Month: October 2024

Feed o Matic and Bloody Head Chickens

Posted on by John Meeks

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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Chlamydiosis

Posted on by John Meeks

An infected bird

 

Chlamydiosis

symptoms in humans and can cause pneumonia and abortion.  The incubation can be one month to many months.   Infected birds might have puss eye and nasal discharges, a higher temperature, and rapid or troubled breathing.   Bloody or green droppings are common, depression, weight loss, and swollen eye lids.

Chlamydiosis is a pretty serious disease and there is no effective vaccine available for chickens.  The disease can be managed with treatment but the organism  isn’t going to be eliminated completely.  Mortality rates can be lessened and the transmission to other birds managed by using Tetracyclines.  Tetracyclines can be blocked by dietary calcium so additional sources of calcium should be suspended in the weeks required for treatment.  Poultry outbreaks are not common and medicated feed will help manage the disease and protect the flock owner from contracting the disease.   At least 45 days of feeding the medicated feed to prevent building up immunity to the antibiotics and be aware that not all Tetracyclines are allowed to be used on poultry.   Throw the eggs away for about ten days and if on medicated feed allow at least two days of non medicated feed before slaughtering birds .

Doxycycline is probably the best drug among the Tetracyclines for poultry as it has less interference with dietary calcium.   400 mg per liter of water is a suggested dose.

Biosecurity is essential to prevent the spread of chalmydiae in chickens.  Preventing wild birds from coming in contact with your chickens, quarantining and examining all incoming birds for several weeks before exposing the rest of the flock to the new birds, prompt removal of any sick birds, and thorough sanitation of everything that comes in contact with the chickens is a must.   Chlamydiae doesn’t tolerate heat and common disinfectants such as bleach or alcohol but acidic and alkali

disinfectants  might not be as effective.  The organism can survived for months in litter and nest box materials.

Unlike many poultry diseases Avian Chlamydiosis can be caught by humans through respiratory or from contact with the infected birds.  If in doubt don’t handle a sick or dead bird unless you are well protected with mask, goggles, and gloves.  Pregnant women in particular ought not to be anywhere around a suspected outbreak.

 

 

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Aspergillus or Brooder Pneumonia

Posted on by John Meeks

 

 

Aspergillus or Brooder Pneumonia

Aspergillus is a fungal infection in poultry caused by Aspergillus fumigates.  It affects the lungs so the typical chicken is going to be gasping for air and might have eye lesions.   Signs of infection are low appetite, weakness, gasping for air, rapid breathing, unusually thirsty birds, drowsiness, eye discharge, weight loss, and on rare occasions nervousness.

There is no real treatment for Aspergillus unless the bird has considerable value then Amphotericin B and Nystatin can be used or any antifungal medication recommended by your vet.  Medication usually isn’t going to work and culling is the cheapest option.   The best preventatives are dry litter, good sanitation, and in areas where the disease has been a problem you can use Thiabendazole or Nystatin in the feed.   Remove wet litter and any signs of mold.  Clean the feeders and waterers often.

The spores aren’t passed bird to bird or bird to human  but the spores can be inhaled.  The mold grows when the litter is wet and the spores spread and are inhaled when it is dry.

Individuals report that garlic ground up and added to the water helps birds survive mild cases of Aspergillus but there haven’t been any scientific studies that we are aware of. 

Prevention appears to be the best method of dealing with the disease and culling any infected birds.  Keeping good ventilation and .keeping the litter as dry as possible will prevent the mold from ever growing and producing spores.

 

 

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How to Stop Wild Birds from Stealing Chicken Feed

Posted on by John Meeks

Keeping birds out of a coop can be easy or difficult

  • Simplest solution, buy a treadle feeder
  • Enclose your entire coop in small mesh chicken wire
  • Cover the existing coop with bird netting
  • Try scarecrow type methods such as fake birds of prey, CDs hung on string
  • Netting gradually deteriorates and scarecrow methods become ineffective

“Wild birds can easily eat more feed than a flock of chickens.  While they are smaller in size there are a lot more of them and they tend to gorge on the feed before leaving.”

 

 

 

What Works, What Doesn’t?

How to Stop Wild Birds from Stealing Chicken Feed

 

Wild birds will vastly increase your feed costs and provide enormous opportunities for disease to decimate your flock if backyard chickens.  Keeping them out can be as simple as purchasing a good quality spring loaded chicken feeder or you can attempt to fence the birds out or frighten the birds away.

The simplest and surest method to control wild birds is to simply deny them access to the feed.  Birds have to eat a lot and often, they won’t survive hanging around your coop if they can’t get to the feed .

The best treadle feeders have a spring loaded door and a counterweight to ensure the wild birds can’t overwhelm the treadle with numbers or simply push the door open.

 

The best wild bird proof feeder is actually this  model sold as a rat proof feeder, manufactured by The Carpenter Shop in Oklahoma City.  The feeder came on the market in early 2012, starting out as a wooden feeder but by 2013 it had morphed into a sheet metal feeder that became the market leader due to its innovative design, spring loaded door, and massive counterweight system.  One of these feeders is going to cost you $75.00 to $100.00 depending on size and how far it has to be shipped but it is the surest method to eliminating wild birds from your coop.

 Another method is to  try to fence the wild birds out of the coop using small mesh chicken wire.   Chicken wire by itself doesn’t make a good barrier wire for a chicken coop because a larger dog or racoon can easily rip through the wire as it is merely twisted together.  People tend to use larger mesh wire that is welded together but the larger mesh also allows small wild birds through.  You can go to the expense of covering the welded wire with small mesh chicken wire or even hardware cloth if you have that kind of budget.

Next up is bird netting or deer netting that can be found in most garden departments or seed stores.   The netting will stop most birds but the netting deteriorates over time and small birds will become trapped in the mesh.

 

 

 

 The next method is trying scare the wild birds away from your chicken coop and chicken feed.  People have tried using fake owls or other birds of prey that are mounted on a post near the flock.  The wild birds eventually lose their fear of the decoys and many times your chickens are afraid of the owl decoys too.  The decoys do need to be moved constantly to trick the wild birds into thinking they are real.

Some have had success using shiny objects tied to strings such as CDs or aluminum foil or aluminum pie plates that will twist and flutter in the wind.  The wild birds will eventually realize there is no danger and the clutter is unsightly if you are the type to keep a neat yard and coop.

If you have a pack of young boys around buying a few b b guns will cut down on the wild bird numbers but there is a risk anytime you have kids and b b guns involved.

 

Another issue is if you allow your birds to free range or leave your coop door open during the day.  The wild birds will fly right in the coop and gorge on the feed.

 Other than the stolen feed the wild birds will leave their droppings everywhere and aside from the smell and filth the disease danger is enormous.  Wild birds carry many, many, varieties of parasites and disease, some of which they are carriers of without becoming sick themselves.

If you use the bird netting or deer netting and live where there is lots of snow make certain that the coop top is well braced as the netting will allow the snow to accumulate and collapse the chicken run roof.

 

 

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The Best Method of Keeping Wild Birds Away from Chicken Coops

Posted on by John Meeks

Secure the feed and the wild birds will leave quickly

  • No poison to kill other wildlife
  • Prevents wasted feed
  • The constant source of feed means faster growth, more eggs, and healthier chickens
  • Saves money on feed
  • Chickens learn to use quickly

 

 

 

The Best Method of Keeping Wild Birds Away from Chicken Coops

 

Poisons that find their way into wild predators, bird netting that deteriorates or causes the coop run roof to collapse when it snows, fake predators like owls that constantly need moved to keep them effective, none of these methods will work as well as simply putting the chicken feed into a treadle feeder that has a spring loaded door and a narrow and distant treadle.

Not all treadle feeders are the same though as many have wide treadle steps that can be overwhelmed by massive numbers of wild birds.  The models that have a narrow and distant treadle step work best as not enough birds can roost on the step at once to trip it and if they did the couldn’t reach the chicken feed anyway.

A large counterweight is also a good feature as it provides mass that must be moved, something that a five pound chicken does easily but wild birds weighing just ounces won’t every be able to operate.

Check out our review pages on the various treadle feeders by clicking on this link.

 

The best feature on a  treadle feeder is a spring loaded door, something that few treadle feeders on the market have.  The spring provides extra pressure to hold the feeder door tightly closed so that the wild birds can’t just push the door open.   Some of the prettiest feeders on the market don’t have this feature and while the treadle feeders are sharp looking they can’t keep wild birds out of the feed which is why we want to spend our hard earned money on such a product.

Treadle feeders are very simple, an inward swinging door operated by a narrow and distant wooden step on a treadle bar with a spring holding the door tightly closed.   When a five pound chicken steps on the treadle the door opens easily yet a wild bird standing on the ground in front of the door can’t push the door open and a dozen wild birds roosting on the treadle couldn’t reach the feed if they managed to get the treadle tripped.

 Our favorite brand is this model made by The Carpenter Shop.  It is all galvanized sheet metal, easy to assemble, holds around a half sack of feed, and best of all it has the spring loaded door, a narrow and distant treadle, and a massive counterweight.  The customer reviews are amazing, over 130 four and five star reviews and the people are not only pleased, many are ecstatic at having their wild bird or rat problem solved.

 

 

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Virulent Newcastle Disease Outbreak in California

Posted on by John Meeks

Gassing a backyard flock

The outbreak of Virulent Newcastle Disease in California continues to spread after several months of  depopulation of both backyard and commercial flocks.

 The state agency CDFA is in charge and cooperating with USDA, going door to door documenting backyard flocks, giving notices of kill orders, and threatening people with finds, criminal charges, and arrest if the owners don’t consent to a kill order.  Such tactics are fare easier than obtaining search warrants for every home with poultry or even pet birds like parakeets.   

Either consent or a warrant is required to search a property and kill the birds, thanks to the 4th Amendment of the Constitution.   Law enforcement must be present for a search warrant to be served and only the areas listed can be searched and only for the items listed in the warrant. While CDFA might have a few peace officers on staff they will be relying upon CHP, the local sheriff’s office, and local police officers for serving the warrants.  There is no charge for serving a warrant, just a charge for the party asking for the warrant, it being filed and delivered by a police officer.

 The birds are disposed of after gassing with CO2, bagged in regular plastic bags and dumped at a landfill.  The bags will of course puncture and rip even before they are ran over by the bull dozer at the landfill.  The thousands of seagulls will eat what is left so any disease is transferred to the seagulls.

 

 The “official” cause of the spread of the disease is clothing and vehicle tires of poultry plant workers after they visited cock fighting clubs or handled the birds.  If that were the case only places these people had visited would be at risk of depopulation.  Instead of focusing on where these workers had been

 

Gassing a backyard flock

 The officials are depopulating all birds of any kind withing a three mile radius of each diseased bird found.  The reason for the 3 mile radius is that is the normal range of wild birds and rats.  In other words, the authorities are admitting that the wild vermin are spreading the disease but don’t want to so that publicaly.  

The bio security is lax.  The workers were quickly hired by the hundreds and poorly trained or poorly supervised.  They wear the same white coveralls all day while going house to house and as you can see in the picture, no masks for the workers.

If there was no disease found, and so far at all of the backyard flocks found and killed no sick birds have shown up, then these workers will be spreading the disease all over the state as they search and destroy.

 This makes it all the more important that you implement some sort of bio hazard program even for the smallest backyard flock.

 It also drives home the value of a good treadle feeder that allows training without blocking the feed tray open.  Will the authorities kill your flock whether or not you have a treadle feeder?  Yes, they seem to favor mass extinction in all hot spot areas, but if more people are responsible and store their feed away from wild birds, squirrels, and rats, the number of cases would go down and the virus would wipe itself out.

 We have reviews of most of the popular brands of chicken feeder here on this very website.