Colorado

[21hens-incharge]

The mites that got into my coops were in the nest boxes and only the external nest boxes. The coops that had internal boxes had no mites on or in them. My coops have pine shavings.
At the time that I got mites there were 5 coops here and only the two that had external boxes were affected. I did treat everyone in every coop and all the coops as well.

LOL lucky grasshopper. Probably laughing as he made his escape.

 

[KLBCOS]

Natural remedies for mites...


http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2013/02/mites-how-to-prevent-them-and-treat.html


http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/laura_e_john/


http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-get-rid-of-your-chickens-external-parasites.html

If they have mites on their legs, cover the legs in Coconut oil, the oil suffocates them. Often sites recommend Vaseline, I prefer the natural Coconut oil and Waxlene for these things. Coconut oil is very beneficial in general and in fact, I add some raw cold pressed organic oil to the feed once a week, it is great stuff. Anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti- bacterial!

I read all those and I think a million more . I truly wish I could've gone with a natural remedy but I had already lost one bantam hen to this infestation and I wasn't willing to lose another trying natural alternatives. Plus they are creepy crawly gross. I am very happy with the results with the permethrin (which was not a harsh pesticide, no yucky smell but killed them on contact). It didn't seem to last though. I saw mite activity only a few hours after I sprayed but by following up with the sevin dust especially near the access routes to the roosts has so far knocked down any living mites. Now, I am bracing myself for any eggs that might hatch in the next 10 days. I pray we are on downside of this event.

I did use the fresh eggs daily oil, water and dawn detergent to scrub the coop from top to bottom. Also, those online articles really helped me to understand which type of mite I was dealing with.

I don't know if it's my wishful thinking but I think the girl'scombs already look redder.Even if they are not happy with the changes in their little house.

@ percheron chick: I figured mites were possible in Colorado but not likely. My dad (who has worked in agriculture his whole life) said they become active with the heat and like it dry. I know the gal we got our hens from mentioned that giving them wood ash for their dust bath would prevent mites. Maybe she didn't want to tell us that she'd had a previous infestation because we purchased the coop from her too. I now realize, as I have become intimately familiar with sevin dust, that it was probably all over the coop and being a complete novice thought, Wow! these chickens are dusty. Yes, they are dusty but it's a different type of dust. The dust, I so diligently cleaned out of the coop in May, was grainy like the sevin dust is.

@ 21hens-incharge: I didn't think of home depots rejects. I was thinking of paint from the Habitat for Humanity's Restore. They have a limited number of colors but their paint is inexpensive and the paint supplies are dirt cheap. So I may look at Home Depot this weekend as it is close by with the Restore being the fallback position.

I also will be treating the girls to a peat moss dust bath treat with a bit of sevin dust in there for good measure.

Again thanks to everyone who has helped me along this chicken raising journey.

 

[KLBCOS]

One thing that made me laugh in a sick sorta way and shake my head was on the Dummies site there is a page about cleaning. It suggests that to rid yourself of mite eggs use a blow torch on the cracks and crevices....Huh?...I think the operative word here is Dummies. Really...a blow torch...Yikes! Is that before or after you replace all the highly flamable bedding? Too much!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I think I paid like 9 dollars a gallon for the Home Depot Oops paint. I got one that was disgusting in color but added a lot of pure white I already had to get the light muted green that my coop is. The trim color was straight from the can in the oops section of paint. It also has a very light hint of green in it but is mostly cream color.



Here is a pic that should show the colors I ended up with from the oops paint.

I like the oops paint because I know I am getting new paint not what is perhaps old and less than usable.

Makes me wonder about the person you got your chickens and coop from a bit. Should have told you there had been issues.

 

[KLBCOS]

Your coop colors are great. The ReStore sells new paint it's just a brand I have never heard of. They have lots of it but only a handful of colors and it's considered environmentally friendly. I do like the idea of salvaging the oops paint.

I am not sure if the previous owner withheld information. I think it may be a good possibility. She is very nice but she was under the gun to get rid of hens and coop as the HOA was going to fine her $3000 for violating their bylaws (after many warnings I am sure). I wish we would have known if it had been a previous problem because as we all know a ounce of preventation goes along way.

 

[samsr]

I'm going to jinx myself but I thought we were one of the few places lucky enough to not have mites. I have never had any on my chickens or fleas on the dogs. Those that have had problems, how do you bed your coops? Mine are mostly bare dirt in the summer. I did see my first grasshoppers since I got chickens. Grass was so tall, I don't think they could chase after them.

I believe the mites i got either came from a neighbor down the street or the many doves we have here. I had them in bith coops and all three nesting boxes. My bigest clue that something was wrong was that my chickens refused to go into the coop at night. Once i found them. I felt awful. I inspect a lot more closely now. Thise little buggers like to come out at night and were in the tiniest of cracks. I believe i have them well under controll now but i am staying vigilant in looking for more.

 

[KLBCOS]

Has any one raised turkeys or meat chickens? How do you choose to house them? I have tried to find info on how people house their turkeys but still seems clear as mud to me. I'd love to know more and hear your experiences good and bad. Do you process them yourselves or take them somewhere to process. I would like to take them somewhere to have them processed as I know I will grow attached especially to the turkeys.

 

[Ashdoes]

I believe the mites i got either came from a neighbor down the street or the many doves we have here. I had them in bith coops and all three nesting boxes. My bigest clue that something was wrong was that my chickens refused to go into the coop at night. Once i found them. I felt awful. I inspect a lot more closely now. Thise little buggers like to come out at night and were in the tiniest of cracks. I believe i have them well under controll now but i am staying vigilant in looking for more.

We had to treat for some chicken bugs a while back, and I'm positive it was from those doves and pigeons that discovered our barn. My husband gets really irritated when they try to take over the barn. I've had at least three heart attacks when they come flying out of the barn over my head as I walk in, flapping and screaming at me. We're lucky that we've caught them all before they start nesting. Seven dust on all the chickens, and bedding got rid of everything. It was a last resort, we had a couple girls looking very weak, but I really hate the chemicals.

 

[Ashdoes]

Has any one raised turkeys or meat chickens? How do you choose to house them? I have tried to find info on how people house their turkeys but still seems clear as mud to me. I'd love to know more and hear your experiences good and bad. Do you process them yourselves or take them somewhere to process. I would like to take them somewhere to have them processed as I know I will grow attached especially to the turkeys.

We really want to do turkeys and meat chickens. The meaties would go with the rest of the chicken flock, but the turkeys would have their own stall in the barn. I had to pass on them this year though. If my husband deploys, and I had to attempt to process either 25 meat chickens or a couple 20lb turkeys alone, it would not go well. I've heard some people have to use a pulley system to get the turkey in and out of the hot water for plucking. I hope to do a couple turkeys next season though.

 

[KLBCOS]

Is it hard to process the meat birds? I have never done it. If we were to get 25, How long does it take to process that number?