How do people with lots of chickens control mites

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
  • Start date Start date
A

Anonymous

Guest
we only have 5 so it is relatively easy but people with like 20 or more how do you make sure each bird is happy
 
here is,in my opinion, the very best solution for keeping red mites at bay. I've used it for years now with absolutely no mites anywhere to be seen.

If you make up the following:

15ml citronella oil
2 tblsp methylated spirits
1 tblsp washing up liquid
4 tblsp vinigar
1 mug cold strong tea
Top up to 1.5 - 2 litres with water and use as a spray in a plant sprayer.

Spray your hen houses inside, especially into the corners and any places where mites can hide, paying special attention to the perch and into the slots or grooves where the perch fits onto, I guarantee an end to any mite problem.

as this is a pretty cheap way of repelling mites, I should think anyone with about 20 hens will find this method essential.

Cheers.

Al
 
I am going to try that. I use Protector C which is very effective, and also not too full of chemicals, but it is very expensive.

Yours sounds GOOD

All the best
Sue
 
I jet blast the hen houses each week then spray with smite. Then on top of the shavings I sprinkle mite/lice powder. This seems to work.
Although I will give the above recipe a try - thankyou
 
i think il give that a try too, but touch wood only had lice in the almost 3 years of having them and a dose of frontline killed them. mine do a lot of dust bathing i think that keeps them at bay too iv also been told keeping ducks keeps redmite down and i have 7
 
I keep it down by spraying every house twice a year with a product I brought with me from France - on the houses I don't need anything else also it's helped by not having nest boxes and I chick away the pershes every three months and burn them and cut more branches to replace them - all the birds are treated with a spot on treatment every three months - which worms them as well - chicks are dusted only
 
Dorinda, which spot on treatment do you use and where do you get it from. What dosage is it and do you have to discard the eggs layed?
 
Rebelodicus said:
Ok... I got to ask.... :-)05

How does having Ducks keep mite down ? :-)09
Click to expand...

Ducks don't actually get redmite...must be something to do with their ducky blood.. :-)07 :D
 
Since a bad red mite infestation during our 1st summer of chicken keeping we've found that the red mite prevention also helps with other mites/lice/external parasites too. During the warm weather the hen houses are cleaned out thoroughly once a week & given a liberal spraying of Poultry Shield then left to dry. Once dry diatom is puffed/sprinkled over the floors & on the nest box floors & I make a paste of diatom & water which gets painted into all the corners/nooks/crannies. Bedding material is then put down & sprinkled with more diatom as are the perch brackets & perches. Diatom is added to the chickens' main dust bathing areas too (so they basically dust themselves). In winter they get a similar good clean out every week, though the liberal Poultry Shield spraying & leaving to dry happens less often due to the weather.

Since doing this regime we've not had any parasite problems with any of our chickens apart from a brief spell of scaley leg mite when we introduced some new birds (& that was my fault for not giving the newbies a thorough checking over before finally letting them mix with our original hens).
 
the sence of humor on here. :-)07
i was told because the dont like the damp air the ducks cause but really dont have a clue just hear say :-)19
 
Sue said:
Dorinda, which spot on treatment do you use and where do you get it from. What dosage is it and do you have to discard the eggs layed?
Click to expand...
I use normectin - there are others that do the same job - I get mine from from my vet (he's a poultry keepers gem)! :D the dosage depends on the size of bird I need to treat -
 
How much does noramectin cost and do you have to stop eating the eggs?
 
i also want to try that recipe :D sounds like it could smell pretty nice to , this year i am planning on getting rid of my hen houses and build 8ft long by 4 ft wide houses on legs { use 8 '4 ply bascailly } that will cut down on the amount of gaps an seams compared to normal sheds where the mites could hide :) they will cost about £120 each but considering that price to a already built house i think its pretty fair but i do my houses probably twice a week with red mite sprays anyway and poutly sheild although the girls have had lice touch wood my houses have been clear of mites and i have 17 birds now .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top