[susan - happy hens]

Hi. I'm fairly new to keeping hens, I got two ex-battery hens on 29/6/09.  They settled in ok after a few hiccups but I have a few things I'd love help with.  The books say get your hens used to being handled so from day 1 we picked them up.  Hen Solo loves being  stroked and cuddled particularly at bedtime. She took to jumping up onto a windowsill or bench to look in at us.  She had always had a bit of a limp and jumping up and down made it much worse so I took her and Princess Laya to the vet to be checked over.  He gave her anti inflamatory/pain relief drops (usually for dogs).  She has since made a good recovery and the limp is barely noticeable.  Princess Laya sometimes lays soft shelled eggs the vet said they were laying too often and gave me liquid calcium ( for cows!).  They each have the odd day when they don't lay.  He also said they need to moult.  How do you stop a hen laying eggs?! How do you get hens to moult?!  Also soon after we started picking them up I noticed a "creepy crawlie" feeling on my skin.  They have been dusted with the recommended poultry powder and the hen house is cleaned and dusted every other week.  I feel really guilty if I don't pick Solo up when she comes over and "burrrps" up at me.  Any help would be great. Thanks

[oddpaws]

I dont think you can stop hens laying or make them moult...thats mother natures job and they will do it all in their own sweet time. Moulting usually happens in Autumn I believe but give them time.
If you can bear the creepy crawly feeling until the powders etc do their magic I would still give the lady a cuudle, after all they have been through they deserve it. I would concentrate on feeding them up to help them gain thier fitness rather than for laying eggs.
Sounds like you are doing just fine so far to me. Keep with it and someone will come along soon with some more advice

[Foxy]

The vet may be thinking that a moult would give them some respite from laying, this rest from laying can resolve laying problems particulary exbatts suffering from cage fatigue. With the onset of shorter days you will see lots of feathers around,signalling a moult, this is a good time to ensure a well balanced diet with a little poultry spice and cod liver oil (teaspoon a week mixed into their pellets/mash)

[susan - happy hens]

Hi there, thanks for the help. I've never had pets and am amazed at how entertaining these two girlies are.  Hen Solo is a real wee pet and not at all bird brained! I have noticed a few more feathers around the garden yesterday and today but being in Northern Ireland I was a bit concerned that when the weather gets colder they will be in full moult and get chilled.  They certainly have put on weight since we got them, Princess Laya is twice the size.  That is what the vet said regarding moulting and them getting a rest from laying,  I'm not a bit concerned how many eggs I get there's only the two of us and when I have too many I give them away. I feed them good layers pellets.  They get into the garden most days from dawn till dusk, they feast on bugs and grass and I give them whatever kitchen green stuff I think they might like - I went on holiday 2 weeks ago and my neighbours were hen sitting.  I felt guilty and hung a lettuce in the run.  My neighbours said the hens loved it. They get chopped garlic, I read it was good for parasites. Ill try Jolley's pet shop for the poultry spice.  Can you tell me why codliver oil, would olive oil or flaxseed oil do?  This a great way of learning about the things I can't find in the books.  Thanks.

[raeburg]

Hi

cod liver oil is rich in vitamin D which helps calcium to be absorbed from the diet, this is true for humans as well as chickens

[CattinJ]

sorry to hijack your thread , but I also often get itchy after being around my hens a lot....I can never see anything on me and dont get bitten - what might that be?

I clean them out thoroughly every week and cant see any evidence of red mites, but am only dusting them in the anti mite powder every 2-3 weeks.

Cattin

[susan - happy hens]

Hi there!
Thanks for the info on codliver oil.  It doesn't agree with me, I take flaxseed oil but I'll get some for the hens.  There are even more feathers around the garden today and they haven't been eating as much this last few days so looks like moulting is starting.   Well,I can't help myself when it comes to picking up Solo and I was feeling very creepy so yesterday I started the 2 weekly clean-out of the hen house and nest boxes.  So far I've used a cloth and a bucket of water and jeyes fluid (is jeyes fluid the best for this?) and never had any signs of critters but yesterday I made up a solution in a spray bottle and sprayed the perch, walls etc.  After a couple of minutes I noticed a few wee creepies on the perch, so I sprayed some more, this continued several more times until I decided enough was enough and dismantled the perch to find loads of red mites of various sizes.  Not to be beaten I drowned and scrubbed the bug-gers! I spray cleaned the house and nest boxes and replaced the woodshavings and nesting straw.  I sprinkled loads of powder as recommended on the tub (I've put the powder down every 2 weeks) and I dusted the hens just to be sure - ( they were dusted on 15th August and I've never seen anything crawling on them. ) I used an alternative perch and last night went with a torch and checked for signs o f mites - none were found.  The powder for the house etc is, Red mite and louse powder p-menthane-3,8- diol.  The powder for the hens is Poultry louse powder permethrin (25:75 cis: trans isomeric ration.  The vet says thats the strongest can be sold and my hens are probably still not strong enough for anything else.  I'm planning to do the house etc and hens again at the weekend.  Every night I have a shower before bed but I feel creepies sometimes even afterwards, I cant be washing my hair every night and every stitch I have on goes in the wash,  I have more laundry now than when my kids were at home. Cuddling the hens isn't a problem for me it's not cuddling that is! Like CattinJ says - any ideas please? Sorry it's so lengthy - again. x

[nzdunn]

hiya, just noticed there your in northern ireland, i am to, im in Lisburn where abouts are you    nickyx

[susan - happy hens]

Hi Nicky,  I'm in Greenisland so not that far away.  I find if I'm not spending time out with my hens I'm on this site reading about hens!  The books warned it can become an obsession! ha.  What type of hens do you have and how many?...... Susan

[nzdunn]

check messages pm'd you     nickyx

[susan - happy hens]

Hi Nicky, Sorry I did'nt understand that last abreviated bit.  I'm still hoping to find out what the wee invisible critters are that I feel crawling on my skin because my husband has offered to dusts me at the weekend if necessary! Any ideas would be great.  When Cattin said she has the same problem I was a bit relieved that it wasn't my imagination. How long have you been keeping hens?
Susan x

[poultrygeist]

Hi susan. Sorry to butt in.

pm is short for personal message. If you look at the top of the page, below the advert, you'll see a line about messages, saying 1 (or more) are new. If you click on this, you'll see your personal message page.

Good luck 

Rob

[oddpaws]

The invisible criiters that itch sound like they could be red mite. They are only red first thing in the morning when they have fed. The are really really tiny, like baby spiders and light grey in colour. They wont bite you but make you feel itchy as they crawl on you. You will have to look very closely at the place where the itch is as they really are very small.
Hope that helps!

[susan - happy hens]

Hi fellow hen huggers, 
I've been reading up on the creepies and a friend lent me the book from the Practical Poultry magazine.  It says Northern Mite is too small to be seen with naked eye so that explains why I can't see anything even with a magnifying glass.  We cleaned the hen house again at the weekend with a pressure spray and dusted the hens.  I still feel creepies but not as much.  Here's hoping we get rid of them with another cleaning session next weekend.  x