4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[sarahschicks]

hello to all, I am new to the forum and need some advise. We have 10 chickens at the moment, we did have more but sadly a couple died and 1 was taken by a fox as they free range in our garden.

How easy is it to tell if they have red mite? I clean their houses out from top to bottom weekly, but the wodden hen house has a funny powdery smell that has never been there befofe.

Am I just worrying over nothing?

[Egluntyne]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

 

If the hens have red mite, they will be lethargic, have a pale face, comb and wattles be ruffled looking and eventually will stop laying.

 

They will show an unwillingness to go into the coop at night too.

 

Check under roofing felt if you have a wooden ark, and in all nooks and crannies. You may find a powdery cigarette ash like substance. This is red mite before they have feasted. If you find clusters of red blobs, this is red mite after a meal.

 

Have a look at **this article** for further info. Scroll down a bit.

[sarahschicks]

Thankyou for the advise.

The girls are all healthy and happy, bright red cones etc. I have looked all over the hen house and under the roof felt and nothing.

I now know what to look out for though