[Marches Farmer]

Can check the housing for red mite in daylight hours.  Either rap your knuckles hard on the ends of the perches  and wait for a few minutes to see what comes scurrying out - red mite that haven't fed look like fairly fast-moving cream/greyish dots. Those that have are fatter and reddish brown.  Or you can go in with warm hands just before they'd go to roost and hold your hand under the perch, when they'll drop onto your palm in response to the warmth.  Any you don't squash immediately will make their way to your scalp and you'll feel scratchy about an hour or so later!  I think the best advice I was ever given about red mite, apart from not getting a henhouse made with T&G or roofing felt in the first place, was to burn it.  An effective albeit expensive solution.

[chrismahon]

Vet was quite right HesterF. Powders just discourage, not kill. But regularly used prevent problems occurring. Frontline cat spray at 0.5mL per spray is great -3 sprays per Kg bodyweight (maximum) will kill most things feeding on the birds. No good for feather lice or scaly leg mite though (my opinion only Dan).

[HesterF]

I've looked really carefully for mites in the house - took the perches out and looked round the ends where I thought they might hide, no sign or them or their droppings. I also haven't seen any on any of the other birds. It is T&G and felt roofed so not ideal but suits in so many other ways - I'll just have to keep on top of the spraying.

Broody (and broody 2 now) seems much more comfortable and is well settled, eating well when she gets off and she's lost no weight over the last week, cleared her constipation (not lack of food, lack of being able to pass it - a dog would have been jealous) and is generally brighter so I'm now hopeful she'll make it through a further 3 weeks of sitting (she's done two weeks so far).

Do you know if I Frontline them all whether I have to discard the eggs for a while? Seems like a much easier solution than dusting - no hope of getting to all of their skin through the fluff.

H