Pecking For Perfection
In the December 2016/January 2017 issue’s Poultry Talk section, there was a letter from Ruth Hill, “A Hen Getting Pecked.”
Roosters will attack, pick on and kill a hen, making a hen’s life miserable because he feels she isn’t “right” or “good enough” for his harem. Here’s a case of a flock of bantam hens with their bantam rooster. Then you add a standard sized hen to his flock. He can’t mount her correctly, so she must go.
If one of “his” hens gets sick, has mental problems, visual problems or anything that isn’t normal, he will eliminate her from his flock. The fact that both roosters went for the same chicken means something is definitely wrong with it.
Give or trade that chicken to a roosterless flock and all should be fine. But not Araucana hens or other breeds that are high strung. Hens can also pick on handicapped hens.
Cheryl Bennett, Oregon
Thanks for the Memories
The gifts of your magazine have been welcome for the pleasure of raising and learning about the chickens. It reminds me of when Linda, a school teacher, had a lesson for her third-graders, and when no one could care for the chickens, she took them home, and it raised much smoke from her neighbors and her family. She found a home on a farm, and Linda still misses them.
Anyway, thanks again for the memories.
Kathleen Sole, West Virginia
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Thank You for Your Support
We are so thankful for your great magazine. Thank you for supporting our 4-H Club. Hope to see you next year!
4-H Club, Kinnewick, Washington
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A Coop to Show Off
We would like to share some pictures of our chicken coop with you.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Lee Roy and Connie Duprie, Texas
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Please Be More Scientific
This was my first issue of Backyard Poultry (December 2016/January 2017) and while I enjoyed reading the more anecdotal content, I was concerned with the lack of strong scientific founding for some of the poultry management advice.
I understand that your target audience may not be the most scientifically savvy individuals, but I feel very strongly that communication of information related to the health and well-being of any creature, from backyard poultry to other humans, should be accurate and scientifically sound.
I have a PhD in Immunology from NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine and have worked as a research scientist for a major pharmaceutical company developing novel poultry vaccines. I have been around enough experts in poultry science over the years to know that they are an approachable lot and their advice is easy to come by. Beyond that, a simple Google Scholar search can provide a wealth of published information pertaining to a wide array of issues from peer reviewed journals. It is the ethical responsibility of the authors of any piece of public communication to fact check with reliable sources prior to disseminating their opinions or advice.
To provide you with more specific examples, I have gone through this article with comments on the sections I felt were questionable:
“Rosemary is a well known pesticide.” Rosemary extract when applied topically to insects will act as a fairly potent insecticide. However, if planted around your chicken coop, this would actually be an insect deterrent, as it will not directly kill pests such as mosquitoes, but will discourage them from entering that area. Beyond this, I have never had an issue with insects around my chicken coop as my flock of 10 systematically hunts and destroys anything that buzzes, wiggles or hops.
“Rosemary also contains anti-inflammatory properties.” I agree with this statement, but there should be more information available to the reader through citations. Rosemary extract at
specific concentrations has been shown to be effective at reducing edema or swelling. The concentrations of specific chemical components can vary from plant to plant, but if the plants are being ground into a poultice and applied topically to treat swelling of the legs, this should be at least partially successful. However, if essential oil of rosemary is being directly applied, the concern then becomes overexposure, which can lead to detrimental effects such as irritation of the intestines, kidneys, skin and stomach. If the swelling does not resolve in a few days or there is continued irritation at the site of application, there may be a more serious problem and continued application of oil is only going to exacerbate the issue.
“Rosemary is thought to help staph infections.” This statement is false and is the actual motivation behind this letter. Rosemary extracts have been shown to interfere with the growth of some bacteria and fungi in culture in a laboratory setting including Salmonella, Listeria, and Streptococcus. However, it is not effective against Staphaureus. Furthermore, although there is promising evidence that chemicals found in certain herbal plant extracts could have applications as antimicrobials in the future, suggesting that someone treat an infections such as staph with essential oils is completely irresponsible. Advanced bumblefoot is extremely difficult to treat even with strong pharmaceutical grade antibiotics. I appreciate the desire to offer alternatives in an industry plagued by overuse of antibiotics but until there is solid evidence-based information for the effective management of bacterial infections with essential oils at specific dosing recommendations, antibiotics have to be used.
Clik here to view.
Michelle Miller’s Buff Brahma, Samwise Gamgee.
“Rosemary improves circulation … contact … will cause the oils to be absorbed.” As a general statement for this section as well as the preceding ones, the referenced studies were all performed in vitro (in a test tube or dish) in the lab with the exception of one study using rats. None of these activities or indications has been demonstrated in poultry. If one were to take the amount of extract used to treat cells or bacteria in each experiment and extrapolate the actual dose or exposure level required for an animal to obtain this concentration of compound at the tissue site, it becomes obvious that simple skin absorption will not be sufficient to induce any type of discernible event. It is worth noting that in one study, oregano was effective as an antimicrobial but was also toxic to animal cells at the same doses.
In summary, while I support open-minded approaches to animal husbandry I cannot support claims with no scientific founding, or worse, statements that directly contradict scientific evidence. I am constantly amazed by the newly discovered compounds that exist in nature. Penicillin wasn’t synthetically constructed in a high-tech lab, after all!
However, by taking the time to research the subject matter and providing citations for readers to fact-check ad libitum, your writers will improve the quality of their work and the credibility of your publication. (Also, an advice column written by a veterinarian would be a fantastic edition.)
Thank you, for taking the time to read through my concerns and consider the implications of what I have written. I look forward to your responses and leave you with a picture of our fancy-footed Buff Brahma roo, Samwise Gamgee.
Michelle Miller
Editor’s Note: We thanked Michelle for keeping us honest. And then we asked her to write for us. Look for her byline on some health topics in upcoming issues.
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A Hoot
On Oct. 14, I went and opened the door so my chickens could get out in my garden. It’s about 5:30 in the morning and still dark out. I left for work about 6, and saw a shadow going off my garden gate in the headlights.
Clik here to view.
A beautiful villain, the one-eyed owl.
When I got to work, I called my husband to go and make sure the owl didn’t come back. He didn’t see him, but a bit later, the owl was in the chicken pen. Chickens were out, but he was with the three dead ones, so he shut the door because he couldn’t figure how to get out.
So I got home from work and got a couple of pictures, and started to cut the wire after we got the end all open. He, of course, flew out the door.
He came back for more and got one through the wire off the roost. Of course it was on the inside, on the ground, in the morning, because it couldn’t get through the wire. So I’ve moved all the chickens so no more problems. But all in all, he’s a very beautiful, one-eyed guy. I hope he makes it in your magazine. Thanks for such a great magazine.
Robin Miller, Washington
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A Picture of Gratitude
First of all, I love your magazine! There is so much great information and beautiful pictures, I have to read each issue at least 15 times! The Family Album and photo contest is always my favorite part, so I just thought I’d send a few of my favorite pictures and hope to see them in the magazine sometime. Y’all are great!
Hannah, North Carolina
Editor’s Note: Thanks Hannah! Look for her photos in an upcoming photo contest section.
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Better Light Ideas
What a poor system (“Daylight Extender,” December 2016/January 2017). Such a light fixture as pictured might give enough light for four hens, plus a 60-watt bulb is not a good source of light. Have you not heard of fluorescent lights that give a light more like real light? An 8-foot light fixture gives enough light for a fair number of hens.
Wilson White, Alabama
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