[newChickenMummy]

Hi all, its me again with more questions

Just wondered with the mornings taking longer to get light if anyone else has noticed their girls not getting up as early and even being 'sleepy' when they do? I opened the pop hole this morning at about 6.50 and they were all still asleep so I left their food and water and left them to get up on their own. Still at 7.10 they hadn't got up and it was light so I went outside before I left for work and they were making their way out the coop but very slowly and honey was just sitting on the ramp, when they did eventually come out they seemed very sleepy and weren't interested in their breakfast like they usually are.

This happened on Friday which caused me to panic and think they were about to drop dead but they were fine when I got home 

Does anyone think this is normal? We've only had them a few months so not had a winter with them yet so not sure if like us some mornings they are all cosy and sleepy and don't want to get up?!  They were fine yesterday and were calling for me to let them out before I reached the door.

We have red mite at the moment (had it for a couple of weeks now) which I've been treating with poultry shield and diatom and been using vaseline on the ends of the perches. They still haven't gone although only a few each day when I check - about 10 mites, could this cause the girls to act this way some mornings?

I also noticed that the window in their coop is always steamed up in the mornings. We have vent holes at the top but only on one side, maybe we need to make more vent holes?

Thanks guys xxx

[Vember]

The mites will be sucking blood which wont help
But my girls are staying in bed later now due to it not being as light, I wouldn't worry too much

But do try and get rid of the mites nasty things 


Sarah

[poultrygeist]

Hi NCM.

Firstly, I would make a few more vent holes so the air can pass through. They do generate a lot of heat and moisture in the night and are well designed to keep warm.

The red mite you see may well be only the few that haven't gone into hiding by morning. There could be a lot more in the night causing your girls to become anaemic. I would blitz the place before they become run down.

I'm now getting up about 7.15am to let ours out and they're just about ready to start. It depends of course whereabouts in the world you are.

Rob

[newChickenMummy]

Well I am getting to the point now of thinking do I just put them in the shed to sleep until the mites have gone from the coop or will the mites just return as soon as I put the girls back in?

I've tried everything jeyes, poultry shield, barrier mite powder & diatom (powdered the coop and girls), I've filled all the cracks in the coop with decorators caulk and made the diatom into a liquid and painted the inside of the coop with it but each day when I check there are still a few under the perches even though I remove them to spray and powder and cover the ends in vaseline!

Not sure how long I should wait before taking drastic action like burning the coop and starting again!! But then do they live in the ground as I suppose they'll just revisit the new coop   they truly are awful things to get rid of, I just don't know what else to do  

I can't let them out any later in the mornings as I have to leave for work at 7.15.

[Caralou]

Mine are also being a little sleepy now its getting colder. The ducks are still up as soon as it starts to get light, quacking away at me, but the chooks will stay in the coop happily until 7.30, and I had a lie in on Sunday until 10am and they weren't even complaining which is most unusual. I let them out at 6:45 this morning and they refused to budge until they heard the ducks eating then came barrelling out of the coop scared of missing the grub   The 13 and 17 week chicks are less sleepy than the big girls, but then again the big girls are all just ending their moult which must make them tired as well.

[Vember]

Apparently they can live for up to 5 months without food  

I have seen others suggest Milbenex and Grandad used it for when he had pigeons and he said it was very good


Sarah

[woodside farm]

The only thing I found to work this year was creosote from 'scats'. This would be ideal for you as you have somewhere else to keep them, as I would have thought this time of year it will take a couple of days to dry.
We did ours about 6 -8 weeks ago, as nothing else worked and we are now mite free 

Michelle xx

[themagicaltoad1]

I'm having to lift mine out at 8am each morning at the moment. I left them to see what time they would get up the other day and they were still all cosied up at 10am! lazy b***ers.