Hi,
Can you tell me someone said to my husband that now our girls are in moult we should be feeding them grower pellets to help them, and not layers as they are not laying, is this true???

This is my first experience of chickens and not read this anywhere!

Oh and I also heard on the radio this lady said its good to use shredded/ripped newspaper on the bottom of the coup, ahe said it helps deter red mite!!!!! Never read this anywhere either but thought I would ask you experienced folk!!!

Many thanks

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And they called it.......Puppy Love xxx

I've not heard of either, what i have read is to give the hens extra protein when moulting, mealworms are popular or tuna, but I think that has to be in spring water, not brine and not too much either as it can effect the kidneys.
To deter red mite I've been using DE (diatomaceous Earth),it's a natural product that you sprinkle over their coop etc, in fact I'm so paranoid about RM that I sprinkle it everywhere, shop around though as the price differences are unbelievable and you need to get the food grade variety.

I hear fennel is meant to deter mites and fleas.

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Robert.
my flickr page.

I know the printers ink in the newspaper deters mites in rabbit hutches so it may have the same effect in the coop but I am not 100% sure sorry.

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I haven't heard of either of those methods either. Our chickens have just come out of a moult and we didn't change the food they're on. However, apparently they use a lot more calcium during a moult so giving them some yoghurt which they love, can be a very good way of providing them with an extra burst every so often. They don't need it very often, maybe once a week?
I only found that out part way through the moult but they seemed to love it and are now all feathery again!!