Bedding - straw or not?

[foxy]

Slugs and snails carry really bad worms and shouldn't be fed to chickens.

Wild birds have worm eggs in their poo which the hens can eat on the grass.

We use wood shavings as bedding or crushed aubiose where its windy. Hay in the nest boxes, but are aware that if it is damp it will cause respiratory problems and it also harbours mites and lice.

lungworm(aka gapeworm) is carried by slugs and snails and it can be passed on to your cats and dogs as well as your chickens.
which is a major risk, most of the worms in wildbirds are intestinal worms and in small numbers can be fought off by the chooks natural digestion. which is why it's good to worm a couple times a year to keep the numbers down.

Some information regarding gapeworm and other intestinal worms here on the website you might find useful:

http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-diseases-and-disorders.html

Just to clarify, gapeworm is not a parasite you see so much today, rispiratory infections however, can be misdiagnosed as gapes as the symptoms are very similar. Gapworm also known as the "red worm" or "forked worm" used to be pretty common where game birds were raised. Indeed a worm to keep an eye out if poultry is housed near or where game has been traditional reared. Flubenvet wormer to my knowledge is the only effective wormer against gapeworm in poultry.
Whilst it is transmitted via earthworms, and slugs.. I was unaware it could be transmitted to cats and dogs?

 

[Marigold]

I've never found anything that will cure a muddy pen as antything you put in just gets pulled down into the mud. Paving slabs is the best thing I've tried. Have wondered about the mashed up rubber tyres though. Anyone found them successful ?

Yes, i've used them for a couple of years, and posted about them a day or so ago on another thread at http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5169

I think the answer to mud getting mixed up in whatever you put down is the layer of permeable membrane underneath, which separates the mud from the bedding very effectively. I would install this even if I were using a different sort of floor, eg woodchip. However, this question was originally about what to use in the henhouse and they wouldn't be suitable for that, as they're not absorbent - though in the run this is one of their advantages.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow thanks for all the replies and posts on this - lots of useful advice for us novices!

Re the run, I think we'll lay down some sort of membrane and some hardwood chips ontop. Is there a rule as to how deep it should be? I guess deep enough for them to be able to have a good dig around.

Im still not sure about the coop. I'll continue with the hemp bedding but not sure what else to pack it out with, especially with winter on the way.

Thanks again for all the info!

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

Slugs and snails carry really bad worms and shouldn't be fed to chickens.

Wild birds have worm eggs in their poo which the hens can eat on the grass.

We use wood shavings as bedding or crushed aubiose where its windy. Hay in the nest boxes, but are aware that if it is damp it will cause respiratory problems and it also harbours mites and lice.

lungworm(aka gapeworm) is carried by slugs and snails and it can be passed on to your cats and dogs as well as your chickens.
which is a major risk, most of the worms in wildbirds are intestinal worms and in small numbers can be fought off by the chooks natural digestion. which is why it's good to worm a couple times a year to keep the numbers down.

Some information regarding gapeworm and other intestinal worms here on the website you might find useful:

http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-diseases-and-disorders.html

Just to clarify, gapeworm is not a parasite you see so much today, rispiratory infections however, can be misdiagnosed as gapes as the symptoms are very similar. Gapworm also known as the "red worm" or "forked worm" used to be pretty common where game birds were raised. Indeed a worm to keep an eye out if poultry is housed near or where game has been traditional reared. Flubenvet wormer to my knowledge is the only effective wormer against gapeworm in poultry.
Whilst it is transmitted via earthworms, and slugs.. I was unaware it could be transmitted to cats and dogs?

There are different species of lungworm, similar to different species of other worms, ticks, fleas that are not necessarily zoonotic, but lungworms(both species can be carried by slugs and snails) and if you have pets it's recommended to be aware of it as there are lungworm infections becoming more so in the UK now with cats and dogs. http://lungworm.co.uk/scripts/pages/en/home.php

Syngamus Tachea(gapeworm aka lungworm)-avian
Angiostrongylus vasorum (lungworm aka french heartworm)-dogs
Aelurostrongylus abstrusus(lungworm)-cats

hope this clarifies my previous response. birds are intermediate hosts for the non avian species because they eat the snails and slugs and then their faeces is passed on our feet to our animals or even just the snails and slugs carry them from avian faeces to our homes, gardens and pet's food bowls/toys. but they don't harm the chooks or birds when they are intermediate hosts, they just use them to travel in.

 

[jubilee]

Most repellants don't work, once you have a mite problem, you have to deal with it using chemicals which kill them first before you try to repel them. Repellants don't actually kill mites, it just deters them a tad.
I use Eucalyptus oil for the benefit of my birds, it helps to clear airways and reduce respiritory problems. It's also a mild natural disinfectant, NOT as a mite repellant. Bertie advised it can be used to repel mites by using the wood in her runs and sheds etc. as i use it all year round,(for other reasons) i felt it should be mentioned that we still occationally get mites just the same as anyone else even though we use the oil, so not sure how good it acts as a repellant for them. Once the initial smell has worn off, it should think the efficiancy of it working to repel drops considerably. We have also used citronella, which you can still get from a chemist, i use it in a home made alternative for a fly repellant with the horses, but it is toxic if swallowed by most animals. I spray it sometimes round the pop hole doors on hot days when it drys fast to discourage flies going in to the houses. There's nothing worse than a bird getting fly-strike, and with big fluffy bums it can happen. Good husbandry helps better than anything with flies though, washing dirty bums, and cleaning out regularly will help with this. Just to add, when you use natural oils, either citronella, eucalyptus or even olbas etc. they should be used sparingly, and diluted, and allowed to dry before letting the birds near where you spray, and never use them directly on a bird.
As with bedding, no matter what you feel happiest using, cleaning out and good husbandry is the key to how well anything works. Prevention is always better than cure.

JubesX

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

Most repellants don't work, once you have a mite problem, you have to deal with it using chemicals which kill them first before you try to repel them. Repellants don't actually kill mites, it just deters them a tad.
I use Eucalyptus oil for the benefit of my birds, it helps to clear airways and reduce respiritory problems. It's also a mild natural disinfectant, NOT as a mite repellant. Bertie advised it can be used to repel mites by using the wood in her runs and sheds etc. as i use it all year round,(for other reasons) i felt it should be mentioned that we still occationally get mites just the same as anyone else even though we use the oil, so not sure how good it acts as a repellant for them. Once the initial smell has worn off, it should think the efficiancy of it working to repel drops considerably. We have also used citronella, which you can still get from a chemist, i use it in a home made alternative for a fly repellant with the horses, but it is toxic if swallowed by most animals. I spray it sometimes round the pop hole doors on hot days when it drys fast to discourage flies going in to the houses. There's nothing worse than a bird getting fly-strike, and with big fluffy bums it can happen. Good husbandry helps better than anything with flies though, washing dirty bums, and cleaning out regularly will help with this. Just to add, when you use natural oils, either citronella, eucalyptus or even olbas etc. they should be used sparingly, and allowed to dry before letting the birds near where you spray, and never use them directly on a bird.
As with bedding, no matter what you feel happiest using, cleaning out and good husbandry is the key to how well anything works. Prevention is always better than cure.

JubesX

good post, i guess i just made the assumption that they would clean their coops well since they were so worried about everything else and had attention to details! i wasn't ignoring the risks of lots of flies and dirty bottoms.

 

[wendywoggles]

We use dust extracted wood shavings at the moment, there still is a certain amount of dust tough; but are considering using rapeseed straw with tea-tree oil that my local independant garden centre/pet supplies place is now stocking. It seems to be about the same cost.

 

[jubilee]

I had a mate who gave us a free bag of that rapeseed straw to try last year Wendy, and it was good stuff, a little sharp underfoot, but really absorbent, trouble is, i haven't seen it for sale since, maybe just not in our area, but wouldn't mind some more, to mix with our shavings. It's good to see a use for it, they just used to plough it in the ground before and i always though it was a waste.

JubesX

 

[Bertie & The Chooks]

I had a mate who gave us a free bag of that rapeseed straw to try last year Wendy, and it was good stuff, a little sharp underfoot, but really absorbent, trouble is, i haven't seen it for sale since, maybe just not in our area, but wouldn't mind some more, to mix with our shavings. It's good to see a use for it, they just used to plough it in the ground before and i always though it was a waste.

JubesX

did you find it stained the feet or the wood when wet?

 

[jubilee]

I never let it get wet Steph, so wouldn't know mate.

JubesXX

 

[wendywoggles]

I had a mate who gave us a free bag of that rapeseed straw to try last year Wendy, and it was good stuff, a little sharp underfoot, but really absorbent, trouble is, i haven't seen it for sale since, maybe just not in our area, but wouldn't mind some more, to mix with our shavings. It's good to see a use for it, they just used to plough it in the ground before and i always though it was a waste.

JubesX

Are you going to the National Show in a couple of weeks? coz we could bring you a bale down. Sorry don't have room for more than 1. Might be some on sale there anyway.

 

[jubilee]

We are going Wendy, but unfortunately hunny we're full to the rafters in the van, i am taking a pair extra for a friend who wants some Jubilee's, and i'm also picking up a trio of bantam blacks from another friend, so have no room left, maybe just enough to squeeze in a couple of bags of Garvo, but i'll proberbly be sitting on one back home on the front seat mate! But thanks for your kind offer! 17 We desparately need a bigger van! :roll: (We also are in charge of the orp club stand which is huge! and has to be strapped to the van side! LOL)

Jubesxx

 

[wendywoggles]

Jubes, when I go to the garden centre I'll see if she knows of any suppliers in your neck of the woods, she has the local franchise for it so might have other franchise contacts or franchisors contact details.

WW