Flies and dust Baths for Cortunix?

[Swamp Roo]

I just put together a 3' X 4' raised pen and I am having fly issues, I know that there will always be "some" flies, but it sounds like a bee hive there are so many. I put down a layer of hay with hopes of drying out the poop, but that only helped for a day. Any suggestions? Also do I need to put in a dust bath for the quail?

Swamp

 

[Boyd]

I don't know if the quail need a dust bath, but since putting one in with my babies, they get all perturbed when I forget to refill their dish with sand

 

[RuffTuffCreampuff]

Put some DE under the pens, and anywhere flies are laying their eggs.

Pam

 

[monarc23]

Can't you just scoop out the poo every week or so? That's what I do. Then sometimes I'll lay down a layer of lime.

Also dust bath no they don't need one but do they appreciate it ? Yes.

 

[Swamp Roo]

Thanks everyone! My first thought twas DE as well because it wooks well in the coop, but it is the rainy season so I don't know how effective it will be on the adult flies. I put some down any way, we will see. As far as scooping out the poop, once a week would be tolerable, this would need to be every day though. Way more time than I'm willing to put in, and I can't ask the neighbors to do that when I leave town (I use the deep litter method in my chicken coop for a reason). I may have to get a "no pest strip" and hang it under the pen. I'll put a dust bath in as soon as I get some other things taken care of (like putting in posts for the new run and coop before the ground water level comes up too high).

Swamp

 

[CountryMom]

With our horrible humidity and now the heat setting in the flies are horrible here in my quail barn. I have tried a number of things. I have fly bags, fly tape, a fly pesticide strip hanging, DE in the litter pans as they are under their cage and quail kept on wire, and also sevin dust in the pans. Basically unless I clean every day or every other day it is just a swarm. I have sprayed with many different chemicals (mind you the quail are not on the litter pans) and no help long term. So I have decided to create a tray that is angled and has a gutter at one end. I will then send that gutter into a large PVC pipe to run out the barn and down to one of our pastures. It is going to be expensive to set up with the amount of pipe I need, but I will just rinse the droppings down the tray and into the gutter and out the pipe. I have seen another quail operation that was similar and hoping this will solve my problem.

I DE and or Sevin dust my chicken coop floors all the time. They are sand floors with shavings. I do not have any issues with flies in there.

 

[bigjohn]

I moved my quail back outside because of the heat and my resolution to the fly/smell problem is this:

Take some top soil and put it under the pens. Rake it over lightly a couple of times per day. Add a light coating of Hydrated lime once a week or so and you will be amazed how well things work out. The hydrated lime will give the soil a sweet smell instead of the nasty poop smell. And try to keep the soil as dry as possible.

If you put one of those 'stinky' fly traps ($5) from Lowes way away from the house, flies will die by the hundreds in it and that will help, too.