Solitary chicken - need advice

[Doris 12]

Note from the moderating team -Please add any Red Mite posts to this thread in order to avoid multiple threads running

 

 

Just discovered we have a Red Mite infestation Two of my Girls have been broody for the past 4 weeks, so not sure if this has maybe encouraged the problem. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Sorry to hear that . I've not had to deal with the nasty critters yet ( ) but I found a couple of threads that might help you .

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=50155&hilit=+red+mite

 

http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=48541&hilit=+red+mite

[annac]

No advice, but sympathy from me, as I've just found my first red mites this evening

 

I've got a wooden coop, and no time to let it dry before the girls bedtime, so have dusted it with red mite powder, then dusted all the chicks (and myself in the process!). Hopefully that will do for tonight, then will have a thorough clean out in the morning...

[Doris 12]

Thanks for the threads. You and I are in the same boat then annac! I've done similar myself tonight, gearing up for a big attack on them tomorrow! I too have a wooden coop, so many corners for them to hide in...

[Doris 12]

On closer inspection today, my Girls have crawlies on them which are pale in colour, but there are i'm sure Red Mite in the coop, as some are red some black, and i went down t 6am this morning to see what was going on early in the morning and wiped my hand over the perches and found spots of blood. I have some Red mite powder to put on Girls tonight, have taken the Hen House apart and power jetted it, but cannot get anything to spray on the house until Tues. Have they got Lice as well?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

If they have, don't panic . They are easy to get rid of. If you get some Johnson's Anti Mite Spray from Pets at Home (only a few quid) one squirt is often all you need with a further squirt a week later in case any eggs have hatched in the meantime.

 

Note: It contains Ivermectin which is not licensed for use in Poultry in UK and there is an egg withdrawal of 3 days.

[Doris 12]

Thanks. Should I treat them for both with the anti mite spray and the red mite powder? is it ok to use both together?

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I would imagine that would be OK (but am no expert!). I'd certainly happily use both, if that helps .

[Falkor]

I can add Diatom to that list too!

[Sarahsausage]

Hi Doris 12, I recently had an infestation in my wooden coop, I couldn't believe how many were hiding under the roof when I took it off! Anyway, what I did was dismantle the coop as much as I could, used a brush to brush off as many mites as I could (into a large bag that could be sealed and thrown in the bin), then completely doused everything in Poultry Shield (brilliant stuff, seemed to kill them on contact!). I also sprayed into all the cracks (loads of the critters came spilling out!). It was a hot sunny day so everything could dry out nicely. I then powdered all the cracks and crevices with Diatom and reassembled the coop and mixed some Diatom and Red Mite Powder in the bedding and of course dusted the chickens too. I repeated the process again a week later. Since then I have had only a few mites appearing but have re-powdered the coop every week when I've cleaned the coop out. I don't think you can ever get rid of them completely with a wooden coop as there are so many cracks they can hide in but at least you can keep them under control.

 

Good luck! I know how depressing it can be to find them

[The Dogmother]

Sorry to hear about your crawlies. Please be aware that while Diatom will kill any mites, Red Mite Powder is only a preventative.

 

You can dust your housing with an ant powder, which contains permethrin (*this product is not licenced for use on poultry in the UK), Wilkos sell a good one. This will kill them, but as you have wooden housing, you will need to use it all the time to break the lifecycle of the little critters that are hiding in all the nooks and crannies.

[Doris 12]

Thanks for all the advice, I shall be able to hopefully go and buy all the necessary tomorrow and have another go, in the meanwhile have jet hosed the hose , doused the Girls with Red Mite powder and the house too yesterday, and shall go and change the bedding and poop tray again in a minute. will let you know how we get on.

[Abbey Road Girl]

Red mite infestation is terrible! The mites are wee vampires which can and will suck the blood out of your chooks. It can happen very quickly! Luckily, I caught the beasties in time and my chickens have recovered.

 

As others here have advised, use the various treatments. Diatom will destroy the horrible critters while other treatments will prevent them.

[littlecrow]

is it a common thing to get red mite only with wooden coops or can you get it just as easy with eglus?

[Doris 12]

From reading other threads on here it seems as though red mite can be a problem in eglus too, but easier to control as they don't have so many nooks and crannies as wooden coops.

[Abbey Road Girl]

Don't let having an eglu or a cube lull you into a false sense of security. They are easier to clean than a wooden coop but can still become infested.

 

It only took 10 days to go from no obvious sign of infestation to massive. Luckily, a total clean (entirely dismantling the Cube) and Diatom seems to have done the trick (for now anyway) and the girls (whose combs had begun to pale) recovered nicely.

[ClaireG]

I thought i'd got on top of my red mite problem in my wooden coop. However, yesterday i found the little blighters everywhere Having lost one of my girls last week im now sure that the mites were at the very least a contributing factor. We went out last night and bought a cheap plastic dog kennel as an intrim measure until i can afford another eglu.

[The Dogmother]

You'll never totally get rid of them in wooden housing - all it takes is a few mites lingering under the roofing felt, or in a nook and they'll repopulate the coop in no time.

[bronze]

Don't let having an eglu or a cube lull you into a false sense of security. They are easier to clean than a wooden coop but can still become infested.

 

 

 

No don't (see my thread)

[abwsco]

You'll never totally get rid of them in wooden housing - all it takes is a few mites lingering under the roofing felt, or in a nook and they'll repopulate the coop in no time.

 

Same as with Eglus and Cubes then surely.

 

We've had red mite but I obviously caught it early enough as there were hardly any and although it was a pain in the bum to: clean out the coop, PS, steam clean and diatom everywhere including inside and out and the onduline roof plus the wood on the WIR, every 3 days, for two weeks, there is no now sign of red mite when I'm doing the weekly PS spray and perch test. The infestation I first found was less than Bron's photo's show in her cube.

[The Dogmother]

Same as with Eglus and Cubes then surely.

 

Yes, you still get it in plastic housing, but it's less prevalent, easier to spot and easier to get rid of.

[Abbey Road Girl]

Same as with Eglus and Cubes then surely.

 

Yes, you still get it in plastic housing, but it's less prevalent, easier to spot and easier to get rid of.

 

Claret makes a good point about being easier to spot. The mites which are black as well as red would show up more clearly on every colour of Eglu or Cube. The mites also seem to have fluffy brown waste matter which would blend in with wood.

 

I love wood but sometimes plastic--especially where endurance matters--is better.

[The Dogmother]

The thing is that you can get rid of them from plastic housing without destroying the house, whereas, if you have a bad infestation in a wooden house, the only thing to do is to burn it.

[littlecrow]

Is it worth useing poultry shield and other such like products to prevent mite in the first place , or would a good clean every time do the trick?

[The Dogmother]

I use Poultry Shield every time I clean the cube and eglus, purely as a preventative. I then dust with Diatom when it's dery.