flies

[Jkioneil]

I am wondering how to keep the fly population down?

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

DE and fly strips.....Others may have better Ideas though.

 

[MiniBeesKnees]

I noticed the other day when I was raking and cleaning the run that the flies where grouped around a broody poop pile as thick as well, flies. They were ignoring the other poop. Flies have to come from maggots so get rid of any sources of those...like trash cans with loose lids, and check the compost pile. I seek out and find...which is not too hard...the broody poo and bury it. If the coop is kept clean flies are less of an issue. If I had a lot of them in the coop I'd hang fly strips (dollar store three or four for a buck) but not where I'd hit them with my head. Or where the chickens would come in contact with them. They are not all that effective as the flies tend to be low, and the strips have to be hung high.

 

[dawg53]

Definitely DE, works great. Be careful with the fly strips though, the chickens will see the flies stuck to the strips and try to jump up to eat them. Then you'll have a tangled mess of feathers and a screaming chicken!

 

[Jkioneil]

So how would i use the DE to keep flies away? I hoesed the ground last night should i rake it? The ground is just dirt in the orchard. it is pretty dry what is a good way to clean it? some of the poo is pretty liquidy from the turkey what is the best way to clean the ground. first time with chickens and a turkey?

 

[Jkioneil]

should i just hose the coop down everynight? how often do i clean it out?

 

[Jkioneil]

i have 4 chickens and a turkey in a coop about 25 feet by 18 feet

 

[txmel]

i bought a fly trap jug thing from tractor supply that had bait in it and attached it to a tree outside the run. had it there for about one week it was full of flies when i tossed it out. the fly population in the run is way down now. i am thinking of getting another one to put up again to reduce the numbers again. the main problem i had with this thing was the bait smelled really bad and i didn't want to be down wind of it. which is part of the reason i threw it out after only 1 week.

 

[gogoalie]

There's a maggot can on the thread somewhere's, get's rid of flies & feeds the birds...

 

[dawg53]

Jkioneil, I dont recommend hosing your coop down, it sets the stage for parasites to thrive in moist soil, keeping everything dry is best. In my chicken house I use hay as bedding and in the nests. Soiled hay is real easy to rake out into a wheelbarrow. A square bale of hay is about $6 at my feedstore and it's good for about 3 or 4 cleanings. I have more chickens than you and I clean their house and pen once every 7-10 days depending on the weather and what season it is. Summertime...once a week, wintertime...10 days. But you can set your own schedule as you see fit. Once in awhile I'll sprinkle DE on the ground and in their house/nests to keep the flies at a minimum,there is no dosage as to how much you use. Sometimes I do the same thing with sevin dust to prevent lice/mites.You can use food grade DE in their food as a worm preventative, but it wont kill worms.( see 'threehorses' messages about worming.) I follow her directions to the letter. For the most part, brown runny smelly poop is normal in chickens unless it's constant, I dont know about turkey's. I go out to my chicken pen once or twice a day and shovel poop and toss it in the compost pile with the discarded hay from cleaning out their house. I dont think you should have turkey's and chickens together in the same pen. I'm not sure though, seems to me I've read somewhere that they can get different diseases from each other or something like that. I hope this helps and the best thing to do is keep everything as simple as possible, it'll be less work and stress on you and your chickens.