[brrian]

hello this is my first real question my girls are about 10 weeks old and seem to be doing well ii have put some old logs and branches in the pen to keep them amused is this ok or am i inviting trouble with mites thanks   

[andy and deb]

I have a hardwood log in our pen, and a tree branch in the coop for their perch and so far no mites but we spray the coop fortnightly since we got the chooks so maybe you could do the same prevention is better than cure

[brrian]

oh thanks can you advice what to use to spray and is it the wood I spray

[VickyW]

I would suggest poultry sheild but if the logs are outside the coop I probably wouldn't bother. I don't think red mite would live there

[brrian]

OK thanks yes they are outside and the coop is brand new and treated would you advise spraying the coop many thanks   

[VickyW]

My coop is also brand new, only got my chicks on Fri!! But I intend to spray the interior every week/fortnight when I clean out, better to be safe than sorry

[brrian]

You are right I will get some its nice to chat to a newbie like myself. My hens are about 13 weeks old and we have known them since eggs, we got them about a month ago so still away to go before eggs. We have 8 in total all hybrid birds so quite a mixture what about your hens are they laying?

[VickyW]

Mine are only 8-10 weeks old but loving having them already 

[andy and deb]

We have 6 hens and we are newbies too...ours are only 22  weeks old or there abouts well 4 of them, we got 2 new ones on Saturday who should be 14/15 weeks old so we have started free ranging them in the garden to stop the new ones getting picked on .. Its funny watching them , and learning their characters..

[Lindeggs]

If there is any mite risk it's more likely to come from the fresh branches than the old, rotten branches.  This is because of the possibility of there being a wild bird's nest in the fresh branches, and that's where the mites are likely to be.

Personally I think the benefit to your chickens far outweighs any risk, and you should go right ahead and put all those amusements in their run.

My chicken run is built on the site of an old compost/rubbish heap that has layer upon layer of various rotten branches.  It's a wonderful source of forage for my pullets as all the lovely organic matter contains a wide variety of bugs and they seem to love scratching through it.  I also throw fresh branches in there whenever they are available, just to add more interest.

[VickyW]

My OH is planning a bit of a log pile in our run to season the wood for our log burner but also for their interest and for the bugs that'll hide in it, I put 3 in there earlier and they were all over them, mind my OH was up a stepladder in the run securing netting on the top and one of the chicks climbed the first rung!

[hatcher]

we have an old log in our chicken run that the chickens love to perch on,we have never had any problems with it where mites are concerned.

[brrian]

thanks for all the advice on logs you have all put my mind at ease