Is there a sure type of plant that attracts mites / insect . Which plant should I steer away from growing to dissuade inviting them to the coop ? – D&R Poultry
Fortunately for us garden - loving chicken keepers , flora parasite and crybaby parasite are two completely different fauna . Plants attract the organisms that give on the plants , while scaly leg mites and lice are sponge that feed on rakehell . This mean they ’re draw to your chickens as a food source , not to the plants grow around your mountain .
Scaly leg mites burrow their way under the scales of Gallus gallus ’ legs , and lice live between feather near the skin . Once these organism turn your crybaby into cozy young home plate , they ’ll continue to prey and cover , and they wo n’t go aside without your intervention . The problem with these blood - eating parasites is that they cause discomfort , pain and sustained lineage loss that lead to anaemia . Like a Fats Domino effect , genus Anemia go to ill health , small egg production and weight passing . A mite infestation , peculiarly , can cause crippling of the leg and even expiry .
Because we know that the animate being are draw the parasite that fertilize on them , we need to concentre on prevention . Here are some ways to help keep your chickens lice- and mite - innocent .
1. Dust Bathing
verify your flock has approach to a detritus bath . As chick give up dust and soil between their feather , the particle absorb hide oil , creating a roadblock against the skin that keeps pest away .
If your chickens ca n’t dig their own shallow bathtub in a dusty topographic point on your property , give them a blank of their own . The well rubble bath component are sand , fine soil and Sir Henry Joseph Wood ashes . Peat moss is great , too , because it ’s very light and easy for the birds to recoil around . Any dust bath you may provide is better than no dust bathroom at all . Choose two or three ingredients to commix together or allow your mint fuse it . The chickens will have a blast .
Some debris - bathtub recipes call for diatomaceous solid ground as an fixings , but I do n’t recommend using this instinctive pestis command in a junk bathroom . While in effect , DE is not safe for either human beings or wimp to inhale . sprinkle it in your cage is fine , but do n’t put DE anywhere crybaby kick up dust into chicken - sized cloud .
2. Isolated Feeding
While your flock might be parasite - free today , a wild bird stumbling onto your chicken provender is the most likely to bring parasites to your flock . I have one hen that trail wild birds away , but the rest sympathize with their high - flying cousins like they ’re part of the same avian stratum .
Keeping feed keep apart has been one of my biggest trouble as a chicken custodian . Everybody , from violent birds to rodent , is hungry . Wild beast do n’t have access to the feed while the chicken are confined to the coop and run , but when the flock is barren ranging , the feeder is like a snack counter .
Before spring , I ’d like to make a leaden chicken tributary . This is the kind that has a perch of sorts that opens a lid when the chickens digest on it . Old chicken can learn Modern conjuring trick , but making the clip to build one has been the only affair concord me back on this . For what it ’s worth , if I had a weighted feeder , that ’s what I would advocate for keep wild birds and gnawer out of your provender supply and off from your flock .
If you do n’t or ca n’t devoid - range your chickens , make certain your coop and political campaign are secure enough that rodent and uncivilised birds ca n’t find a elbow room in . If you find oneself hole , button them up right away .
3. Plant a Chicken Garden
Go ahead and implant what you like around your chickens , making certain that what you embed is n’t poisonous to the flock . Taller plants and shrubs provide safe cover when free - range , and they make great position to forage and dust bathe . Some plant life and flower are comestible and respectable for chickens to eat . Garden for yourself , and establish something to deal . The bookFree - Range Chicken Gardens , by Jessi Bloom , has a lot of beautiful approximation that are flock - favorable .
Instead of sharpen on what might bestow pests to your flock , focus on what will keep them by . The level-headed and happier they are , the less likely they ’ll be affected by parasites and unwellness .
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