Poultry vet, David Parsons, highlights the impact of the weather on poultry at shows, and explores the use of garlic for controlling red mite.

The unpredictability of the weather is still causing problems. In the past there have been some very hot days at the shows. This year is different simply in terms of the speed with which it changes from wet and windy to hot and dry.

The first two days of the New Forest and Hampshire County Show were hot whilst the third day was much more pleasantly cool. That said, it is no fun when it is pouring with rain and you are slipping and sliding through mud. The weather is certainly more unpredictable or at least it seems that way. If you are providing displays that include animals and birds then you are going to have to ensure you can cope with delivering high welfare on very hot days and very wet days.

GARLIC AND RED MITE
I know that many of you will have used garlic to treat red mite. I have done the same commercially. In my view, garlic helps the chickens cope with red mite infestations.You can either use the garlic as a spray to rid the mite from the poultry housing by spraying it on the surfaces. Alternatively, you can add it to the hens’ drinking water. Or you could do both at the same time. Just make sure that the house treatment does not contain ingredients that should not be drunk.

Jenny Knowles came to talk about red mite and provided this recipe for a red mite spray for poultry housing. Interestingly, this recipe contains additional plant extracts that were not present in the garlic that I used commercially. Whilst the commercial preparation controlled the red mite, it did not eliminate them. The benefit of plant extracts and their suitability for administration in the drinking water is something that I will be looking into.

RED MITE SPRAY FOR POULTRY HOUSING
Ten ounces water to which you add one ounce garlic juice and one teaspoon of these essential oils either on their own or combined to make 1 teaspoon – bay, clove, coriander, lavender, spearmint or thyme.

To make the garlic juice.Take six cloves of garlic and slice them thinly. Heat two cups of water until it just begins to boil and then add the sliced garlic cloves. Simmer for 20 minutes and then allow to cool completely. Strain out the garlic and whisk in one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Pour into a covered container to store. (Note, these are US quantities – cups is a measurement in the US).

This article extract was taken from the October 2024 edition of The Country Smallholder. To read the article in full, you can buy the full issue here.

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