Cube mk2 and WIR

[*mummy_hen*]

Hello all omleters,

 

Haven't been on for a while but my girls are doing fantastic - have feathered up so much now and are all plump and cuddly! Will post some up to date pictures soon.

 

I know you are all clued up, but just thought i would post a little reminder warning about the dangers of redmite.

When we rescued our ex-batts back in May, my mum also rescued 5. We both did all our research and followed everything to the letter, including redmite powdering the house every 4-5 weeks, etc. etc. Well about a fortnight ago, one of mums chickens Marley became very poorly, wasn't eating or drinking, was very pale....then she perked up a little, then another of the girls became poorly, then recovered a little, then 1 week later she opened them up in the morning to find Marley nearly dead, she wouldn't open her eyes, she wouldn't eat/drink. She gave her a thorough check over only to find red mite on her - even though the house was still covered in red mite powder - Marley was rushed to the vet and put on a drip, they had to operate to remove an egg as she didn't have the strength to push it out herself.

 

The house was completely and utterly infested with the vile things - it took 4 days to fully remove them with super strong spray - the girls were living in her spare room for 4 days!!

 

She has subsequently found out that the preventative powder (sold on omlet) is fully organic so basically.....doesn't work!! You need to use something far stronger, once a month - it only takes about 4 hours to dry out so you only need a sunny day when you let the chicks out to free-range.

We have also found out - you can NEVER cure redmite, just control them!!

 

Sorry for the major rant, just seeing Marley nearly die, although we had followed what we had been told to do was heartbreaking. I just wouldn't want anyone else to think they had done all they could to prevent it, only to find out what they were using was completely useless!!!

[Egluntyne]

Poor Marley.

 

Red mite can be very difficult to eradicate.

 

Thanks for the reminder that we can never relax about them.

 

Here's hoping that Marley makes a full recovery.

[GreenGirl]

Poor little Marley Thanks for bringing home how serious it can be, out of interest, what was the stronger stuff you used?

[The Dogmother]

Probably Poultry Shield

 

Is your housing wooden Mummy hen? My friends with wooden housing have had problems with mites this year - the dampness seems to suit them

[mrsallen08]

We have a wooden coop too and we have had a few problems with mites. Very tricky to spot the in coop. Our exbatts did come with a major case of mites. Was horrible and it did take a good few dustings to resolve completely. We are now building another wooden coop but all the little gaps between joins we are sealing with silicone (not where hens may peck!) to try to help reduce future problems.

 

We have also found that the dog has had fleas too which was the same time as we had the exbatts? Not sure how/if this could be connected???

 

Hope your Marley is making a full recovery.

Thanks for the tips, Heather