run for about 14 days per bird.

The signs are a warty looking eruptions or scabs on combs and wattles, deposits or sores in the mouth, throat, and trachea, lethargic birds, low appetite, slow growth, and poor egg production.   In severe cases gasping for breath, green, yellow, or clear discharge from eyes and mouth, eyes swollen shut, large wet or dry scabs on beaks and mouth, losing weight, bad odor from head and mouths, constantly sleeping, even being unable to walk.

Flocks or individual birds that have not contacted the virus can be vaccinated.  You can’t really “treat” pox as it is a virus but you can manage the symptoms.  Some birds will get secondary infection inside their eyes and nostrils.  Be sure and vaccinate the unaffected birds as soon as the first case appears.  Use the vaccine within one to two hours of opening the vial, you can’t save the remainder, throw it away.  Any birds showing symptoms no matter how mild should not be vaccinated and once birds are vaccinated quarantine them for at least a month

To vaccinate you inject the vaccine using a small forked applicator into the win web after the age of four weeks.   Pullets should be vaccinated one to two months prior to egg production then given a booster each year thereafter..  Chicks have a special pox vaccination and a booster at eight weeks is a good idea.

Fowl pox

Turkeys are vaccinated at  two to three months of age but the thigh is chosen as the vaccination point. Give a booster shot one to two months before egg laying begins and every year after that.

Wet pox gets its name from having more lesions inside the throat and nasal cavities, enough that it can suffocate the bird.  Dry pox refers to the strain or severity of the pox leaving mostly scabs and lesions on the face, wattles, and combs of the birds.  It is best to vaccinate annually in the spring before mosquitoes and midges come out.

Quail get a special quail pox vaccine.  However the various pox vaccines don’t offer cross protection against the various strains of wild pox.  Laying hens stricken with pox will stop laying and recover in two to three weeks. 

The fowl pox strains are not capable of crossing over to humans through contact or eating the meat and eggs.  Human chickenpox is a different virus unrelated to fowl pox viruses.

Since you can’t “treat” the disease directly all you can do is treat the symptoms if you want to try to save a bird that has a severe case of wet pox.    Plan on spending six weeks and a lot of time per day nursing the birds and cleaning them constantly. Useful supplies include penicillin and Duramycin Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder (DTHSP ) to treat any secondary infections (useless against the virus itself) , anti bacterial soap for general cleaning, saline solution for cleaning infected eyes and nostrils, crumbles for making hot mash meals, Gatorade to replenish lost electrolytes, yogurt for feeding, latex gloves, bleach for general sanitation, and a syringe without the needle for irrigating infected eyes and nostrils.   In the worst cases the birds will be blinded at the onset so have wide, shallow pans to feed them in and use the moistened crumbles, scrambled eggs, and yogurt to encourage them to eat.  Once they regain their appetite they will eat regular pellets and crumbles if they can find them.

Vaccines and inoculation fork

Water dishes also need to be large and shallow so the blind birds can drink.  You will of course quarantine the birds in a small pen so they are able to find the food and water pans.

Always wear fresh latex gloves, mask, and eye protection.    Clean the bird’s facial area using anti bacterial soap a few times a day.  If the scabs don’t start flaking off in a few weeks you might try pulling the scabs and using the saline solution to rinse off the wounds.  If their eyes are swollen shut try to gently squeeze some of the puss out of the eyes and rinse with the sterile saline solution

Mix the DTHSP into the water according to the directions every day, replacing any old water. 

 

Use the syringe to squirt a bit of water down their throats as they won’t be drinking as much water as they should.  You can also give fresh water and the Gatorade a few times a day, around 3 cc’s at a time.  Oral Penicillin three times a day for the birds with secondary infections, every day till the end of the treatment cycle recommended on the packaging.Bathe the birds at the beginning and once a week during treatment, drying them off well and providing a heat lamp that they can move away from if the quarantine area is cool.  Remove the heat lamp once the birds are all dried off.  Scrub the entire area with bleach water every few days to keep the secondary infections to a minimum as the birds are in a weakened state and susceptible.  
 

 

Water dishes also need to be large and shallow so the blind birds can drink.  You will of course quarantine the birds in a small pen so they are able to find the food and water pans.

 

Always wear fresh latex gloves, mask, and eye protection.    Clean the bird’s facial area using anti bacterial soap a few times a day.  If the scabs don’t start flaking off in a few weeks you might try pulling the scabs and using the saline solution to rinse off the wounds.  If their eyes are swollen shut try to gently squeeze some of the puss out of the eyes and rinse with the sterile saline solution

 

Mix the DTHSP into the water according to the directions every day, replacing any old water.  Use the syringe to squirt a bit of water down their throats as they won’t be drinking as much water as they should.  You can also give fresh water and the Gatorade a few times a day, around 3 cc’s at a time.  Oral Penicillin three times a day for the birds with secondary infections, every day till the end of the treatment cycle recommended on the packaging.

 

Since you can’t “treat” the disease directly all you can do is treat the symptoms if you want to try to save a bird that has a severe case of wet pox.    Plan on spending six weeks and a lot of time per day nursing the birds and cleaning them constantly. Useful supplies include penicillin and Duramycin Tetracycline Hydrochloride Soluble Powder (DTHSP ) to treat any secondary infections (useless against the virus itself) , anti bacterial soap for general cleaning, saline solution for cleaning infected eyes and nostrils, crumbles for making hot mash meals, Gatorade to replenish lost electrolytes, yogurt for feeding, latex gloves, bleach for general sanitation, and a syringe without the needle for irrigating infected eyes and nostrils.
In addition, certain elements will be centered on mobile devices and tablets and aligned to the left or right on a desktop display. You can adjust the layout for each GridBlock at three different device widths – desktop, tablet, and mobile.   As Fowl Pox can be spread by wild birds the necessity of a

good treadle feeder is once again underscored

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This is why we made this website….

While this is a feeder picture  might be of a different style Olba feeder, belonging to a guy that thought his bird was injured by “pecking”,  it shows just how dangerous these deep style feeders can be to the chickens.

  Full width treadles are not safe nor are they truly vermin proof as customer reviews sometimes point out.  The rats and wild birds can walk right up on the wide treadle with plenty of room for plenty of buddies, and if their weight alone doesn’t trip the treadle and open the door they can simply push the door open due to a lack of a proper counterweight system and a spring pre-loading the door.

Olba, a European manufacturer, offers their standard plastic top/plastic treadle/plastic feed tray and bottom feeder but they also will make variations of their feeder, even custom make a feeder to your specifications.  But they all revolve around the basic side panel with the deep recessed door like the Olba feeder in the picture above.

Primary Link | Secondary Link

 

Customer with Bloody Head Chickens Gets Slapped on the Head by the Re-Seller Too

We found this comment on an Amazon customer review section for the Olba Feed o Matic sold by a re-seller of the Olba Feed o Matic treadle chicken feeder,  a company named RentAcoop.  The screen shot is tiny so here is a link to read the actual customer review and the reply by RentAcoop.

 

 

The comment says:  “The hens heads were beaten up by the door – to the point of bloody heads – the pellets do not flow easily.”    And the reply blames the bloody heads on the chickens fighting…. not getting trapped in the Olba Feed o Matic sold by RentAcoop.  Now really…rarely do ALL of the birds fight and rarely do ALL of the hens get bloodied up.  It is always one, two at the most.

The re-seller has an inventory of these items, shipped in at great expense and they want to recover their money by selling the feeders, we get that, but dismissing the customer’s complaint without asking for proof… and they probably knew better than to ask them to post pictures, is not good customer service.

Enlarged section of the screen shot of the Amazon product search page showing over twice as many reviews as sales
Unicorn Smasher screen shot of Amazon product search page with the Olba Feed o Matic sales and review details

Never Trust Amazon Reviews

  • The reviews can be manipulated, re-sellers set up Amazon IDs and post fake reviews, some even purchase their own products through the other ID accounts and post “verified buyer” reviews
  • Prior to late 2016 Amazon allowed product give always in exchange for reviews, you will see that almost all of the first ten initial reviews for the Olba feeders were free product reviews
  • Amazon still gives away their products in exchange for reviews but has stopped other sellers  from doing the same
  • As a reviewer, do you imagine that you are going to get another free product if you turn in a bad review?

Uh Oh!  Busted!


The picture to the left if you are viewing on a laptop or desktop is an enlarged section of the Unicorn Smasher screen shot below the enlarged section.  Unicorn Smasher is a Chrome plug in that can list the sales and other info from Amazon search pages by accessing the Amazon data that is usually  unseen when using a browser.

What it shows is 77 reviews for the Olba Feed o Matic, with about 50 of the 77 being “verified buyer” positive reviews.  The problem being that they only sold 38 of the Feed o Matic feeders and the sales total pretty much matches 38 sales.

Three lines below it shows another anomaly, 21 actual sales, with the dollar sales confirming it, and 134 reviews with the majority being “verified buyer” reviews.  Note how the rest of the listings will have a ten to one ratio of sales versus reviews, about what is expected as most customers don’t leave reviews.

 

 

Amazon Fake Reviews

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“Mites are very similar to lice but they are much smaller and tough to see unless there are vast infestations on a bird.  Some hide in cracks in the wood and building, coming out at night to feast on the hens.  ”

 

 

Mites and Lice on Chickens

Mites and Lice make life pretty miserable for your birds and the same pests can bite humans.  But there are things you can do, actually that you should be doing already, that will reduce the chances of you having to deal with mites and lice on chickens and there are ways to deal with a infestation of mites and lice on chickens.

Preventatives:

  • Clean coops at all times
  • Healthy birds are less likely to get infested
  • Check the birds for signs of infestation on a regular basis

 Signs of an infestation:

  • Seeing bugs on your hands or bites after handling the birds or being in their coop
  • Sick looking birds
  • Birds not wanting to roost in their normal spot
  • Pale combs
  • Ruffled feathers caused by abnormal dirt bathing
  • Preening more than normal
  • Head shaking
  • Dirty looking feathers that might be egg clusters and not dirt
  • Scratching more than normal and damaged feathers
  • Red skin, especially around the vent
  • Scales on legs raised and scabby looking
  • Raspy breathing caused by air sac mites
  • Unexplained deaths

 

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“Northern fowl mites and red roost mites are the most common type and are tiny eight legged insects that live in cracks during the day. Grey colored, or dark brown, or reddish color, you will find them after dark on the feathers and vent areas where they suck blood from the bird.”

 

 

There are many types of lice that will infest chickens:

  • Cuclotogaster heterographa, or head louse, they are visible to the human eye, about one tenth of an inch long.  They will stay right at the base of the feathers to eat skin and feather, not suck blood.  Found frequently on young birds and can kill birds if there are a lot of them.
  •  Eomenacanthus stramineus (= Menacanthus stramineus), the body louse is probably the most common type of lice and the most harmful pest.  Between 1/10th  and 1/8th of an inch long, brown to tan colored.  Feeds on feathers and blood.  Found mostly on the skin where there are fewer feathers but will be found all over the bird in bad cases of infestation.  You can see the egg clusters on feathers and skin.
  • Goniocotes gallinae, the fluff louse, is tiny, 3 to 6 hundredths of an inch long, barely visible in good lighting.  They feed on feathers around the base of the feathers.
  • Lipeurus caponis, the wing louse, is just over a sixteenth of an inch long and is grey colored.  Found on the inner parts of the wings, the tails and head feathers.  It eats feathers so bad that it is called the depluming louse. 
  • Menopon gallinae, the shaft louse, around one sixteenth of an inch long.  Feeds on skin and feathers and can suck blood.  Eggs are white looking clusters around the base of the feathers
  • Columbicola columbae, slender pigeon louse, is a sixteenth of an inch to 3/32th of an inch long, found everywhere on the bird.  Feeds on feathers, lays eggs under the wings on fine feathers

Mites are very similar to lice but they are much smaller and tough to see unless there are vast infestations on a bird.  Some hide in cracks in the wood and building, coming out at night to feast on the hens. 

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Whitewashed coop interior

“Doing a thorough cleaning of the coop, followed by a good coat of white wash, followed by a good spraying with permethrin both inside the coop and out including the exterior of the coop during dry weather.”

 

 

.  Northern fowl mites and red roost mites are the most common type and are tiny eight legged insects that live in cracks during the day. Grey colored, or dark brown, or reddish color, you will find them after dark on the feathers and vent areas where they suck blood from the bird.  DE or diatomaceous earth isn’t very effective on mites and works better on lice.  Spinosad, a product of Saccharopolyspora bacteria, will kill mites, flies, beetles, and many other insect pests.  It is diluted and sprayed on a thoroughly cleaned coop, even on the birds themselves.  Elector is a popular brand containing Spinosad and can be found on Amazon at this link.  The product is quite expensive but will kill mites in one application.

Chemical controls

Permethrin spray and/or dust, Ivermectin either oral or injected or topical, and Vectra 3D although it is not approved for use on poultry.  Ivermectin is not cleared for use on laying hens though so avoid it unless the eggs are used for replacement chicks.  The old standby, Sevin dust, is no longer approved on chickens due to its ability to put traces into eggs.  If you aren’t eating the eggs but hatching replacement stock you could probably get away with Sevin dust.

The best method of control is to carefully inspect and dust all birds when they are brought home, isolating them in a distant coop for a few weeks to see if any pests hatch out after the initial treatment.   Providing a dry dusting bath for the birds, either inside the coop or out under the covered run, helps.  Wood ashes, fine playground sand, and some poultry grade diatomaceous earth mixed in will help prevent mites and lice from getting out of control.   Dusting the roosts and nest boxes with pyrethrin or permethrin powder  a few times a year is a good idea.

 

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“There are signs that some mites and lice are becoming resistant to permethrin and the old poultry lice standby sulfur is making a comeback.   Back in the sixties sulfur was the go to insecticide when you were going out into the woods or picking blackberries to keep ticks and chiggers off.”

 

 

Ivermectin applied to the skin at the back of their neck helps on some birds.    Doing a thorough cleaning of the coop, followed by a good coat of white wash, followed by a good spraying with permethrin both inside the coop and out including the exterior of the coop during dry weather.  More on whitewashing at the end of this article.
Both lice and mites are spread by wild birds, mice, and rats so a good treadle feeder is a must to keep the vermin from infecting your flock.  Diatomaceous earth can be rubbed into the feathers on infested birds.  Diatomaceous earth comes in many forms and is safe if you pick the right type.  It is approved for a commercial kitchen bug killer in the right form.  Food grade or Amorphous diatomaceous earth will have a small amount of crystalline silica, less than one percent, while swimming pool grade is going to be 20% dangerous silica so avoid that type even if it is cheap. 

Then there is calcined diatomaceous earth, which has been heated till it melts, cooled and fractured into tiny sharp shards, not safe for hens because of the inhalation risk but good for a general outdoor insecticide.  Calcined DE is dangerous for humans if you breath the dust so avoid using it.  The Amorphous DE can be used as a food additive, a desiccant in grain, even fed to chickens to kill fly larvae.

ADE kills by absorption and eroding the outer layer of the chitinous exoskeleton of bugs.  The ADE slowly erodes the out layer till the bug starts leaking fluids and the combination of fluid leaks and the ADE absorbing four times its weight in fluid will desiccate the bug.  ADE will dry out naturally once the humidity drops so the dust doesn’t wear out or go bad. Wear gloves when working with it as it will dry out your hands really, really, bad.  Try to find large 50 pound bags marketed as ADE for feed, much cheaper than the repackaged 2 pound bags marked up 20 times the price. 

 

There are signs that some mites and lice are becoming resistant to permethrin and the old poultry lice standby sulfur is making a comeback.   Back in the sixties sulfur was the go to insecticide when you were going out into the woods or picking blackberries to keep ticks and chiggers off.

 

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Scaly leg mites are another pest that does a lot of damage to chickens.  Ivermectin will help, Vaseline, Vicks Vapor Rub, and Campho-Phenique also help smother leg mites.  There are stories out on the internet that dipping the chicken’s legs in gasoline will kill the mites, followed by slathering Vaseline or other oily ointment and repeating the ointment treatment several times.   The old farmer’s remedy for dog mange (also mites) was used motor oil.  The dogs hated it, were shamed by it to the point they would run off for half a day before returning, but it worked with one treatment.  The oil would have higher levels of sulfur than new motor oil and the oil smothered the mites. 

The old state university publications on treating mites and lice listed cresol (coal tar) and gasoline mixed together and brushed on the chickens.   Kerosene and cresol were also listed, mixed with laundry soap, to be sprayed on the chickens.

When you treat for scaly leg mites expect several months before the legs are looking healthy again.  The old scales will slough off and new, healthy tissue will grow back in time.    Another prevention method is to whitewash the coop.  Most people thought whitewash was a cheap paint but it was disinfectant and pest control back when we didn’t have modern chemicals.

 Take a gallon of warm water, mix in two cups of salt and seven cups of hydrated lime that is found at a feed store or garden store.  A quarter cup of Elmer’s glue makes it stickier.  Keep it stirred up and paint it on, spray it, use a rag, just get it on the wood, cement, or anything else that isn’t moving around.  The mixture will go on clear but dry to a white, shabby chic looking surface.  The lime is a caustic, the other end of the pH scale than acid, so it acts as a natural insecticide.  Besides killing pests it acts as a crude paint to whiten everything and make the inside of the coop brighter.   

There are other mites that gather on the combs, wattles, and faces of chickens.    Applying castor oil or any other thick oil to smother them works along with the other treatments for lice and mites.  There are also stick tight fleas, that suck blood just like a normal flea except they bite in and stay while sucking blood out of the host.  These fleas are tiny and burrow into the host and are difficult to eradicate.  They are found on wild rabbits, dogs, cats, people, almost any mammal.  If infested try using the castor oil and regular lice/mite treatments before moving on to the more specific stick tight flea remedies.

 

Elector on Amazon          

 

Permethrin 10%

 

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Two small coops for a couple of hens.

” Windows are a must, South facing if possible to catch the winter sun.  If the window is to serve for ventilation, put it up as high as possible to remove the  hottest air.”

 

 

Chicken Coop Design

Hopefully if you are reading this you have already read our articles on square foot requirements per bird and chicken coop materials.  Whether you are purchasing a coop or wanting to build your own a design needs to be decided upon before you get started.

 

We’ve already covered the size requirements, four to five square feet per bird in the coop and ten square feet per bird in the run.  Next pick out a good location, preferably under a deciduous tree for shade in the summer but still exposed to the sun in the winter.  If no shade is possible consider building a double layer roof so the coop will be cooler. The top layer need not be waterproof, just to provide shade for the lower roof.

In the coop itself, raise the entire coop off the ground enough so that a dog or cat can get under the coop for ratting duties. 

  You want to have the inside to be high enough to easily enter and walk around in so you can clean and care for the birds. Or have very large sections that swing open that will allow you to reach every part of the coop to reach a sick bird or to clean. The floor can be plywood s long as you either cover it with sheet metal or heavy plastic and keep deep litter in place to soak up water spills.  Make your door wide enough to poke the nose of a wheelbarrow through which is also wide enough to pitch a shovel full of manure/bedding through as you are cleaning the coop.

 

The walls need to be solid and as air tight as possible.  You will add ventilation at the top to cool the coop in warm weather and to remove ammonia and moisture but you want ventilation that you can control, not a drafty coop once the temperature drops below freezing.  Windows are a must, South facing if possible to catch the winter sun.  If the window is to serve for ventilation, put it up as high as possible to remove the  hottest air.  Insulate the walls if possible so the bird’s own body heat will help keep the coop warmer than outside in cold weather.   A low hardware cloth screened vent is nice, put a sliding plywood hatch so it can be closed off if needed.  Don’t forget to leave a 12” x 12” opening for the ramp into the  lower run.

Looks more like a doll house but perfectly functional for a small free range flock

If you are building a stationary pen either cover the floor of the run with hardware cloth or dig a trench around the coop and bury the first section of hardware cloth about a foot deep to prevent predators digging into the coop.  Use hardware cloth everywhere except for any inner partitions that can be chicken wire.

 

Your roof needs some pitch or slope to allow the water to run off.  Asphalt shingles need at least 4” of drop per foot of run (4/12 pitch) but if you use the roll roofing you can go as low as 2/12 pitch.  Metal roofing can go even lower to 1/12 but the steeper the roof pitch the more water tight it is in extreme weather and it will hold up to snow loads better.   It is good to cover about half of the run with a roof for the rainy days and snow days.  The run will require cleaning too so make the run at least six feet tall in back and eight in the front, or six feet on both sides and an 8’ tall peak in the middle.  Provide a six foot tall door that is at least 36” wide to allow a wheel barrow to be pushed in and out of the coop. 

You will want electricity for additional light in the winter and for freeze proofing the water.  A single 15 to 20 amp service is plenty.   A water source is good too if you can bury it deep enough to prevent freezing.  Get one of those metal freeze proof  faucets but place it outside so it drains well or when you back fill the hole around the faucet use small stones with gravel on top to make a drain for any spilled water.

You will need a ramp to connect the lower run to the coop.  Chickens can handle a steep ramp but make it a bit longer if you have the room.

Inside the coop, cover the back one third with chicken wire, providing a tray under the chicken wire to catch the droppings from the roosts poles that you wlll install overhead.  The tray will provide the predator protection so chicken wire will work fine and allow the droppings to pass through easier than hardware cloth.  Roosts should be 2 x 3 lumber, set with the narrow side up for strength.  Keep the span down to less than six feet length, 18” between roosts, at least 9” from the outside wall, and between three and four feet off the ground.

The walls need to be solid and as air tight as possible.  You will add ventilation at the top to cool the coop in warm weather and to remove ammonia and moisture but you want ventilation that you can control, not a drafty coop once the temperature drops below freezing.  Windows are a must, South facing if possible to catch the winter sun.  If the window is to serve for ventilation, put it up as high as possible to remove the  hottest air.  Insulate the walls if possible so the bird’s own body heat will help keep the coop warmer than outside in cold weather.   A low hardware cloth screened vent is nice, put a sliding plywood hatch so it can be closed off if needed.  Don’t forget to leave a 12” x 12” opening for the ramp into the  lower run.

Cute coop for four to five hens.

Nest boxes need to have an outside access door, be around 12” wide x 16” deep x  14” tall with a pitched roof to prevent roosting.  Set the next boxes at least 24” off the floor and add a 2” front rail to keep the bedding inside.  Put a good latch on the outside access door that a raccoon couldn’t open.  One nest box per five to six hens.

You should provide space for one treadle feeder per 12 to 16 birds, ideally placed against a wall and even better is placed in a corner so that one side is close enough to a wall so the birds won’t try to lean in to eat from the side.  On the other side of the treadle feeder provide a thin, short partition to do the same thing, leaving room for clearance.  Water is best left outside unless you also provide a water tight drain area for the inevitable water spillage.

You will want electricity for additional light in the winter and for freeze proofing the water.  A single 15 to 20 amp service is plenty.   A water source is good too if you can bury it deep enough to prevent freezing.  Get one of those metal freeze proof  faucets but place it outside so it drains well or when you back fill the hole around the faucet use small stones with gravel on top to make a drain for any spilled water..

The run can be covered with a thick layer of straw, dried leaves, rice hulls, or wood shavings.  Anything that is dry and absorbent.   Provide a hook to hang a water dispenser from or set the water dispenser on a cement block fitted with a light bulb for winter use.  Paving the area around the water dispenser with patio blocks is a good idea.

What are your thoughts on chicken coop design?   Please leave a comment or message in the comment section below. 

How Much Space per Chicken is needed?

Chicken Coop Materials

 

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Definitely a Coop de Ville

  • Heavy is good as long as it isn’t a mobile coop
  • Narrow lumber will warp and bend, 1.5″ minimum thickness for strength
  • The thicker the plywood the further apart you can put the studs
  • Always hardware cloth, never chicken wire
  • Screws and bolts will help hold things together if you want to move the coop
  • Make sure the wheel size you choose will carry the weight in wet weather
  • Wire mesh needs securely stapled, not clamped between wood strips

“Plan on a long weekend to create a small coop from scratch if you have decent carpentry skills.  There are no end to plans online or just find a picture of a coop you like and figure out how to adapt it to the size you need..”

 

 

Use what you have!

Chicken Coop Materials

Unless you have plenty of money to spend you are going to be using basic building materials when building your coop.  Or if you are purchasing a coop you are going to find two choices, locally made out of substantial materials  or prefab coops that are built to be cheaper to ship and thus lighter in weight.  Many people will simply use what they might have on hand or can scrounge.

 

If you are building a barn style, stationary coop you are going to need:

  • Framing lumber, 2 x 4s and 2 x 3s, and some 2 x 8s or 2 x 6s for skids. Posts are usually made out of 4 x 4s.
  • Plywood for floors, walls, and roofs. OSB (oriented strand board) or T1-11 plywood are popular choices that are found at the big box stores.  Thickness will vary depending upon use and portability requirements.
  • Solid wood lap siding is attractive and durable if you want to copy the doll house look of the Chinese prefab coops.
  • Plenty of nails and screws and framing brackets/braces. Screws are stronger, especially if you are building a mobile coop.
  • Shingles for the roof. Cheap OSB can be used for the roof if you cover it with tar paper and asphalt shingles.  Or you can use 2 x 3 runners and steel sheet panels or fiberglass panels.
  • Rolled roofing, similar to shingles but on a 36” wide solid roll, is a cheaper alternative to roofing shingles.
  • Wire mesh, hopefully not chicken wire which is little protection against larger predators like raccoons or dogs. One half inch square hardware cloth is best, one quarter inch square is available if you think you are going to try to fence out rats and mice but it is a fool’s errand to attempt that.
  • Staples to secure the wire mesh to the framing, U shaped nails hand driven with a hammer.
  • Hinges, hasps, and steel angle braces to secure everything
  • Windows are a nice touch or at least slide open hatches that are screened with hardware cloth
  • Wheels and sturdy handles if you are going to make it mobile

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Very neat and professional coop

  • Buy or scrounge, use solid materials and do it once
  • Top heavy is bad unless it has a foundation

 

If you are building a mobile coop many of the same material will be used but smaller in section to keep the weight of the coop to a minimum.  Roofing could be good quality tarp or even old political banner materials.   If you are inventive you can consider using PVC pipe or electrical metallic tubing (EMT).  Heavy wire panels like cattle panels can be used as the structural arch if you are making an arched coop, with hardware cloth providing the predator shield.   Something like a possum can squeeze through a 2.5” diameter hole, if their head will fit through, their body can come through, so cattle panels along aren’t enough.
 

 

Finally almost anything can be incorporated into a chicken coop if you aren’t particular on how it looks.  Old windows, old doors, recycled lumber and steel sheeting, some amazing coops have been made out of salvaged materials or even pallets.  A good coat of paint will unify everything and make it presentable.

Your coop can be built much more solid than anything you might buy online or from a local company but consider the weight of the final coop if you are planning on making it mobile.  A good heavy coop is insurance against a storm blowing the coop over so sometimes a fixed location coop is the way to go.

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