EGLU HEAT PROBLEMS

[bronze]

yesIve used diatom all the time before. Ours must the same gangster strain as they too seem fine in it. It does seem to work on the birds though. I'll carry on using it but Im not using it as my main slayer.

 

Ive been spraying all joints in my wir. I cant do much more

[Jools]

There's a thread on the P P forum about red mite arriving in a delivery of woodchip. I don't know if it's possible, but as they infest wild birds who roost in trees, I suppose it must be. A friend of mine thought he had red mite courtesy of a bale of wood shavings.......

 

I think diatom has to be dry to work, so using it on surfaces where it gets wet may be a waste of time.

[bronze]

yes the guy at my local feed places actually said things like hemcore etc are best as they are vacuum packed so any nasties get killed

[Snowy]

Today I picked up some Total Mite Kill and some Poultry Shield. Have sprayed everywhere with poultry shield (some areas had recolonised - after only 2 days! ). I've also sprayed the run and the branches that mine roost in - although I couldn't find any evidence of them out there. Merrydale/Regency have started stocking the Total Mite Kill, sprays and powders.

[chick wiggle]

OMG! Just watched your video Daniel and I am absolutely shocked, has Omlet seen this? If they have and still dont replace the whole flippin thing then that really is shocking customer service.

Brilliant video by the way

[Sheilaz]

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

 

Goodness, those mites must wear armour Karen (I would have tried that experiment too )

I'll be rooting for you in the battle, let us know how you get along.

 

Hope things have turned the corner for you Bronze, it sounds like it.

[xScrunchee]

Excellent video

 

And after seeing that I will stick to my previous comment about the disgusting customer service!!

[Clash City Rocker]

Very sorry to hear about this bronze. I will be looking at my Cube and eglus tomorrow (fingers crossed for me and I hope you get yours clean).

 

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

 

Disagree strongly. Any trawl of this forum would reveal many, many dissatisfied customers including myself (and I spent many hours of my free time moderating this forum in the early days). Poor customer service on the phone lines, poor customer service in terms of their sub-contracted courier, poor build quality and now red mites in the plastic!

 

I still have a leaking cube and I have spent well over a grand with Omlet. Overall, I have been more dissatisfied than satisfied with the service I have received (and my personal experience is that this has not been a priority for the company)...

 

When the leaking cubes first came about, there were always lots of "helpful" owners keen to point out that their cube was dead ace and didn't leak at all - a lot of comfort that was for me and my girls!

 

I'm surprised that somebody hasn't suggested that red mites in the cube must be the result of you building the cube yourself; rather than getting Omlet to build it for you (by the way, Omlet did build my cube and it still leaked)...

 

Here is a video showing my amazing Cube water feature (still not resolved):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_HaEUVP-fY

 

 

[Google search "You Tube Omlet Leaking Cube"]

 

Since I posted this video earlier this year the gaps in the structure have got larger and larger - I get the feeling that I am more than halfway through the life cycle of this product. Expensive to replace after a relatively short time...

 

HOPEFULLY THE FLOODED NEST BOX IN MY CUBE WILL HAVE DROWNED ANY NAUGHTY RED MITES, EH?

 

I use the same "drowning method" as Daniel, seems to work quite well

 

Daniel,

 

Have you tried emailing the "boys at HQ" info@omlet.co.uk

You should send them some photo's or video or full length feature film.

[Patricia W]

I have to say, that I have always had excellent service with the Omlet products I've bought (an eglu, cube, netting and bits and bobs).

 

I've called there to pick things up a couple of times and I've seen how small the place is, and how few staff there are. It is obviously a young company. One aspect that did impress me was that I was sent a feedback form to complete on the product I had bought - which indicates that they want to learn.

 

Others obviously have not had the experience I have had. I think there is some research that says a dissatisfied customer tells 11 people whilst a satisfied customer tells 4 so that alone can give the impression that there are more dissatisfied customers than satisfied -which is what seems to be happening.

 

I do hope everyone gets their problems sorted out.

 

Tricia

[The Dogmother]

Today I picked up some Total Mite Kill and some Poultry Shield. Have sprayed everywhere with poultry shield (some areas had recolonised - after only 2 days! ). I've also sprayed the run and the branches that mine roost in - although I couldn't find any evidence of them out there. Merrydale/Regency have started stocking the Total Mite Kill, sprays and powders.

 

I have been given some samples of the Total Mite Kill products to try. The powder is just Diatom, but the liquid concentrate should be good as it contains Permethrin. Be aware though that this ingredient is toxic for cats, so keep them away from the area until it has dried.

[bronze]

its what I've been using

 

it works!!

[Redwing]

It does work, I was really impressed and will be buying more

[The Dogmother]

They do a concentrate (which works out more expensive than Poultry Shield) and a pink spray for the housing, which also contains permethrin.

 

'Theoretically' you ought to be able to use it on the birds too, but it's not licenced and I would hesitate to make any recommendations.

[Snowy]

I notice the powder was just DE (I always check ingredients ) so I didn't get that - cheaper to buy plain DE!

Used the pink spray today, 2 days after using the poultry shield solution. There were still one or two about, but the pink spray seemed to stop them in their tracks.

Just need to do me now *shudders* had to go for a shower as I found a couple on me

[The Dogmother]

I notice the powder was just DE (I always check ingredients ) so I didn't get that - cheaper to buy plain DE!

Used the pink spray today, 2 days after using the poultry shield solution. There were still one or two about, but the pink spray seemed to stop them in their tracks.

Just need to do me now *shudders* had to go for a shower as I found a couple on me

 

I clocked that about the powder, sorry, meant to mention it above. I think that the cleaning range will prove to be good, but do bear in mind that it contains Permethrin, so keep any pusskits away from it.

[Snowy]

Not a problem. No cats around here

[Lewis]

Glad the problem is on the way to being sorted

 

Just say in the little bits I've dealt with Omlet they've been really helpful and friendly on the phone and emails. I've recommended them to others who have had the same experiences

[james]

Hi,

 

I have just read through this topic and felt that it needed a response.  There are several threads which I would like to address individually.

 

Red mite

These pests come out at night to feed on chickens but during the day they hide in any dark spaces within the house, this can be a joint between two panels, the ledge where the roosting bars sit or simply under the straw in the nesting box. It's not possible to design a chicken house that doesn't have anywhere for red mites to live and as they can breed rapidly vigilance and regular cleaning is the key to ensuring you don't have an infestation.

 

The eglu and cube don't have the numerous joints, small cracks and open grain that wooden houses have where mite like to live. However, because they will live in any dark space it is possible to find them hiding under the dropping trays or in between panels.

 

The good news is that because the eglu and cube are made from plastic it's quite straightforward to effectively tackle the problem. The way to deal with them is to take the cube apart – remove roosting bars, dropping trays, partition, side panels and front door panel – clean everything thoroughly and then apply a dedicated mite eradicator liberally.  If you have an eglu you do the same – take the lid off, remove the eggport, remove the roosting bars and dropping trays. You may need to do this more than once to fully get rid of the mite and it's a good idea to apply diatomaceous earth to the chickens, the nest box and their dust bath. As noted earlier in the post, there are minor bumps and holes in some of the surfaces of the plastic. These are shallow and small and do not provide good hiding places for red mites, however mites may use them in a large infestation.

 

Improvements to the design

The eglu and cube were both designed to provide your chickens with a warm, secure and comfortable place to live. The fact that most people heard about Omlet through word of mouth is testament to the ease of use and design of the products.  However, there is always room for improvement! Since launch we have managed to improve the product dramatically.  For example, we have replaced the wooden roosting bars with plastic ones, increased the size of the run door to make it easier to access, improved quality and we have made modifications to several panels to reduce the chance of water getting in. I know some contributors to this post have contacted me before about their cubes and I am working with them to solve the problem. Like you, we would like all the products to be perfect and to get rid of the last 1% of niggles and we are happy to hear your feedback. No matter how small the problem is please contact me directly, my phone number is 01295 757 142 or email is james@omlet.co.uk .

 

Customer service

I am sorry to hear that a few people on this thread have had poor customer service.  We try to offer the type of customer service that we would like to receive.  I have personally spoken to nearly everyone on this thread who feels unhappy and have taken their comments on board.  It really does matter to us all that you are pleased with the service you receive and if you ever feel we could do more then please get in touch with me directly.

 

Thanks,

 

James

[Redwing]

Thank you for taking the time to respond James it certainly seems to be a bad year for red mite

 

Regarding the customer service, this forum is a great place and many new people here who have arrived here 'on the fence' about the Eglu/cube have gone on to buy your products on recommendation and encouragement of the forum members so its nice that you took the trouble to find out what is going wrong in places

 

Now just one question: when does the Omlet walk in run come out? Maybe in panels like giant meccano? there are a lot of people investing in WIRs at the moment

[Cooks]

Tasha!

 

Thanks James, always nice to hear from you. *waves*

[The Dogmother]

Thank you James

 

I am working on an article about Red Mite and their eradication; it should be available later this week unless we get any more crises at work

[Patricia W]

Yes please to the walk in run suggestion!!

 

Tricia

[Fur 'n' Feathers]

Thank you for taking the time to respond James it certainly seems to be a bad year for red mite

 

Regarding the customer service, this forum is a great place and many new people here who have arrived here 'on the fence' about the Eglu/cube have gone on to buy your products on recommendation and encouragement of the forum members so its nice that you took the trouble to find out what is going wrong in places

 

Definately agree with this James. We have also had a good service from Omlet. Coming from a small business background I am well versed with the problems of "growth".

 

As an aside, we haven't got red mite, but went to our suppliers to get some Poultry Shield as a precautionary measure. We explained to the sales assistant that we didn't have red mite, but were buying just in case. Her response was that we must be the only ones that didn't as everyone seems to be suffering with them this year. (The hens don't have it either )

 

It does seem that it's been a blight year for red mite.

 

Feathers

[Jules.]

I gave my cube a good clean out yesterday & didn't see any signs of infestation.

 

Last night I went to my friends house to help him dispatch his 3 cockerels & he showed me his wooden hen house which he has had trouble with red mite this summer, a year after he got it. I've never seen red mite before.

Now his hens aren't currently sleeping in the coop because of the mite, but when we looked at it using a torch, over the outside surface were little grey pin head sized dots, quite visible to the naked eye, which were crawling around at some fairly rapid pace. We didn't see anything crawling inside it.

Have I seen red mite which haven't had their fix of blood, being grey? It would be good if I had, so that I now know exactly what to look for.

 

When I came home I checked my cube again, & all my hens were happily roosting in there, with no sign of creepy crawlies.

[The Dogmother]

Make sure that you didn't bring any back with you Jules

 

Unfed red mites look a bit like 'moving fag ash'