Poorly chicken

[doctors girls]

my girls have been in there WIR for 3 weeks now they dont use the dust bath i have provided they just dig holes and make there own bath but what i have noticed it that they tend to sleep in a huddle outside the coop on a night they are out at about midnight when i take the dog out but i dont know if they stay out all night the eglu is cleaned out on a weekly basis with hot soapy water then sprayed with poultry shield left to dry then a dusting of diatom so no red mite is this normal behaviour by them also i am raising the eglu off the floor on a wooden table that i have made am i inviting red mite and where do they come from

[fluffy chick]

No expert but I doubt you have red mite. Sometimes birds like to sleep where you don't want them to. I once found one of mine up a neighbours tree eventually

 

If your wir is secure it may not be a problem.

 

Red mite is grey and hard to see except after it's fed on the birds then it's bright red.They can be passed from wild birds. If you check any nooks or crannies first thing in the morning with a white tissue, if you see any red it may be red mite. But to be honest it sounds more like chooks doing their own thing to me.

[Barkisland]

Two of mine insist on sleeping on top of the Cube I used to put them inside after dark, but I've stopped bothering now. One night I put them in when it wasn't quite dark - the little madams just got themselves back out again! The main problem with them sleeping out is that they poo on top of the Cube, and it's getting spoiled.

[Sal119]

Two of mine have just started sleeping out as well, obviously like looking at the stars ............. Good thing is there's less poo in the Eglu, just more on the shelf which is easier to sweep away!

[Guest]

Some of mine have been sleeping in the cube run of late - think it's the hot weather - and the fact that as it is on paving slabs with hemcore on top - it might be a tad bit cooler