Having kept up with this thread, I now find myself infected
I have 3 coops in the overnight run and the hens mostly pack into the biggest one, I had a minor mite issue a year or so ago and everything was cleaned out and treated and every hen sprayed (thanks to doganjo as I couldn't catch them let alone catch and spray effectively!). Have used diatom at the perch ends and liberally dusted about the coops every week and mixed in the shavings in the egg boxes tho mostly they lay outdoors while free ranging.
But when I went to check for eggs last night there was a huge red mite population on the liftout lid of the boxes
and my guess is they've hidden under the metal tray in the supposedly pull out easy cleaning base which has been warped and stuck for 18 months - way beyond me to tug free.. Which means if that many are visible, then it must be crawling under there
One hen is in heavy moult, the one I thought had heat stroke a couple of weeks ago, one has a bald bum from where a visitor's spaniel caught it by the tail feathers
and the wee runty deformed ex commercial is as pecked as ever, but the rest look fine feather wise. They spend at least 12 hours out of the run and up to 15 depending on weather/daylight, had woodash dustbaths til they wore them out, and seem quite happy. Egg production is low for the time of year and numbers but usually I find a stash every week or so despite daily searches of the garden and barn and nearest areas of the fields so I just assumed I was missing some but maybe it's the mites..
I am seriously contemplating closing the coop door and making them squish into the other 2 coops as they see fit, leaving the popholes open as usual so they can come and go within the run area while in it. Rather than let them choose to go back in there, as they seem oblivious.
Or even just feeding them corn in the run as usual to count heads and visually check but leave the gate open so they become completely free range and again can roost anywhere EXCEPT in that coop. I think they'll be displeased with the forced change of habit, but should adapt?
I have red mite powder, I have spray, I have diatom, I think I still even have creosote (am sorting in the garage this week and it looks worse than usual while I do so, but I've not found it so far to check if it's "real" or not..) But I'm totally creeped out at the idea of leaning in the sides and nestboxes to even do the usual muck out by glove, let alone start scrubbing, and I think painting inside it will be impossible due to the design. Anyone want to volunteer brave souls (or their kids perhaps
) or would you just shut it up and make the hens homeless until they adapt to full free range.
In which case how do you encourage them to roost higher off the ground for safety, rather than on pile of twigs or kindling stack?
Gross, nightmares, yuk!!!
