Solitary chicken - need advice

[Jules.]

Bron I'm sorry to read this

 

I will keep a really close eye on Basil from now on.

 

Have you perhaps thought about using surgical spirit to paint onto the cube as well? Since its used for scaley leg mite it might work?

[AJuff]

I was a little surprised by the response from Omlet. Your red-mite infestation raises a whole new set of questions about how easy the plastic really is to clean mites away.

 

Just thinking about their new Beehaus - what if you picked up foulbrood and the combs/bees were destroyed. Wooden hives are blowtorched to sterilize them. If the mites/spores got into the bubbles of the plastic like the red mite has wouldn't that be impossible to kill the infestation?

[bronze]

Sorry to hear about your problem!!

 

 

also...I cant work out how to get the nesting box away from the front 'wall' as there is a gap I cant get in to clean properly....Ive taken the only 2 screws I can see out but no joy!! Maybe the Mark 1 eglu wasnt sold as 'anti-mite' and had been adapted since....starting to wish I had just gone for the cheaper coop!

 

 

That was th ebit I was worried about when I put them into the eglu/ It comes as one piece that bit and I have never tried getting it apart. There is a big cosy gap there for themt hough

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I got mine apart a while ago. I think there were 4 screws altogether. Have another look, you should find the others.

[chick wiggle]

Scary! Thanks for the warning Bron. Im surprised at omlets reaction too and so sorry for the horrendous time your having. What a nightmare. hope you manage to sort it out soon. *hugs*

[Tink]

Sorry to hear about your problem!!

 

 

also...I cant work out how to get the nesting box away from the front 'wall' as there is a gap I cant get in to clean properly....Ive taken the only 2 screws I can see out but no joy!! Maybe the Mark 1 eglu wasnt sold as 'anti-mite' and had been adapted since....starting to wish I had just gone for the cheaper coop!

 

 

That was th ebit I was worried about when I put them into the eglu/ It comes as one piece that bit and I have never tried getting it apart. There is a big cosy gap there for themt hough

 

 

I poured as much poultry shield down the side as I could and hope for the best really!! It is a really big gap!!

 

I really hope you get yours sorted soon!! Im due to take it apart again tomorrow and give it the major clean again....so fingers crossed

 

Thanks ANH, I will have another look tomorrow - I could only find the 2 screws on the sides!

[redfrock]

really sorry to hear your problems Bron

I have to say it is something that I actually said to my OH when I bought a second hand eglu several years ago. I looked at all the dark marks in the pin prick holes and wondered if they could be red mite. he said I was being daft. Maybe I wasn't

 

Another place I suggest you check Bron is the 'manufacturing holes'. They are in the coloured parts of the cube. Much larger than the pin pricks - you can't really miss them and they tend to have some 'plastic wool' like substance in them. I used to drench these bits with poultry shield because I was so paranoid about red mite setting up home it there. It seemed an obvious nest site.

 

I think Omlet need to take a long hard look at things. When we joined 2.5 year ago, all was rosy in the Omlet world and everybody sung their praises from on high. Then came along the cube .... and the unrest, dissatisfaction and downright shoddy customer service seems to have rocketed since.

 

Hope you get it all sorted .... makes my Chicube even more attractive, given that all the surfaces are totally smooth.

 

hugs xxxx

 

Edited to say, if I remember rightly there might be some of those 'maufacturing holes' with the woolly bits in the nest box divider as well

Edited August 19, 2009 by Guest

[Sarahw12]

Omlet weren't interested in accepting that a fox had attacked my hen through the cube mesh, either.

 

I think they have just made up their minds that the product is perfect, and they're not ready to look at any possible problems at all.

 

I'm really sorry you're having a rubbish time!

[Redwing]

The customer service seems to be a bit of a lottery, some people including me have had brilliant service and some people also including me have had a 'don't care ' or 'take it or leave it' type of customer service, I don't know if its a staff lottery, a day of the week lottery or a 'how busy are they today?' lottery

[bronze]

I would like to just say thank you to everyone whos offered me sympathy, advice and ideas.

Its hectic here, was busy before am even busier now. So I don't mean to be rude if I forget to reply to a pm or sdomething like that. It is all much appreciated

[Snowy]

Hi Bron, I've only just caught up with this, what a horrendous time you are having!

I did find red mite in one of the holes in the nest box divider - I sealed them in with silicone sealant and there has been no evidence of them reappearing there. I also hadn't thought about the pin prick holes - I didn't realise they would be bigger holes under the surface Am off to do a double check and deep clean. I hope you manage to get some better support from Omlet, their response is very disappointing

[Tink]

Sorry to hear about your problem!!

 

 

also...I cant work out how to get the nesting box away from the front 'wall' as there is a gap I cant get in to clean properly....Ive taken the only 2 screws I can see out but no joy!! Maybe the Mark 1 eglu wasnt sold as 'anti-mite' and had been adapted since....starting to wish I had just gone for the cheaper coop!

 

 

That was th ebit I was worried about when I put them into the eglu/ It comes as one piece that bit and I have never tried getting it apart. There is a big cosy gap there for themt hough

 

Hi, hope things are looking better today - fingers crossed for you...

 

I did manage to get the eglu apart toady - needed 4 screws removing and 3 'hexagonal' headed bolts...problem was when I got it apart I noticed that it was hollow inside which I was slightly horrified about...hadnt realised that, thought it was solid plastic..mine is the Mark 1 though, things may have changed. Putting it back together was another issue altogether...one of the bolts cross threaded and after 1 hour I ended up having to 'saw' the head off...lots of fun today

[Snowy]

Well I'm glad I read this today, I think I'd only cleaned mine out about 10 days ago, but it was only a superficial clean, the last deep clean was prior to going on holiday mid July. It was crawling with the darned things Luckily they were mainly superficial, in the slots where the nest box partition sits, under the ends of the roosting bars and under the rim of the back section. Where I'd filled the hold with silicone sealant, they had got underneath the sealant!! They were also underneath the poop trays. I only found two of the bubble type holes with any inside and managed to use a pin to squish them and squirted Ardap inside. It's now been deep cleaned and sprayed, but I need to go and buy some poultry shield as I know that I've only washed them off the surface I'd puffed red mite powder around everywhere after the last clean, but they were merrily sitting in the stuff, so that has proven itself neither use nor ornament

[bronze]

the total mite kill spray is the best thing I've found. I think its killed the majority of the ones in the holes and if I keep doing it all week I'm sure I will be ok.

[Chook n Boo Mum]

Crikey Bronze, what a nightmare..........I took the apart yesterday & did a jet wash in all the nooks & crannies.....didn't look as closely as maybe I should have though

 

Customer service does seem to be a bit hit & miss...don't they realise that current customers are the ones who can make or break a company....word of mouth can be so damaging.

 

Sha x

[xScrunchee]

I'm happy with the Eglu so far but next year I will not be getting a cube!! No way

 

I will however think about a wooden house or even a chicube, smooth, shiny etc.

 

Has made me think twice and also-word of mouth is powerful as I normally sing the praises of Omlet products to people but since this case I have mentioned to a few people about the redmite problem due to the bad finish as well as the disgusting customer service.

I am one person and don't really matter but lot's of one persons make lot's of people

 

 

Edited to add-James from Omlet phoned me today concerned that I was unhappy with the customer service that I have received from Omlet so I would just like to make it clear that I personally have only ever had great customer service from Omlet.

I was actually using the term 'disgusting customer service' with regards to the people who have had/are having problems with Omlet products and despite informing Omlet the seem to be getting no help, even after a whole year!!

 

I see no reason why people would lie and say that Omlet are doing nothing but of course-I shouldn't really comment considering that I haven't had any problems!

Edited August 24, 2009 by Guest

[Christian]

I think it is a little unfair to say 'disgusting customer service'

 

Red mite are horrible things and any chicken coop can get them. It is unfortunate that you have such a bad case Bronze and I do sympathise. They are nasty and can be a nightmare to get rid of. I hope you solve the problem soon.

[Staffordmum]

Good morning,

 

no offers of replacements, in fact nothing offered to help at all.

 

Hopefully people will realise reading this thread that there is a problem, they aren't going to do anything about it and your on your own.

 

Shame really as Bron has been very active in promoting this product for them, I doubt that will continue now though after this.

 

Ditto

 

I bought a used Cube and one of the screw threads was actually "missing". Eventually, after a very lengthy conversation, Omlet very kindly sent a new screw and thread. Actually, they didn't really want to know ...

 

Having recently acquired a used Eglu - I noticed the same bubbles in the casting when I was jet washing it. The Eglu seems to be infested with earwigs and I just can't work out where they're hiding/breeding.

 

Thanks to Bron and Steve for bringing this matter to our attention. May I suggest pond sealant? we never used it but it was recommended when we had a suspected leak in the liner and is apparently painted on to dry clear.

 

Have a great w/e folks

 

Kind rgds,

 

Pat & Steve

[Jules.]

Re the customer service.

In May07 when I first joined the forum & bought my via eBay people were posting on here that they had screws etc missing in their second hand eglus, contacting Omlet & actually having replacements free of charge

But that was in the days when there were less than 2000 forum members.

 

So, what I'm saying is that in the past Omlet have exceeded their customer service expectations & delighted their customers, but may now be too busy/understaffed/overwhelmed & have lost that "personal" caring touch that the customers found so special.

[Sheilaz]

Firstly, I have enormous sympathy Bronze, I really struggled with a redmite infestation my first summer, and it's been a sad & hectic time for you.

 

Also, it's helpful to others to warn about red mite. They will get anywhere, no housing could stop 2 redmite from hiding overnight!

 

We'll probably all get a few most summers, but then hopefully be luckier that its nipped in the bud before they cause harm, and I'm sorry it turned out worse for you this time.

 

But, I'm certain that plastic housing & diatom/powder dusting mean that, whilst a few mites are inevitable, severe infestations are very, very rare.

[bronze]

and I thought I had problems!!

[Sheilaz]

Hope things are improving now Bronze?

[bronze]

Sort of. The edges of my cube are ruined so good thing I didnt want to sell (well I didnt before anyway) but I'm beating the mite and the girls seem ok. Trying not to think about the two that I lost, just seeing Nell come round from the brink of death had helped a lot.

I'm still fighting the mite though I suspect I will be spraying everyday for a long time to come.

[Egluntyne]

I really rate diatom in the cube and eglus. I took my cube apart yesterday ( it needed a good wash ) and put diatom in every crevice, and then I rubbed it all over the internal and external surfaces as an extra precaution.

 

The cube looks lilac now instead of purple.

 

It does seem to be a particularly bad year for red mite by all accounts.

 

I'm vaguely worried that the wood of my WIR might be a potential problem, so that gets a good spray with Poultry Shield when I've got my fettling head on.

[Karen & co.]

I really rate diatom in the cube and eglus. I took my cube apart yesterday ( it needed a good wash :oops) and put diatom in every crevice, and then I rubbed it all over the internal and external surfaces as an extra precaution.

 

The cube looks lilac now instead of purple.

 

It does seem to be a particularly bad year for red mite by all accounts.

 

I'm vaguely worried that the wood of my WIR might be a potential problem, so that gets a good spray with Poultry Shield when I've got my fettling head on.

 

I did wonder about the wood in the WIR needing treating think I might give it a spray next clean out too

 

We must have Ded Ard mite here, as they just walk around in diatom I even took some and put they on a piece of paper to see how long it took them to die but they didn't

 

The battle continues

 

Karen x