The Chicken and Egg Page: Poultry Pest Patrol

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Poultry Pest Patrol

Chickens for Fly Control

[From Mother Earth News February/March 2002]

We have raised show rabbits for seven years and have had wonderful experiences with my daughters showing them. The major downside, as with all livestock, is manure management and flies. Parasitic flies reduce the nasty fly population, but have to be bought every year and are expensive. We’ve tried chickens, but even Bantics with clipped wings would flap their way up and roost on the cages. Usually they roost right over the water bottle or dish … and yuck! This year we took a double path to a fly-free, cleaner environment. We put stall mats under the rows of cages (25 to 30 cages) so raking and shoveling were easier, and we had a cleaner floor when we were done with that once-a-month job.

We bought Silkie Bantam chickens who do a very poor job of flying because their feathers are hairy instead of stiff. They do hop and flap a lot and have made it to the top of a closed garbage can with the help of a cage left beside the can. But none have made it to the top of the cage.

  • Published on Mar 13, 2007
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