Best mites/lice prevention habits for new coop/run

[grannyhensdream]

That coop is probably really appropriate only for 5-6 chickens.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

16 Chickens

• 64 square feet in the coop. 8'x8' is the easiest build for this.
• 16 feet of roost
• 160 square feet in the run. 10'x16', 12'x14' or 8'x20'
• 16 square feet of ventilation.
• 4-5 nest boxes.

Ouch!! Looks like have more work to do! Thank you.

 

[3KillerBs]

Ouch!! Looks like have more work to do! Thank you.

IMO, it's incredibly irresponsible of the coop sellers to base their numbers on the legal limits for commercial chickens instead of sound practices for backyard flocks.

If you post photos of what you've got to work with we have a lot of experience helping people to improve their chicken housing.

Also, where are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing, so if you put your general location into your profile people can give better-targeted advice.

 

[Magnolia76]

Clean coops and clean runs is the best way to prevent external parasites. In my 10 years of keeping chickens, I've had lice twice and the infestation wasn't bad in both cases. The lice were brought in by wild birds. If you let your flock out, it's important to keep an eye on them all the time and catch the problem at the beginning to treat right away.
I clean coops and runs everyday. I'm using PDZ in the roosting boxes and always check for sings of parasites. My runs have dirt and sand. The poop gets sifted everyday too.

So in my situation I don’t let them out because I’m surrounded by national forest plus my neighbors would not appreciate the chickens getting into their yards. You clean your coop and run every day!!?? How do you clean your run? I was just thinking about if I keep raking out out debris there will be a giant hole for a run eventually lol. So poop is what leads to the infestation? The less chicken poop the less chances?

 

[3KillerBs]

My problem is ants, millions of them. I tried deep litter before but it just got to the point that ants took over every single inch. Maybe it's just in the area I live. We get 105F in the summer and about 80-95% humidity

They were probably coming for the water.

I've found that in hot, dry weather I'll get ants anywhere that I have a leaky bit of hose and around the heat pump's condensation drain.

 

[grannyhensdream]

Clean coops and clean runs is the best way to prevent external parasites. In my 10 years of keeping chickens, I've had lice twice and the infestation wasn't bad in both cases. The lice were brought in by wild birds. If you let your flock out, it's important to keep an eye on them all the time and catch the problem at the beginning to treat right away.
I clean coops and runs everyday. I'm using PDZ in the roosting boxes and always check for sings of parasites. My runs have dirt and sand. The poop gets sifted everyday too.

Clean coops and clean runs is the best way to prevent external parasites. In my 10 years of keeping chickens, I've had lice twice and the infestation wasn't bad in both cases. The lice were brought in by wild birds. If you let your flock out, it's important to keep an eye on them all the time and catch the problem at the beginning to treat right away.
I clean coops and runs everyday. I'm using PDZ in the roosting boxes and always check for sings of parasites. My runs have dirt and sand. The poop gets sifted everyday too.

Your post interested me. I too clean out my coop and run every day. I use straw and pine chips for the flooring bedding. I also use PDZ . I am hoping that keeping the area clean is enough to prevent lice and/or mites. A question I have though is what kind of sand do you use? I read so many conflicting opinions, i.e. "yes to play sand", "no to play sand". I use play sand in their dust bath and they love it.

 

[aldarita]

Your post interested me. I too clean out my coop and run every day. I use straw and pine chips for the flooring bedding. I also use PDZ . I am hoping that keeping the area clean is enough to prevent lice and/or mites. A question I have though is what kind of sand do you use? I read so many conflicting opinions, i.e. "yes to play sand", "no to play sand". I use play sand in their dust bath and they love it.

I buy the sand by the yard from a place in my town. They get it from the bank of a lake near by so it is clean (to the best of my knowledge). Maybe you can find a more natural source than play sand. The problem with play sand is that it's a mixture of several components that might have some toxicity. It is very hard to figure out which ones they mixed. It depends on the brand.

 

[3KillerBs]

The problem with play sand is that it's a mixture of several components that might have some toxicity.

If they were selling toxic sand to parents as play sand for children's sandboxes there would be a miles-long line of lawyers begging to get to make $$$$$ from the lawsuits.

"Natural" sources wouldn't necessarily be safe. If you dug sand from many of the small lakes around here you'd be bringing up industrial waste. (Seriously, swimming is banned and while fishing is permitted you're advised against eating what you catch).

 

[grannyhensdream]

I buy the sand by the yard from a place in my town. They get it from the bank of a lake near by so it is clean (to the best of my knowledge). Maybe you can find a more natural source than play sand. The problem with play sand is that it's a mixture of several components that might have some toxicity. It is very hard to figure out which ones they mixed. It depends on the brand.

Thank you!

 

[grannyhensdream]

Lice is generally host specific, so mice are not bringing it in. However, mice will contaminate and consume a lot of feed. It is a good idea to keep the rodent population in check. Lice also feed on blood - manure has no influence on this. And lice only live on a host, dying very quickly off the host so you are not bringing it in on sand or bedding.

I have never had lice, (whispering) I do let mine out to free range, and we have a very dry and sandy climate. Down the road, my niece has had lice, but strictly keeps hers confined, and maybe slightly too many for the set up. I do have to admit, that while she has had lice, she has never lost anything to a predator.

I use old hay or waste hay. We ranch, that is what I have readily available, I pile it deeply in the coop, with a broom out 2-3 times per year. I often top it with scratch, and the girls turn it keeping everything dry. DRY is important. When I clean out the coop, I just dump that in the run.

My run has bare spots, and covered with hay spots. It is 600 square feet, so a lot of space. In the spring I use it for mulch in the garden. The theory being the weed seeds are gone...not that I have any proof of that, or rather I have proof they didn't get all the weed seeds but hey, that's they theory.

I just have clean water - nothing added. I just have old hay, no DE or tidy stall. But we are arid, and I think climate has a huge influence. I have never scooped chicken poop.

Mrs K

Thanks for your reply! We are very new to this as we just moved from suburbia to rural and this is our first year experience with chickens. I read about "bumble foot" and other chicken issues and worry about how clean their environment needs to be. Our coop is a pre-fab and stated that it can hold up to 14 chickens. (Probably meant for less.) We have 15 hens and 1 rooster. That said, we built an addition to the run which gives them much more room. They don't seem to have any issues in the coop since they only sleep and lay eggs in there but considering the size I thought it would be better for them to clean it out daily. The run however we just scoop up obvious poop at the end of the day and turn the straw and pine chips. We have had no infestations as of yet...fingers crossed. Thanks again for your information!