[Blinkers]

Yes, red mite NOW !!!!    I guess cos its been so mild, the blighters have been nesting somewhere nice and warm and snuggly.........and a few days ago I noticed that Colin (the Barred Plymouth Rock Cockerel) was looking a bit sorry for himself.  Just put it down to probably being chased by the Guinea Fowl again....but by this morning he was almost off his legs      I picked him up and checked his legs but couldn't find anything wrong so I put him in a pen on his own.   As I walked past about half hour later it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't checked him for red mite......just in case......and there they were.......b****y hundreds of 'em      Smothered him in powder and then did him and all the rest again at roosting time this eve (Colin could only manage sitting on the floor, but he had a good of feed of corn before bedtime).    Could have kicked myself for not having checked him a few days ago, but I'd only just mucked out the houses and filled them with fresh clean straw about the same time.     Poor love, I do hope he pulls through, but not holding my breathe.  Fingers crossed. 

[Brijjy]

I ate red mite and am hoping that this cold snap has killed alot of them off. I fumigate the chicken housing fully once a year. One year it was so bad and the little blighters were taking no notice of the spray, so I got the little gas burner thingy that chefs use and burnt the arse out of them    It didn't kill them all of but it made me feel better when they sizzled. What do other people use as an anti red mite spray for housing?

[Blinkers]

Mmmmmm.....flame grilled Red Mite, yummy 

Apparently a good dousing of Creosote (or whatever its called these days) inside will sort 'em out.   But likewise, after nightime temperatures of minus 10 degrees I'd a have thought they'd been frozen to death by now, but then again, maybe that't what woke 'em up and they all decided to hop on board now nice fluffy warm hens 

[Brijjy]

  Oh dear. I didn't eat red mite, I just can't type 

[Pasture Farm]

Creosote 50% thinned with 50% parrafin through a sprayer, and absolutely soak the whole shed.
Im sure your not allowed to spray it anymore but i ate red mite.

PS dont use a flame thrower thingy during this process 

[Bionic]

My dad used to keep canaries and they got red mite as well. 

When we were kids he showed us how to look closely around the ends of the perches.

I remember him being very particular and washing everything down with creasote, the original, (mmm i love that smell).  He did this quite regularly although I don't remember exactly how often it was.

Sally

[tizaala]

Just get a bag of lime from your builders merchant and sprinkle it over the bare floor then put your sawdust or straw on top with more lime mixed in .

[Blinkers]

Just get a bag of lime from your builders merchant and sprinkle it over the bare floor then put your sawdust or straw on top with more lime mixed in .

Not heard of that one before  .     Presumably there is no risk to the chooks    Just wondering if they'll scratch around and peck at it?

[Smalltime]

I would also like to know the cheapest and best way to prepare an old shed that is in a right state, clearly housed chickens...you can imagine. Not exactly smelling of  but has a proper little hatch built in so they can get in and out. Do I fence it off outside or do they just scrub around without running away? Would have thought the fox would have them but other people seem to let them just wander around 

I was thinking a stiff broom and some form of antiseptic (dettol??) and wash it all out properly but also need to know what else to do to prevent disease before buying any poultry. i have read about red mite, seem to be a right pain and the p[lace is probably infested with them judging by the state of it.

We haven't even moved there yet so i haven't looked into it really. Dettol is probably a stupid idea 

[Blinkers]

Hiya - I generally use jolly old Jeyes Fluid for most things - except that it does stink for quite a while but I always think it shows I've disinfected the thing     We always keep a 5 ltr tin in the tool shed (don't keep it near any animal feed or suchlike ) and that seems to be the most economical way of buying it as it lasts for ages.

HTH
 

[daddymatty82]

diatom vasalene jeyes fluid and coat the house and perch ends try to seal the corners with silicone maybe? or vasalene the corners edges etc.  i had a major infest last year and took the house fully apart steamed the whole lot the jeyes it the put back together then vasalene corners  added a dusting of diatom add bedding then diatom on top of that

[chrismahon]

Hi Blinkers, we've had them as well. Colin should recover fine now that they are off him. To get him in that state there will be tens of thousands in the coop feeding on him at night. The powder is only a discouragement and won't keep them at bay for long though; the little buggers know its a feed or die situation. Even in the most extreme infestations we've never found them on the birds during the day, so yours must be bad.

Plastic coops are easy to treat. Completely dismantle and spray with Smite and/ or Nettex.

Wood is a whole different problem. The mite hide in all the joints, particularly the top of the groove in the tongue and groove boarding joints. Spray won't reach them all so it is a constant battle to limit the numbers. Even a steamer won't get them all, but if the wood is dry and the gaps large it will get into the grooves. The only solution we have found that works is to completely dismantle the coop and treat all the sides upside down, so that the grooves are reached, with a 50:50 mix of the old creosote and paraffin. Neat creocote (the safer new stuff) is less effective but better than chemical sprays, which don't shift the eggs. We did try a biocide called Elector (attacks the nervous system) which worked the first year, but by the second year they had evolved immunity, as they do with the chemicals anyway. Re-apply 50:50 every 12 months but I doubt you need to dismantle again, don't know as this is our first year with this treatment.

[Eve]

Anyone who would recommend housing chickens in a plastic shed instead of a wooden one to make cleaning and disinfecting easier?
I'm thinking of those new brown plastic garden sheds on the market now, they have the same shape as the traditional wooden garden sheds and from a (long-ish  ) distance you can't see it's plastic.

[CameronS]

I personaly would always go for a wooden hut, having redmites in all three of my huts at once has been no discouragement to me. 

If you go for a plastic one i feel you are limited as to what modifcations you can do to it
ie. pop holes/air events/permanaent perches - i find plastic ones to very unforgiving of error.

Knowing my track record i would smash something then have anawful job trying to repair it, where as a wooden one can be fixed relatvly easily.

[chrismahon]

Hi Eve. Big drawback to plastic from what I can see is condensation. The walls can't breathe, so absorb moisture and evaporate it from the outside. Having said that gloss painted wood or plywood in my experience can't breathe either. Of course in extreme circumstances you just wipe the plastic surfaces down in the morning.
I have chosen wood because I can't afford to buy a plastic coop and I need coops that are mobile and repairable anyway. Large plastic coops are incredibly heavy. I'm hoping the creosote/paraffin coating my wooden coops have just had works all year. To apply it you need a spare coop of course.