chicken advice please!

[Ann]

I have 2 chickens, courtesy of Omlet, nearly 2 years old, with a decent sized run. They seem very happy but one of them has just lost all her beautiful underside feathers and appears with a horrible bare red area. There is no sign of the other one pecking her. What could be the cause? Will her feathers regrow?

[sanman]

Is she possibly going through the moult?

[paulas]

Sounds to me like she is not perching, but sitting in damp/wet/mucky bedding, which the little B's will do no matter what you do !!!
I owuld sujjest you clean the house out and put a really deep bed of straw/shavings etc in, that should sort her out, they should grow back.
Good Luck


paula
www.norfolkrarebreedscentre.com

[Sue]

Ann
I can't help with your problem, but I was interested to know if you have the eglu and run? As a complete beginner was thinking of getting one.
Is it large enough for the two birds? I was also worried about foxes, I know they can't get in but would their presence terrify the hens, have visions of them getting on top of the run etc.
best wishes
Sue

[Ann]

Sue
Yes, I have the eglu and run but the run is definitely not big enough for 2 chickens, you need to have space around it for them to explore too. I can't let them roam round my garden because they eat all the plants, but they are happy with their run. I've discovered my problem is red spider mite which makes chickens peck themselves. Moral is clean out the eglu more often!

[Sue]

Ann
Thanks for that, looking at the pictures on the website, it does look very cramped. I was drawn to the omlet site as they supply everything, welcome for extreme beginners like me. A neighbour on the allotment who keeps chickens has built a big cage for his chickens and offered to make one for me, so I could just get the eglu without the run and put it in there.
However, got to save up first.
Good luck with eradicating the red spider mite, from what I've read this sounds a real pest.
best wishes
Sue

[serenity]

sue
I wouldn't bother with the eglu if I were you. Its highly overpriced for what is basically a plastic box with a few wooden bars inside.
I have converted a small shed into a coop and added a long run on the side. all you need is a pop hole on the side (a hole with a door you can close at night) and a bar where they can roost. you can also add nesting boxes but a cardboard box works just aswell and you can throw that on the compost heap when it gets dirty and replace with a new one.

If you don't fancy that then there are always reasonably priced coops and arks on ebay which would cost a fraction of the price of the eglu.

Another downside of the eglu is that it will only hold 2 chickens and as any chicken keeper will tell you, they are highly addictive.

[Sue]

Serenity
Yes it is expensive, £395 all in! don't know what to think, it's got to be very easy to move, as I'm mostly on my own at the allotment. Also as I don't drive, the eglu all in one purchase is attractive as otherwise I've got to buy stuff from all over (no farm shops or suppliers in Tunbridge Wells) and there is a limit to bus drivers patience as to what I haul on the bus for the allotment.
And as for ebay, I've never used it, wouldn't know where to start...
Sue

[CountryFayre]

There are plenty of suppliers who have websites or will talk you through your requirements over the phone for that matter!

With regards to red mite. Red mite are not a slur on how oftern you clean your birds out. In fact, some of the cleanest houses suffer terribly with them. They appear to come from nowhere and are an absolute nightmare to get rid of. They will eventually kill a bird if not delt with.

We use poultry shield (spray) along with diatom as a residue powder in the houses. Both are very user friendly and not harmful to the birds either. By using both products together, we have now eliminated red mite in houses we had had long term struggles with.

[serenity]

It's very interesting that eglu owners still suffer with red mite. I expected that the design would make red mite attacks very rare due to the lack of crevices and the "easy clean" design.

[CountryFayre]

you would think so wouldn't you. But then that is assuming that it is red mite and I suppose there have to be some corners/ joins etc somewhere in the house. I am not that familiar with eglus. Is the plastic totally smooth to touch? some plastics are quite rough and knowing how small red mite are that may just be enough.
I would think that getting rid of them may be a lot easier as you could just take the whole thing apart and dunk it in poultry shield!!!!

[serenity]

I have to say red mite would be my worst nightmare . My coop was originally a small shed which is about 150 cm high which means geting right in there to clean it down each week. Can't say I ever finish the job without itching even though have never seen a red mite. I always inspect everything really well along with regular inspections of the girls for lice and mite infections but it does not set my mind at rest. I have seen poultry shield in the PP mag, does it really work?

[CountryFayre]

poultry shield does work but...obviously it only kills the mite that make contact with it so the more thorough and the more nooks you get it in to the better. It does also take a fair time to get on top of a bad infestation. If you treat the shed on a routine basis (poultry shield is also a disinfectant by the way) you shouldn't get to that stage.
The diatom is a powder form that you leave in nest boxes, on the floor, in perch holders and corners. This sits there and 'cuts' the parasites and they move over it. It can also be put on the birds. By using both together I have got well and truly on top of a couple of houses which were always a nightmare before. If you want further details:www.poultryshield.co.uk but yes I would say it works

[Poledragon]

This is where I'm hoping that my triangular ark is going to be good - I can just flip it onto its side and spray it with whatever is necessary.

Would diatom be diatomaceous earth?

[CountryFayre]

Yes, its basically a single cell alge which is sharp to tiny cretins!! Sad as I am I got a little bug on my leg in the summer. I was using the diatom at the time and drew a circle of powder around the bug. Whilst drinking tea, I sat and watched the bug which wouldn't go over the diatom - got nagged at after 20mins to get on with some work though!!