Chicken newbie

[Siskin]

Hi all

I'll be getting a trio of chooks soon. I've head about the dreaded spider mite and have skimmed through the stickied thread, but I was wondering f I need to creosote my coop before I use it. Will this prevent red mite, or does it only do the job against a current infestation?

If I do creosote, will this protect the coop from the weather or will it need an additional treatment? Also, what are the essentials for chickens, i.e. vaccinations, worming, etc.

Sorry for the barrage of questions Just want to make sure my chooks will be well looked after

[bearded bloke]

Yay. you're gonna lurve being a 'chookie'

Always a good idea to go 'preventative' & give the coop a coating before the chooks arrive, the more you put into keeping things hygenic the more more pleasure you'll get out of them

[Siskin]

Thanks

Will the creocote weather-proof the coop as well, or will it need an additional coat of paint?

[muddled]

Can't help with wooden coop questions (mine are in plastic) but chooky essentials I can!

If you buy your birds from a large scale supplier they might be vaccinated but generally, pet chickens aren't and the costs and logistics mean that most small time keepers don't do it themselves.

Personally speaking, I feed my girls lyers pellets in the morning (and these are in their feeder all day), veggies and leaves during the day and a handful each of corn before bed.
At first it is best to feed them what they are used to...the change of location is stressful enough and they will appreciate feed that is familiar.
I suggest a metal lidded dustbin to keep their food dry and rodent free.

Chickens need grit to grind up and digest their food.
They also need a way to support shell production.
You can but poultry grit and oyster shell....some brands of corn have some in. My girls get some free range time and so find their own grit. I give them egg shells (baked and ground up) instead of oyster shell.

They will need to be wormed every few months. I use flubenvet.

For redmite (or any other mite)I use diatomaceous earth in their dustbath along with ash from our chimnea and occasionally Vermex powder. So far its been enough but there are products you can buy to prevent/get rid of mites.

You'll need a much larger 'drinker' than you think you do (chickens drink a LOT)
A feeder.

And that's it!

[Guest]

Congrats on becoming a chook owner. Creosote is now a restricted to agricultural outfits, however creocote is readily available and it will work just fine for what you want. You needed to apply it a couple of weeks before getting chooks so it dries and airs as it can be overwhelming for chooks and can taint the taste of eggs. You can retreat one a year or you can get away with every other.

[Verinda]

I have a wooden hen house, I lime wash the inside and dust regularly with Johnson's poultry mite and lice powder. it seems to do the job.

I hope you enjoy your hens

[little duck]

I too recently became the owner of chooks, I read loads on here and still am reading lots. I creosoted my coop as I found some 'proper' stuff at an agricultural outlet and heard people say they've never had mite once they did, not sure how true this is but we'll see. Creosote I think would kill anything that was living in there but as someone else said it needs to soak in and dry as it smells for ages.

[Siskin]

Thanks everyone for the replies . I have my coop now and just waiting for the creocote to soak in and stop smelling. Quite excited for the chooks, can't wait to start eating my own eggs.

Some really helpful tips there muddled, I'll make sure they are fed and watered properly. Wasn't aware they drink a lot so I'll take plenty of fresh water down each day

[BUFFS]

try to have as few crevises/hidey holes as possible and paint it on liberally so it soaks well into those awkward spots that the mites hide in, spray it on if possible as it seems to drive the creosote into all the nooks and crannies, then put up with the stink for weeks it seems...it pongs..