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church chooks

Feeling fed up with eglu and chickens

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i guess i'm having an unfortunate time but....

 

I've had my eglu for 3 and a half weeks now, with three hybrid chickens from omlet.

 

:( First of all one of them had worms - omlet happily sent me some free diatom to treat them though i bought flubenvet in the end. The bird with worms had clearly had her feathers trimmed around her vent - so someone had noticed she wasn't well before.

 

:( Then i ordered a rain cover which came with one bungee missing - omlet happily sent me some more.

 

:( i have rust forming on the run, around the door, and at the apex of the run.

 

:( The plastic used to make the pink sections of the eglu has tiny little air bubbles in it, so that even though i've scrubbed it and disinfected it every week some sections look like they have blackheads! The glugs is particularly badly effected as every air bubble has gone black and is presumably harbouring dirt i can't shift.

 

:( Tonight i have discovered that there are red mite in the eglu, even though i have taken the whole thing apart and scrubbed it in boiling water and disinfected it every week.

 

:( And the girls have stopped laying regularly!

 

Have i just had a string of bad luck or is this going to go on at this rate for all the time i have chickens? :(:(:(

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Poor thing, you have been unlucky. The omlet plastic does get engrained dirt. I've never heard of rust in the eglu run before.

The mites will stop the chickens laying. They usually live on wood. I press diatom on the ends of the bars to discourage them.

I only clean the whole eglu every month or so, and just empty the tray, wipe the nest, and change the nesting material.

I've had very few problems in nearly a year and the chickens are lovely and provide hours of entertainment and nice eggs. The forum is there for advice/support on anything and you can search the "stickies" for information.

There is a 28 day return policy if you're really unhappy, but I wouldn't swap my chickens for the world.

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Oh dear. You have had a run of it. I also had red mite (grrrr) and I found the best thing for it was poultryshield, which comes in a big bottle that you then dilute into a spray bottle. I've not used all that much of it, but I spray the bars and the joins of the eglu with it most weeks, and I haven't had a problem since. It also got rid of them completely from the wooden houses. Laying picked up massively once I got rid of the red mite.

 

You should be all clear on the worms now anyway, and you'll have the flubenvet for the next time you need to worm the chooks. I'm just about to redo mine.

 

And do chat to Omlet about the rust and the blackheads. My eglu also has those, I can shift them but it involves using the jet spray on the hose, which I can't do at the mo.

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i :( The plastic used to make the pink sections of the eglu has tiny little air bubbles in it, so that even though i've scrubbed it and disinfected it every week some sections look like they have blackheads! The glugs is particularly badly effected as every air bubble has gone black and is presumably harbouring dirt i can't shift.

 

 

You poor thing,you have been terribly unlucky :?

 

First off,phone Omlet & tell them everything, especially about the hen with the trimmed feathers.

it is important that they know there is a problem,& they are very helpful.

 

Secondly,do you have a dishwasher?

If you do,pop the Glug into it,& if you have an intensive cycle it should come up pretty much spotless :P

I had this problem a few weeks ago,& this has sorted it.

Pressure cleaning the Eglu will help shift the black pock marks too :P

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I know how you feel - My 2 arrived 16.09. Lily had a cold when she arrived and had to have antibiotics. They both had to be wormed. Flo is on death row...she is on antibiotics for possible microplasma??? and when i got back from the vets found her crawling with lice. great.

 

I do love them dearly..,.don't give up. Personaly I think the problem is with a hen shortage which forced them to use other breeders.

 

I hope we both get our problems sorted!!!!

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Sounds like you have had a run of rotten luck. My yellow eglu has tiny black pock marks: About the size of pin heads all over, which I pressure wash off every now and again. To be honest, I don't think anything which is going to spend its life outside with our climate is going to remain spotless forever,and so I am happy about this. Pressure washing brings it up like new. :D

 

As regards the chickens, yes, I too would be fed up with the situation, but as aunty e points out, at least the worms should be gone, and you will see a return of eggs once the mites have gone too! :evil:

 

I would speak to the Omlet guys about all of this, but especially the rust, as that simply is not right, and you should get a good response from them: They are a very good company, but often run off their feet. Do let us know how you get on, and I do hope that you are enjoying your chickens despite all this?

Best wishes

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I think you definitely get onto Omlet about the chickens they're supplying. Especially if you've had to worm them/give antibiotics to them within the month. Especially as they're supposed to give you fit and healthy birds with the eglu from a reputable breeder. If they can't find a better supplier in my opinion they shouldn't supply them with hens and let you find your own.

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here's the update - and a much happier chook owner :D

 

omlet are sending me some red mite powder :D I had a bit already and so now it looks rather like an explosion in an icing sugar factory :lol::lol:

 

they said that the air bubbles in the plastic are normal - which is fine, i think i was just getting a bit paranoid after the last few weeks. :oops:

 

they have said email them some photos of the rust and we will take it from there :D i don't really mind what the answer is, it might be that i've noticed a bit that's normal, but it will be nice to know.

 

so, one very happy chicken owner again :D All i need now are some eggs :lol::lol:

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having covered everything that moves with mite powder, and had an egg today i'm feeling much happier :D:D:D

 

from eveyone's response and from the reaction at omlet i know i've just been really really unlucky :?

 

i do love my chickens - i'm going to order some poultry shield tomorrow.

 

i'll also buy lots of tomatoes as they are the girls favourite food :lol::lol:

 

thanks for the encouragement - I just needed to moan! All happy now :dance::dance::dance:

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