MITE!!!!!!Help Needed

[lynda66]

Hmmmpphhh..I'm getting worried / paranoid???

I intend to house our chooks in an old piggery which basically is made of granite blocks and lime mortar. I can see that there will be thousands of nooks and crannies for re mite to hide in.
Perhaps I'd be better of with a 'proper' chook house instead????

From what I've seen in France the basic care of livestock can be pretty minimal...so what d'ya reckon is realistic chook folk????

it will be fine, give it a good coat of whitewash every year, kills everything including your eyes (wear goggles) the whitewash will get into all the nooks and crannies, and as it's dead thick will eventually fill them ...... it will also last much longer than anything made of wood, and need far less maintenance, and be easier to keep clean and disinfected

[shirlthegirl43]

Hmmmpphhh..I'm getting worried / paranoid???

I intend to house our chooks in an old piggery which basically is made of granite blocks and lime mortar. I can see that there will be thousands of nooks and crannies for re mite to hide in.
Perhaps I'd be better of with a 'proper' chook house instead????

From what I've seen in France the basic care of livestock can be pretty minimal...so what d'ya reckon is realistic chook folk????

We used to limewash the insides of the stables, gets rid of all sorts of bugs.

[Nicos]

Thankyou both!!!

Now then.....,where is my French dictionary??......

Sounds perfect to be honest- Thanks!

[darran91]

Thanks for all the replies. I am very sad to report i lost one of the girls , dont know why, she was dead when i went to feed them, it may just be one of those things, and the rest seem fine, but so did she the day before.

I have started to use creosote substaute on the place where the lay the eggs. Its taking days to dry tho!
They used to perch at night, but since the mites, they now go into the laying area. I have removed and changed the hay each time i have sprayed, should i just use shavings for them to lay on?
With the bad weather i am reluctant to spray the whole house as i dont have anywhere to put then until its dry (maybe i could pop them in my shed for a few days)
Has anybody heard of using a sulpher candle? Its says its for greenhouses, but kils bugs and their eggs. Maybe i should try one?

[lynda66]

Thankyou both!!!

Now then.....,where is my French dictionary??......

Sounds perfect to be honest- Thanks!

lol, can't wait till you get home to see what you ended up with

[Hilary B]

Shavings would be better than hay (straw is better still) providing it is free of chemicals (if you buy from a pet/livestock supplies place it should be fine. We used to scrounge from a timber-merchant's and we had to be careful which day we collected, because some days they mixed all the bins, instead of keeping the 'pre-treated' separate).

[lynda66]

Thanks for all the replies. I am very sad to report i lost one of the girls , dont know why, she was dead when i went to feed them, it may just be one of those things, and the rest seem fine, but so did she the day before.

awwwww sorry to hear that xxx

[MaureenHall]

I'm so sorry you lost one of your girls, possibly the stress of coping with the mites? I use shredded newspaper and wood shavings (dust extracted) in the nest boxes, sometimes add a bit of straw but never hay - it harbours too many mites.
I think if you could move your girls out into different temporary accommodation while you sort out the coop then it'd be a good idea. You'll be able to fumigate it properly and get rid of the mites once and for all in there, but bear in mind that there'll also be mites on the birds so they need a good load of treatment too. Have you tried giving them garlic? Apparently the bugs don't like the taste in the chicken's blood so leave them alone.

Good luck

[djhs196]

Sorry to hear that you lost one of your girls.

If you think that the girls need a pic-me-up while you continue to deal with the mites, I've used a Battles Poulty Tonic before: More Health products that's supposed to help at times like this.

I've always done the dusted the girls at night as they can be a bit flightly - grabbed one from the coop, dusted her down and left her in the kitchen when you head back out for another. It's always been much easier.

Previously I've also given the girls a bath with a suitable poultry flea / mite shampoo - it was a while ago so I don't know the brand name - as i thought that this might ensure that there were no nooks & crannies on the birds that I'd missed during a dusting.