[poultrygeist]

Does it have residual effect Foxy, or do you have to reapply regularly ?

Rob  

[Foxy]

It has a residual effect. I had sprayed the big sheds in the spring and when the 2 broody houses got infested (I hadn't thought to spray them)
the sheds weren't touched with mite which surprised me, so very impressed. I dont think many people know of it though. Its made up in a similar fashion to Poultry Shield which I used to use but whereas they seemed to always be a few this stuff completely eliminated them.

[KathyH]

Thanks Foxy - I will check it out.
At this point in the process we are seriously thinking of lashing out on an Eglu cube.
Pricey but they seem to hold their secondhand value. The idea of a seamless and easily washed coop seems VERY attractive right now  :?

[Andy J]

Well.........I got home from work tonight and went out in the rain to great the girls only to find an egg on the floor of the run which I thought was strange!!!!

I cleaned them out as usual but had a bit of a closer inspection and think I have found some red mite!! Luckily I bought some colombine spray last weekend so I am going to wait for a gap in the rain to clean out the run fully and spray it and the girls’ from head to toe.

Now I'm sat here itching all over.......I didn't know humans could get them until I read this.......I think I might go and have a shower!!

I think I will keep spraying the house and hens every week until they have gone......is that the best thing to do?

I do empathise with anyone who has these beasties in their run………and the poor girls!

Sorry one last thing…..can they jump???

Andy

[KathyH]

Commiserations Andy - maybe its Red Mite season or something. Ours certainly weren't there last week in the numbers they are now. So they have had a massive population explosion in that time  

So I would say clean it all out thoroughly and spray, spray, spray. Try to get rid of them before you get the population boom ours had.

Can they jump? Yep you bet they can - like Olympic athletes  :shock:
We have been bitten loads. The Tea Tree shampoo helped get them out of our hair. We even got bitten today on day three of our "mite offensive" and the numbers are well down on previous days.

Our girls are in a temporary house that Chris built them this afternoon out of some spare boards and an old wooden box. They took a bit of time going into it but eventually did. Their coop will have to be rubbed down and painted tomorrow and there are still too many mites to put them back in tonight.

But even after a thorough scrubbing with jeyes fluid three times now nd spraying with Poultry spray - we can still see them on the wood. Not nearly as many but given that they have a 7 day cycle from egg to adult we want to get rid of as many as possible before the chooks go back.

[Aunt Sally]

Get  some diatom and dust it in the nooks and crannies.  That will mop up stragglers !

[Foxy]

itching just reading this thread!!
When I had them in a broody house I had bought ( :evil: ) they must have got them on my clothes and to my horror even saw them crawling over my computer screen!!!!!!!I was horrified.... :shock:

[KathyH]

You must all be bored with these updates by now - but here is another one!

Today there were far fewer mites - but still a few.

Their night in the "odd box" on the lawn was uneventful except the noodles chose to sleep in the small egg laying boxed area instead of on the perch inside. D'oh!
I'll bet they were saying "not a bad hotel but rather cramped"!

So today despite the heavy showers we managed to paint the inside of their coop, having sanded down the wood filler. Its fast drying low odour paint so its dry now and we have powdered it again and relined it with fresh bedding.

We also went to our local woodyard and got some more bark chippings for their run area and spread that all over the quagmire. So its all renewed and clean now.
After three days of scrubbing, filling, sanding , blow torching, painting and anti-mite dusting that must be about the cleanest coop in Britain!

The Diatom still hasn't arrived despite us asking for express delivery but we used the Poultry Shield and the other mite powder we had so that should hold it until it arrives.

Doris had a very subdued day  - at one point going into the "odd box" on her own and staying in there for about an hour. Frankly we wondered if she went in there to die    She is by far the droopiest of them all. But when we took them up and transferred them back "home" she perked up and is now scratching around looking interested.

Frankly we feel that is about all we can do really. The Poultry drink is in the water and she is drinking ok. They are getting extra rations of corn and she is having some. I have put greens in for them and all have had a go - admittedly she it taking less than the others but she is still interested at least.

We shall just have to wait and see if she now picks up. Bless her she is still laying. She is a Speckledy and her eggs are wonderful. One a day and always aroung the 68g - 75g  mark. She is a year old and has hardly missed a day of laying since she started.
Anyway - fingers crossed for her.  :?

[Aunt Sally]

Sorry Kathy, I've not kept up with this topic too closely  :oops:

If your hens are poorly because of the red mites making them anaemic from sucking their blood I would give them something high in iron for a week or two just as you would for humans.

[KathyH]

Would that be spinach type of thing Aunt Sally?
They get that a couple of times a week but I could make it an every day thing.
They have the Battles Poultry drink in their water now - that seems to have iron. Any other foods? watercress?

They are all still with us this morning but Doris is still the quietest and slowest.
Those blasted mites are still evident on their perch
Not many - but still a red smear when squished so still attacking At least now the coop is white inside we can see them easier.

I wish that Diatrom stuff would get here But I think someone said it took a few days to work - so hens still under attack despite all efforts

[dawnsmith]

Hi Kathy
How are your hens looking? You said before about white stuff under their feathers. has that gone now?
You are having a time of it aren't you?
Hope they're picking up.

[KathyH]

Looking ok-ish today thanks Dawn.
 Well Doris is still subdued and hanging back while the others dive for food - but she is still scratching around and eating/drinking. So that is good.
There were still a few mites visible on the night perch and this morning the Diatrom finally arrived so that has been applied to the coop.

We have just fed them some spinach leaves and that has gone down well  

Doris still has a bit of the white crusty deposit that has reformed on her tum. She is bare there where the others plucked her. The feathers are growing back but I think that gave the mites a good clear access to her skin at nights so that may be why she got the worst of it all. We sprayed her with the anti mite (which also does lice) last night and had a good look over her generally. No sign of skin problems in other areas.
I think we will leave her in peace today and see how she looks tomorrow and bathe her again then. I don't want to keep washing off the mite spray and also don't want to stress her tooo much.

[Yolky]

If it is lice I have heard that there is a product that they sell in pet shops with a budgie on the front which is great for this. You just spray under the wings.

I hope they are ok soon.

[Aunt Sally]

Would that be spinach type of thing Aunt Sally?
They get that a couple of times a week but I could make it an every day thing.

Spinach is good but I'd give them a little bit of chopped liver (just a teaspoonful each every couple of days for a week or so)  :shock:

I would :!:   it's not just for normal nutrition but to cure anaemia caused by the red mite

[dawnsmith]

Hi kathy

I'm glad your diatom has arrived - it's magic stuff!!

We were told by our poultry man, to use a paintbrush to apply it, that way you can wedge it into all the nooks and crannies, and brush some along the perches. He also said to throw a scoop into their bedding - ours sleep in their egg box! That way, when they sleep, if anything bothers them, they'll fluff up their feathers and scatter more dust around.
We literally had a flying visit from the mites, sprayed with poultry sheild and dusted with diatom, and -touch wood- haven't seen them since.

We also threw a bit in their dust bath. We over did it first time, and the poor chooks were realy dusty for a week or so! It didn't do them any harm though.

I hope now that you've got the good stuff, you're problems are pretty much over.