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Learned more about keeping chickens from a guy at the county fair in Sedalia than from 2 years of internet reading
I was at the state fair in Sedalia back in August, just killing time before the demo derby, and wandered into the poultry barn. This old guy named Harold had about 40 birds on display and I asked him how he keeps his hens from getting sick when the weather swings. He told me he puts a scoop of plain yogurt in their water every Sunday, about 1 tablespoon per gallon, and swears he has not lost a bird to a respiratory thing in 9 years. I figured it was hillbilly nonsense but tried it on my 6 hens starting in September. Three months in and I have not seen a single runny nose or raspy breathing, which used to hit my flock every fall like clockwork. Anyone else mess with yogurt or apple cider vinegar in the water, or am I just getting lucky with a mild season?
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wyatt_fisher4111d ago
Been doing the yogurt thing for about two years now after my neighbor's kid showed me how his 4H birds never got sick. I mix a big spoonful into a gallon bucket and give it to them every few days, not just Sundays. What I noticed is it helps most when the weather is bouncing around, like 60 one day and 30 the next, which is when mine used to get the wheezing. I also dump a splash of raw apple cider vinegar in there maybe twice a week, mostly because I read somewhere it keeps the water from getting slimy in the heat. Hard to say which one is doing the work or if it's both together. My old Rhode Island Red, she's 6 now and still laying, which I never got close to before. I figure worst case it's cheap and the birds seem to drink more water with it in there, so I keep doing it.
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