Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[jameslcfc]

Hi, I have a problem with red mite atm and I have treated it and was told to run kitchen roll under the perches at night and also rub a powder into the chickens whilst they are asleep. I was wondering if its right to disturb the hens whilst they are sleeping. They never seem to get into a deep sleep. They are silkies and some sleep on perches and some in the nest boxes.

should I sprinkle a mite powder over them whilst they sleep? Any advice about there night time behaviour would be grateful

[auntielizzie]

Hi, didn't want to read and run. I think if you have a big problem with red mite, it will require a lot more action/treatment than simply dusting the chickens at night. Your house will need to be thoroughly treated to make sure the mites have been totally eradicated, which I gather can be quite tricky and take some time.

 

If you do a search through previous posts on red mite, hopefully that will be more helpful than I can be as I don't have any experience of it as yet (touch wood). I have a wooden coop and run and have always kept it thoroughly dusted with diatom as a preventative. So far this has worked, although I regularly still check for mites.

 

My experience of handling so called sleeping chickens has always ended up in a lot of flapping and squawking, so I tend to steer clear unless it's going to be something really quick and desperately needed.

 

Hope you get on top of it soon