chicken coop

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hi, i am really new to this chicken keeping business, so new in fact i have not yet got any?? I have a chance to buy a Forsham cottage arks coop to start me off, but the owner has had red mite and i wanted to know if they are able to survive long periods? the coop has been empty for 18 months so is there still a chance they will have survived??
thanks for your help
 
It's a hard one to answer. They can certainly appear again after very long periods but whether it's because they or their eggs can survive that long or whether they've been re-introduced with the new chickens is hard to prove.

I'd want to give it a good coat of creosote before using it again.

Even if you had a new ark, you'll find that the mites will take up residence after a while but their numbers can be kept down.
 
Agree with Chuck, or treat with a good quality insecticide with residual activity before the chooks move in. At least with a Forsham you can take them completely apart.
 
A product called Ficam-W has been highly recommended by people on another forum, as it can be sprayed on with a hand-held sprayer, kills both mites and eggs effectively, thus breaking the cycle and giving protection for some time after treatment. Apparently you do have to use proper protective clothing, mask etc when applying it, but it's supposed to do the trick without the need for creosote etc. It comes in sachet form which you dissolve in water, and you can buy just one sachet for about £6.50 i think, or a bundle of 10 if you have BIG problems. I haven't tried it, as so far I've been lucky and not had any mites. I wondered if anyone on here had any experience with this product?
 
The folks at flytesofancy reckon they can live for 8 months between feeds but don't mention how long the eggs can last.

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Red_Mite_in_Chicken_Houses.html

However I agree that it's not worth taking the risk,the above link mentions some other products you could use in addition those already suggested, if you are really on a budget then thoroughly dust all the crevices with permethrin based ant powder at the very least.
 
I've heard they can live 9 months by feeding on each other -ugh! They 'mite' eat their own eggs as well but any that hatch can't feed so must die or be eaten. I'd spray it with one of the anti -mite treatments anyway. Trouble with creosote is it makes the inside very dark. Will look in to Ficam -W.
 
very funny chris :lol: mite instead of might :-)17 , i am going to look at getting some of that ficam-w as well wander if countrywide sell it as i have one near me .
 
i used ficam w on the broiler breeder farm i worked at, it does work and does knock them for 6 but you either need to do it outside with the shed dismantled and be careful of wind blown fumes or need some kind of mask as the fumes are awful, make sure all the nooks and crannies are treated well. i remember that we used it while the flock was in but the eggs went for rearing into eating chickens not for eating so am not sure if theres a withdrawal period for eating, it was gratifying seeing piles of redmite as they try to escape and die :twisted:
 
Hi,

Don't wish to step on anybodies toes,but this week-end we
took apart just one cage we had a chick and her mother in.Reason
the mother and chicken were dead from red mite.

The day before all was well both birds checked over.although
red mite does not usually live on the birds.We DE very often,in the food
and dust bath as well.ACV + Garlic in water along with water tonic and
food spices.

When we took this cage apart,millions and I mean millions of red
mite came out of the joints out of the hinges infact out of every corner
you could think of.All sprayed.Went back later,lots of yellow/grey mite
which had not eaten had crawled in spray and died.Went back again and
more had come out and were crawling everywhere.Another spray.

Put cockerel in while we went to show,went down garden,and he
deliberately pushed his food bowl over so that I could see red mite come
tumbling out. :o :o

Think this is a cage to burn,and not re-sell on ebay !!!!!!! :evil: :evil:
 
brahmist...how awful! I am so sorry, thank you for sharing though just goes to show how dangerous these mites really are..
 
I think if you can see 10 mite you have 10,000. Looked at Ficam -W in great detail on the web. Nasty nasty nasty stuff and I wouldn't go near it. You take a big risk applying it without full industrial protection and I dread to think what effect it actually has on the chickens. Of course you are then repeatedly exposed to it every time you go into the coop. It is only to be applied along cracks and crevices if humans are present -not sprayed all over. Far better off with Elector.
 
i can now agree with the fact is for every 10 you see there are tons tons tons more , yesterday while checking my girls out in the afternoon i had about 10 or so mites crawling over me so i did the coops again which i seem to be doing each afternoon now this weekend or firday night i am going to do the floor of my run with poultry sheild and jeyes and i am going to swamp the whole place i have had enough of these little buggers we need a really cold spell to try and help kill of these things but i have been told that doesnt always work .
 
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