FLIES!

[terryg]

The weak link in your manure management might be the bedding. I found that straw was not good bedding. Manure on pine shavings dries up faster. Straw bedding just gets soggy and matted. You might try switching and seeing if that helps.

 

[MSchickenmama]

I recently ran into the same problem, bombarded with  flies in the coop.  Well we've had quite a bit of rain & i only found out reading on this board that hay/straw expecially when wet/damp/moist is a breeding ground for flies!    I quickly got rid of ALL hay on the floor.  There is only enuff for there nests/bedding which stays high & dry.  Also keeping the poop out daily or covered & dry has helped tremendously in only 3 days.  They have an all sand/grit floor so the poop dries quickly & is easily scoopable to remove!

Wetness is no a problem for me, here in Texas. My coops are dry, and cleaned of droppings daily. We put a top soil/sand/ shaving every other day in the run. Then let them free range a couple hours in the evening-when moving the coops and cleaning. Spilt food is always scooped up. :-S

 

[joan1708]

I've read that you can clean your coop too much (Gail Damerow's Storey's Guide to Chickens, or something like that) and that causes fly problems. If you maintain the deep littler method of control, there will be fly larva predators in the litter to help control the flies. My coop/run doesn't smell and I don't have a fly problem. I scoop the overnight poop from the coop in the am. The poop in the run gets taken care of by the litter. I've had my coop 3 months and haven't cleaned it yet. I was having problems with mosquitos. I put one of the vanilla air fresher things just outside a window of the coop (my coop is small and chickens are supposed to have semi fragile respiratory systems, so I didn't put it in the coop). It didn't help. Spraying bacillus therengensius (spelling) around the coop helped.

 

[terryg]

The deep litter system is appropriate for some set-ups, not all. You have to have the right number of hens for the space, you have to keep it dry, you have to get rid of mounds of manure. It doesn't work for many small coops. If you don't do deep litter, there are zero issues with keeping things "too" clean. I do believe in having a compost pile in the chicken pen. That's the best of both worlds - the hens get a fun place to scratch with lots of things to eat and layers of microbes, and the rest of the area is kept clean, dry and manure-free. You can see what I do here:
http://hencam.com/henblog/2012/03/compost-in-the-chicken-run/

 

[scwheeler24]

Joan, on a different subject, I just have to say I love your pic. awesome!

 

[scwheeler24]

Where do you get the sand/grit at?

 

[joan1708]

Thanks Scwheeler24! It was my mothers picture and I've had it for many years.

 

[True Grit]

I just read of a weird solution and you can google it to read about it. You fill a plastic baggie half full of water and add 4 or 5 pennies and tack it up where you want the flies to avoid. Can't vouch for it, my dad just sent it to me. We don't have a big fly problem here, more mosquitoes.

 

[rosesm]

Finding out what kind of fly you have can help with the flies, how to get rid of them. Does it rain a lot where you are? Before I moved here we could always tell when it was going to rain, the flies always went to the ceiling. I read on another forum that a gentleman put out a cup of coffee with sugar in it and caught a bunch. Or leave your sink of dish water overnight, you'll get some.

 

[rosesm]

True Grit I also have seen that posted somewhere on another forum. For them it worked, I think it had to do with them being shiny, its the shiny objects that keeps the flies away.