[wafflycat]

The house mine are in has a felt roof - as does their run. No mite problems here. I think that you have to be scrupulously clean. I check my birds daily for signs of any nasties, I clean the hen house & run daily to remove droppings - give the bedding a good rake over - check the house visually for signs of *things* and also for damage (potential entry points for Mr Fox). It takes minutes. Once a week I give the henhouse a more serious clean - a scrub down, renew bedding.. so far, it's working. Of course, I only have two hens and that makes it much easier.

[poultrygeist]

That's a good regime Wafflycat.

But i think from various stories on here, that even with scrupulous cleaning, red mites can go from on or two to a large infestation in a very short time without any obvious signs.
I've never seen one but, like you, I have a good look round when I poo pick every day. I could easily miss a small number.

Rob

[Foxy]

echo what Rob has posted, with Red Mite it is more about having the right product on hand as using as a preventative, particulary in the up-coming months,as the weather warms up providing the ideal enviroment for red mite.
Products like:

Diatom powder
Poultry Shield
Milbenex -(I use this one)

Just a final note -you will only see these critters at night, they will not be on the bird but in all the nooks and crannies of the house.

Here is more info:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=5250.0

[wafflycat]

echo what Rob has posted, with Red Mite it is more about having the right product on hand as using as a preventative, particulary in the up-coming months,as the weather warms up providing the ideal enviroment for red mite.
Products like:

Diatom powder
Poultry Shield
Milbenex -(I use this one)

Just a final note -you will only see these critters at night, they will not be on the bird but in all the nooks and crannies of the house.

Here is more info:
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=5250.0

Indeed... one has the relevant stuff at hand and regularly cleans/dusts etc with the appropriate products. I work on the theory that it's easier to be scrupuluous & take action to, if possible, prevent infestation in the first place, and to nip any infestation in the bud.