Small black jumping flies

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Hi all, there are rather a lot of small black jumping flies in the nests of the coop. Only just appeared the past week or so; even though the weather has cooled - never had this problem when it was really hot :? Don't think they are flea's, they are the shape of flies and black :o I have given the whole coop a good dusting of redmite powder - Diatom, thinks that's the spelling. Still getting the usual eggs and the girls seem to be fine. I've been changing the straw everyday but they are persistant little beggers. Any advice? Should I be worried :cry:
 
the nest boxes are they wooden or cardboard?
the straw is it bought from a farm?
you could try get all the straw out and clean nestboxes out and lock the girls out of the house.
Spray boxes with house fly spray ( I like Raid it will kill wasps very strong) leave coup closed for a hour then open door for a hour and then let the girls in. if they are flies that should do it.
you can use woodshavings or shredded paper in nest boxes.
 
Yes, check the bedding - they may be in that.

Normally, those little pesky flies appear if the bedding is soiled for a while and cleaning out gets rid of them as they feed off the rotting manure. If the bedding is dry, they shouldn't find anything to feed off.

They shouldn't harm your chooks so personally, I would just make sure the bedding is clean and not worry too much about them unless there are large numbers of them. Alternatively, zapping them with Raid sounds like a good idea.

Tim
 
Thanks to you both. I get the straw from the pet shop, (Along with the Layers Pellets, the straw comes from the same suppliers as the Hay I get for my rabbits; never any probs). I was scared to use any fly treatment incase it got into the eggs. I have Hutch & Cage spray for the rabbits; this is for flies etc, could I use that? It can be used in Aviaries; if I use it as Lady chick says and keep the girls out for a while as they will not have contact as by the time the newspaper & straw go down they will not be anywhere near the residue...
 
I would think it is OK if it is suitable for avaries.

If you spray (anything) and it dries out and the smell clears, then add new straw, I very much doubt the eggs will come into contact with any residue. The shells are pourous but when you consider the bacteria that can be put onto the shell from droppings etc, It's amazing we don't get bad eggs. There is a layer (forgotten the name for a moment) that 'seals' the egg from bacteria which is why you shouldn't wash eggs since you wash this off which allows bacteria to enter the shell and go bad. Sometimes if you see a freshly laid egg, you will see it is slightly moist - this is that (still forgotten the name) layer.

Eggs are amazing things really and considering how long they keep for, it's a very protective shell...

I'm surprised there are flies if the bedding is clean. Maybe just the time of year / weather.

Let us know how you get on anyway.

Tim
 
Also had this problem this year again with very clean bedding - I think it is due to all the rain we have been having and I have noticed they are there in numbers if the wood of the houses is slightly damp. I have found adding a little tea tree oil to the bedding (3-4 drops and then swish bedding round with your hand) every morning has seriously reduced the problem. They really seem to hate the smell.
 
Good idea - they use Tea Tree in Red Mite Powder too so probably helps repel mites too..

Tim
 
Hi, I have two hens and noticed yesterday evening these tiny little black jumping flies crawling and flying around the roof of my small wooden hen house. I cleaned the house out and they seem to have lessened in number but are still on my hens, I can see them crawling around in their feathers. Any idea on how to get rid of them from the hens?
 
How big are they? Are they flies or small (1mm or less) mites?

I would suggest they are more likely to be red mite if they are in the coop. Check the cracks, ends of perches and at night, wipe the underside of their perch with a tissue, looking for red blood stains.

Tim


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They are the size of small mites, and I have seen some blood on the wooden floor of the coop where the chickens like to sit. I have scrubbed out the coop now, do I treat the actual coop or the hens or both? And with what?
 
Hi Angela,
Red mite look like this
red-mite-clump.jpg
They a 8 legged and don't have wings. They cant jump, just crawl. They are very small - just look like big dust without a magnifying glass.
I think the flies are just flies - cant think of any small flies that would be a problem to chickens so they just happen to be around.
The blood smears that are a sign of red mite are when groups like above are crushed - typically this is a sign of them when found and crushed rather than being something that just happens. Generally they hid in cracks and under objects like mats or at gaps at the ends of perches waiting for nightfall to bite the hens when they are roosting and defenseless. In nature they hide under tree bark flakes and crevices awaiting a roosting bird and can wait a very long time for a meal and a chance to breed. In a coop they have an ideal situation as the hens cant choose to roost elsewhere an the mite population explodes.
Of course, you could have the flies and mite around. Put a small mat of rubber or a rough sided piece of wood in the coop near the perches and see if they show up under it. If they don't, you probably don't have any.
 
They're only red when they've been feeding, the rest of the time they are grey and look just like specks of dust. I bought a secondhand wooden hen-house which had not had any birds in it for about six months. When I removed a drawing pin that was stuck in the frame about 15 -20 'orrible little grey things came out from under it and were rapidly squished by my thumb. Fortunately the house was bought for isolation purposes so I had plenty of time to give it a couple of "flood coats" of creosote. It was amazing how many of the little horrors literally crept out of the woodwork! Thankfully I managed to eradicate them from that house.
 
Yes I agree with Rick, these don’t sound like red mite because they don’t fly or hop. They just crawl. But I would say there are also red mite in there if you are squishing mites and seeing blood...

Any sort of fly shouldn’t be a problem to them. You can get flies being attracted by droppings in warm weather.

If they are troubling you, I would look to disinfecting the coop.

For red mite, again, disinfect the coop and choose your weapon! There are many different red mite treatments - because they are very hard to eradicate, it’s usually an ongoing battle because a small number of mites quickly turn into a lot more!

They are only a problem during warm weather.

Tim


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Ok thanks for the advice, Im going to try disinfect the coop and treat for both flies and red mites!
 
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