Tonics & Treatments for Healthy Chickens
Chickens are easy to look after but the key point is that they still need a little looking after. So apart from giving your chickens clean water, good quality feed, and useful herbs there are a couple of additional things you could consider giving them:
Using these supplements along with herbs should hopefully equate to healthy chickens that are able to battle colds and are more resistant to worm infestations.
I have had to treat the chickens for lice a couple of times in the last 11 months. If you need to know what chicken lice looks like just Google 'chicken lice' and you'll get the picture. Typically lice and mites are treated with the same time with the same product. Lice are skin coloured critters that feed on dead skin/feather debris whilst the mites will usually be red as they suck blood. The first time I needed to treat my chickens, I used a liquid treatment which had to be diluted in water. I chose to give my chickens a warm treatment bath (I filled a plastic tub with warm water and add in a measured dose of the lice/mite treatment. The chicken's body was immersed in the water with its head nice and dry). Alternatively I could have sprayed the chickens with diluted solution but it is important that you lift the feathers to get the solution on their skin. The only problem with this liquid treatment method is that it is necessary to promptly dry the chicken to prevent it from getting cold. I used a hair dry on very low heat and constantly move it over the chicken to prevent burning the poor bird. Drying a chicken this way takes a lot longer than one might think- with my Silkies it took at least 5-8 minutes per bird. Multiply this time by 12 (excluding bath time)...so for me it was just a bit too time consuming and the hair dryer I found really annoying to use on chickens! So now I dust my chickens in a sulphur based powder. To protect myself from inhaling the dust and coming into contact with it I wear 2 layers of long sleeved clothing, thick PVC gloves, a high quality dust mask and eye goggles. I use a plastic tub into which I place the chicken and hold it in place whilst I shake the powder under the chicken's wings, around the vent area and along the back making sure I get the dust right to the skin. The whole process takes a minute or two per chicken. I have found the dust to be very effective. It is important to clean the bedding from the coop too to keep lice and mites in control. When I treat the chickens, I also clean out the coop and dust it too- especially the roost bars. Cleaning out the nest box is also important as it is also a shared space. This way, hopefully any critters are reduced in number. The treatment should be repeated 3-4 days later to kill any newly hatched lice.
If you do need to treat them for worms (check out The Chicken Chick's worm info page) then there are a couple of treatment options. I have used liquid wormers (which need to be added to the chickens' water whilst removing all other sources of water) and tablets. The liquid wormer is probably great if you have loads of chickens but with twelve chickens I think that the tablets are much easier as I know that the chicken has had the appropriate dose. To do this though requires one to securely hold the chicken. Usually I tuck the chicken under one arm but with my stronger ones I will use an old towel to wrap the chicken so it can't flap. Then it is a 'simple' case of gently prying the beak open and popping the worming tablet into its mouth. And you are done. Give your chicken a little pet and send it on its way. Simple once you've done it a couple of times!
- Garlic- Take a look at the articles in Natural Chicken Keeping, Backyard Poultry Magazine, and The Chicken Chick for loads of great information in how to use garlic and what it probably does for the chicken.
- Apple Cider Vinegar- There are some question marks over whether this stuff does all that it is claimed to do but I do add it every 3-4 weeks for 4-5 days to the chickens' water. I haven't see any ill effects and the chickens are happy to drink it. Have a read of The Chicken Chick and Fresh Eggs Daily for more information.
- Kelp- I will be giving kelp meal to my chickens in the coming weeks. I will probably mix it in with some oats initially to ensure my chickens eat it. My chickens are crazy about oats (uncooked) so should scoff it down. Basically kelp has a load of vitamins and minerals in it which means kelp is a nutritional supplement which is supposed to be great for keeping chickens in tip top shape. There are just so many good reviews about kelp that it is worth me trying it.
- Probiotics- I give my chickens probiotics when they are not well and need extra TLC. If your chickens have had to have antibiotics, it is a good idea to give them probiotics to repopulate their gut with good bacteria.
Using these supplements along with herbs should hopefully equate to healthy chickens that are able to battle colds and are more resistant to worm infestations.
I have had to treat the chickens for lice a couple of times in the last 11 months. If you need to know what chicken lice looks like just Google 'chicken lice' and you'll get the picture. Typically lice and mites are treated with the same time with the same product. Lice are skin coloured critters that feed on dead skin/feather debris whilst the mites will usually be red as they suck blood. The first time I needed to treat my chickens, I used a liquid treatment which had to be diluted in water. I chose to give my chickens a warm treatment bath (I filled a plastic tub with warm water and add in a measured dose of the lice/mite treatment. The chicken's body was immersed in the water with its head nice and dry). Alternatively I could have sprayed the chickens with diluted solution but it is important that you lift the feathers to get the solution on their skin. The only problem with this liquid treatment method is that it is necessary to promptly dry the chicken to prevent it from getting cold. I used a hair dry on very low heat and constantly move it over the chicken to prevent burning the poor bird. Drying a chicken this way takes a lot longer than one might think- with my Silkies it took at least 5-8 minutes per bird. Multiply this time by 12 (excluding bath time)...so for me it was just a bit too time consuming and the hair dryer I found really annoying to use on chickens! So now I dust my chickens in a sulphur based powder. To protect myself from inhaling the dust and coming into contact with it I wear 2 layers of long sleeved clothing, thick PVC gloves, a high quality dust mask and eye goggles. I use a plastic tub into which I place the chicken and hold it in place whilst I shake the powder under the chicken's wings, around the vent area and along the back making sure I get the dust right to the skin. The whole process takes a minute or two per chicken. I have found the dust to be very effective. It is important to clean the bedding from the coop too to keep lice and mites in control. When I treat the chickens, I also clean out the coop and dust it too- especially the roost bars. Cleaning out the nest box is also important as it is also a shared space. This way, hopefully any critters are reduced in number. The treatment should be repeated 3-4 days later to kill any newly hatched lice.
If you do need to treat them for worms (check out The Chicken Chick's worm info page) then there are a couple of treatment options. I have used liquid wormers (which need to be added to the chickens' water whilst removing all other sources of water) and tablets. The liquid wormer is probably great if you have loads of chickens but with twelve chickens I think that the tablets are much easier as I know that the chicken has had the appropriate dose. To do this though requires one to securely hold the chicken. Usually I tuck the chicken under one arm but with my stronger ones I will use an old towel to wrap the chicken so it can't flap. Then it is a 'simple' case of gently prying the beak open and popping the worming tablet into its mouth. And you are done. Give your chicken a little pet and send it on its way. Simple once you've done it a couple of times!