Hen house cleaning regime ?

[TPeers]

If you have the coop already then I'd start this weekend! Don't leave it until the chooks arrive. It takes days of repeated hard work to make inroads on red mite and a bad infestation could mean a hen loosing enough blood that it dies!

[vicky]

Same as everyone else, I poo pick every day/every other day and have a good clean out every month and put stanolan down afterwards.
Louse powder in the nestboxes (straw)
I also spray the two ends of the perch (the only place I have ever seen red mite) almost every day with a very dilute bleach solution, seems to do the trick!
I use whatever is cheapest at the horsey place for the floor - shaving, hemcore, chopped straw. I don't like newspaper as I found it got very wet and soggy and would disintergrate as I tried to get it out!
The run gets a rake out when it gets mucky and a layer of substrate in the winter to stop it getting muddy, a pallet or two also helps prevent that...

Oh, and welcome to the vine!

[colliebird]

Alas I can't start this weekend. Wednesday is the earliest it can be done. My hens have been living in the coop for over a year now. They are laying well, the combs are nice and red and it seems as if this infestation has only taken hold over the past week/10 days. Probably since the roof was refelted. Strong heat was used to put the 3 layers of felt on the roof, which makes me think this is what has brought on this red mite "frenzy."

[Hilary B]

Alas I can't start this weekend. Wednesday is the earliest it can be done. My hens have been living in the coop for over a year now. They are laying well, the combs are nice and red and it seems as if this infestation has only taken hold over the past week/10 days. Probably since the roof was refelted. Strong heat was used to put the 3 layers of felt on the roof, which makes me think this is what has brought on this red mite "frenzy."

Proper 'stuck down' felt like on a garage roof, not the usual 'nailed on a shed' type?
If so, I doubt they are hiding under there (although they may have been before re-felting). Is it boards underneath, or a ply-wood sheet? T&G may provide hideyholes!
A moveable 'floor' (a sheet of vinyl such as you might have left over from doing the kitchen floor is fine) is good for cleaning out. Make sure you don't have any timber unable to breathe.......

[Suechooks]

If you could rehouse the chooks for a few days it would be good to treat the inside with Creosote substitute. If you can't rehouse them (the fumes take a few days to disperse) you could try just dipping the perch ends and the part where the perches rest.
I spray throughout my coops every week with Poultry Shield and since the red mite advent this year I've started just using newspaper under the perches at night which I remove first thing in the morning. Works ok. I have the minimum of bedding in the (now) cardboard nest boxes which can also be thrown out when soiled or scratched to bits. I also spray the perches each morning.
Good luck with the battle - it takes time and effort but worth it for the poor old chooks who are subjected to the irritation all night long!

[colliebird]

I 'n not able to rehome them for a few days, but I'll do what you say, it makes sense.
I wish I could do the coop sooner, but not able to.
I've been spraying the nest boxes and perch with an insecticide spray which should allow them to perch peacefully for a couple of days.

[MrsC]

Good idea re - newspaper, going to pop some under their perches tonight

[beulah59]

I've only had the hens less than two weeks, but I'm using newspaper and poo picking every day, changing the paper as necessary ... it goes in the compost.

[jimred]

i have had my girls 10 day or so, i clean with poultry guard and powder with Diatom.

i have read somewhere that ***** fluid can be toxic to chickens if in contact with them when still wet?
I'm sure someone will put me right on this.

The girls now free range when I'm at home, just extended the run by 3 foot for when I'm not. Wildflower patch now gone along with all my carrot tops!!
jim

[Eco-Chic]

I've had my four ladies for 5 days now and have poo picked the house and raked up mess and leftovers from the earth run.

Tomorrow I shall be buying up every single product which claims to kill, annoy and discourage red mite after reading the red mite thread this morning although the fact that the coop and run were creocoted last week (still smell's quite strongly) may mean we won't have a problem until next year.

It's lovely to see there are so many other new chook carers here.

[colliebird]

Yesterday afternoon I put in a clean perch and soaked it in an insecticide spray after seeing a clusher of red mite at the end of the other one. I was horrified to find the perch very thick with red mites this morning, all over it and under it, fortunately all dead. The insecticide spray had left a residue and the mites have died on it, and not scattered back to their hideaways at daylight. I'll be doing that every afternoon until cleaning out day on Wednesday, and keeping it up once the hen house is cleaned out, disinfected and sprayed with both Poultry Shield and Strike Back.
These mites really give me the heebie jeebies and make my skin crawl, literally!!!!

If you are new to keeping chickens, learn by my lesson!!! I never though I'd get mites in my Cluckingham Palace because I kept the shavings clean, even though they were cleaned out every couple of months (I used deep litter, but NEVER AGAIN!!! Lesson learned. It might work for some, but it's been a disaster for me).

[Hilary B]

'litter' is for where they nest or scratch. Something in 'sheet' form (newspaper is the obvious choice) makes cleaning under the perches easier (or have a removeable 'droppings tray' that can be got really clean before putting back). Something soft in the nest box (many options, but keep it clean). If there is hard-surfaced 'outside' space, having straw there will give the option of grain or pelleted feed needing to be 'looked for'.
Barn-kept chooks have deep litter because they don't have nest boxes, and lay in the stuff on the floor.

[colliebird]

If I could do it over this weekend I would, or do you think I really like to see my animals suffer?????? It's now being done on Monday morning at 6am. I can't physically do it all myself so need someone to help (arthritis in neck and shoulders). The hen house is very big, about 18' by 18' and 7' high. There are high heavy wooden "shelves" to be lifted out to do the job properly.
As for the suggestion to put my hens in the bedroom or kitchen ......... ??? They've been dusted with anti mite powder, and nest boxes burned.

Yesterday afternoon I put in a clean perch and soaked it in an insecticide spray after seeing a clusher of red mites at the end of the other one. I found the perch very thick with red mites this morning, all over it and under it, fortunately all dead. The insecticide spray had left a residue and the mites have died on it, and not scattered back to their hideaways at daylight. I'll be doing that every afternoon until cleaning out on Monday morning and keeping it up once the hen house is cleaned out, disinfected and sprayed with both Poultry Shield and Strike Back, and I'll be dusting the floor etc with Diatom regularly.

This problem has only come about in the past week. There weren't mites before that.
If you are new to keeping chickens, learn by my lesson!!! I never though I'd get mites in my Cluckingham Palace because I kept the shavings clean, even though they were cleaned out every few weeks (I used deep litter, but NEVER AGAIN!!! Lesson learned. It might work for some, but it's been a disaster for me). It's newspaper that will be used, taken up every day and either put on the compost or burned. I'll use shredded paper in the nest boxes, changed every day or every 2 days.

Please don't have a go at me, I feel bad enough about this as it is.

[di]

Valerie,I don't know what I've missed?,but I'm sure nobody has intentionally had a go at you.Many of us have had a really bad problem with mites this year...hopefully it will be one of those phenomena that only occurs every fifty years or so...although from now on I'll be taking every precaution under the sun to avoid another infestation.
Sounds like you're doing your best to overcome the problem & hope on Monday you manage to get rid of even more.I'm thinking as the weather is getting cooler it may just inhibit their reproduction a bit.
We all want what's best for our girls(&boys),and Rule The Roost is full of a lot of incredibly supportive & knowledgable folk.Sometimes when you're feeling a little bad about something already,it's easy to think the world is judging you,but I'm sure that's not the case!xx

[colliebird]

Hi Andi and Di,

I just feel so bad because I really didn't see it coming. It's incredible how quickly these mites have reproduced. I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I saw their perch deep in thousands and thousands of dead mites.
It has also been suggested we use a blow torch on the crevises (without setting the place on fire) before spraying, which apparently brings them to the surface.
I'll be spraying the clean perch this afternoon before putting it in place for my chooks to perch tonight.
It'll be double belts and double braces from now on.