[Carrie99]

Hi all,

Losing the will to live with Red Mite so looking at plastic, easy clean coops as an alternative...I stumbled across these....

http://www.chickenhousesworld.co.uk/p/Pennine_H-Pod_Triple_Pod_Chicken_Coop_and_Run.htm

does anyone know anything about how good/bad they are? Without seeing one I'm concerned about the flimsiness but any advice/opinions would be great? I have two chooks that would need housing so in terms of size it seems ok...

Thanks in advance!

Carrie

[JaK]

I've not had one but it does look really small and flimsy to me. 

[follylux]

Hi, we had a really bad red mite infestation 2 years ago but eventually got on top of it. On a sunny day we left the chickens out in the garden all day....got a blow torch on low and went all over the inside of the hen house and then washed it with poultry shield by spraying in a garden sprayer. Fully powdered it using poultry shield powder, then only used newspaper in the bottom and in the nest boxes. We changed this every day for 2 weeks ! Long process but it worked. Powdered the chickens as well and put vaseline on their feet ...they really didn't mind this, they love the attention. the vaseline works for scaly mite in their legs as well.

[Casey76]

That is incredibly expensive for what is basically three cat carriers stuck together.

Single walled, it will be freezing in winter, hot in summer, certainly not fox or rat proof.

Personally I wouldn't touch one with someone elses barge pole

rrp £280 who the heck are they trying to kid?  One cat carrier the size of a single pod cost me €25 (so I wouldn't pay any more than £100 (three cat cages, innovation for sticking them together, and the cage)

[Laurie1203]

We had an awful infestation of red mite without knowing it being new to. Hi ken keeping and actually lost 2 birds.

We bought all kinds of things you had to mix up and spray and they made no difference whatsoever. Then someone recommended Ficam W which was easy to apply and after one application we have seen no sign now for months. We intend to spray once more in another opulent of weeks just in case but can't recommend it highly enough.

[Casey76]

Please note that Ficam W is for use by professionals only, and a back yard chicken keeper should not be able to buy it, and most definitely not use it.

[joyfull]

for a lot less than £280 you can buy one of these. You can still get redmites in plastic coops but they are a lot easier to get rid off. I have 2 of the large solway arks for my hens and discovered redmites hiding behind the air vents. The redmites didn't last long 

[Laurie1203]

When we enquired about Ficam W we were told that they couldn't sell it in the past but now the company that makes it has met various requirements regarding labelling etc and they can now sell it to the general public. Very pleased as it is the only thing that has worked for us.

[jhub]

I think the £90 price reduction speaks volumes.

[Kenilworth]

When we enquired about Ficam W we were told that they couldn't sell it in the past but now the company that makes it has met various requirements regarding labelling etc and they can now sell it to the general public. Very pleased as it is the only thing that has worked for us.

I purchased a small sachet of Ficam W earlier in the year from these guys with no problems http://www.poultryhealth.co.uk/ficam%20w (The link was posted on this forum so hopefully ok to repost?)
Have to be honest though i havent had to use it, I was going to spray the  and paint the coop with the diatom slurry in the spring but with the wet weather i never got round to it. As the year went on i noticed the red mite just didnt seem to make their usual re-appearance (I'm assuming due to the weather?) so havent bothered as yet and doubt if i will need to till next spring now.  I do have a old coat of the diatom slurry on the coop but this is over a year old and in reality does need a new coat whether this and the weather have kept them at bay this year I'm not sure. Regarding the lack of red mite this has certainly been a good summer.

[Casey76]

As stated Ficam W is for professional use only (it is extremely toxic and should be used with full protective gear)

It doesn't matter where you buy it, the forum can't encourage or condone the use of it by domestic users.

[joyfull]

it does state on the packets that it is for professional use only so please do not use it.

[Carrie99]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I am trying a variety of products but, mainly, because of my new found fear of the horrible little things (I had been protecting against them at what I thought was an acceptable level but unfortunately still lost one of my girls to them) I'm thinking of moving into the plastic world anyway as at least then I can definitely give it a proper clean without any worry I'm missing anywhere and such I guess :-(

.... I'm considering a second hand eglu too...or perhaps one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plastic-Chicken-Coop-Hen-House-Run-Cats-Rabbits-Ferrets-10-Year-Warrenty-/140834057295?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item20ca5d2c4f

Again though - there doesn't appear to be much info out there on how good/bad they are!

[JaK]

I don't know how good the one on ebay would be. I have an eglu classic that I got second hand from ebay, it cost me £140 and it was worth every penny!

[jhub]

The house looks ok but it doesnt appear to have ventilation holes which are essential. Also I can't see a pop hole door. The  mesh looks like chicken wire which isn't fox proof and it lacks a 'skirt' to prevent foxes digging in. The vendor says it's light weight but I'm not sure this is an advantage as it might be flimsy.

I managed to buy an Eglu classic with run and accessories for £240 on eBay, it was heavy ( substantial thickness of plastic) and the run was constructed from 19 gauge weld mesh.
The Solway is also very good, I assume you'll need one with an integral run?

Try not to rush into a purchase you might regret even though you're having a really tough time. All the best.