06/04/2026
Well yesterday I went and picked up 3 new hens
Every spring and fall I dip every single chicken , and also when I bring new girls in. Why you ask ? This helps me examine each girl for lice or mites....... If you have wild birds land in your yard or have wild animals cross your yard , there's a good chance they pass these critters onto your girls.
Now there's all kinds of chemicals that can be used for this..... They all cause some sort of egg withdraw period where you toss the eggs for 2-4 weeks after treating .....but I had an old time farmer give me my tried and true method ...... No egg withdrawal at all as it's totally safe ...... My dip consists of lukewarm water and a heavy pour of blue dawn dish soap ( when you put your hand in the water you feel super soapy and need to rinse off forever to feel rinsed totally lol ) and that's it. If I notice anybody has any scaly leg and or lice eggs I treat that by rubbing Vaseline which Smothers any mites / lice that may be present at the time. These 3 girls were clear of lice which made me super happy and only 1 girl had 1 leg of scale...... This is what I do , so far this has absolutely worked for me and my girls have been happy and healthy. Outside of the dip I provide the girls with a dust bath consisting of diatomaceous earth and wood ash from my wood stove.
Honestly spa days for me are not my favorite days ..... I get soaked, I get wing slapped and usually have my glasses fall off at least 1000 times BUT it's just one of those not so talked about jobs that need to be done to keep all my girls happy and healthy. I'm sure people driving by seeing me bathing my chickens think I'm nuts hahaha but it's just one of those things that needs to be done 🤣
