Girls won't sleep in their coop

[junebuggena]

You may have to physically put them in. They may never voluntarily go back into that coop. The roost bars are too narrow to be comfortable for their feet, and it's just much too small for them to all be in there comfortably. And it's lacking in ventilation. Letting them spend the night in the run you made for them might be a better option, rather than trying to force them back into that coop. At least until you can build them a proper sized coop for them.

 

[Blooie]

I'm fighting the mite battle too. I know lots of folks swear by DE, but I'm not one of them. I figure if I have to fight this fight I want an arsenal that's designed to help me rather than give me a false sense of security. So I emptied out and cleaned the coop completely by power washing, then when it was dry I hit the whole thing with Neem Oil. The roosts were taken out and put outside for a power wash, a coating of Neem oil, making especially sure to get the porous ends of the wood. Last thing I did I in the coop was pounce (using Permethrin dust in a sock) every crevice, the corners, the studs where the roosts attach, and the corners and edges where the walls meet the floors. My dirt floor was soaking wet, but it dried out enough to put a good layer of garden lime down, then a thin layer of pine shavings. I just did a thin layer because I'm going to be repeating the entire process in a week and didn't want to have to haul out as much bedding as I had to the first time. I'm lucky that I have plastic nests that are easy to remove, so they came out and were power washed, then wiped down with bleach water. The area behind the nests where we hang them was also sprayed well with Neem Oil. I did not put any Permethryn in the nests themselves because the package directions said specifically not to. That's the only place where I did use a little DE mixed in with the nesting material. The last step was to dust the girls, using that sock full of Permethryn dust. We waited until dark and they were roosting. Then we just plucked one off the roost, hung her upside down to calm her and to have her feathers open up a bit. This also exposed the areas where I really wanted a good dusting - around the vent and under the wings. As soon as one was done she went back up on the roost and I caught the next one....repeat, repeat, repeat 28 times. Ugh! Besides, the mites are most active and feeding at night, so why not get the girls dusted when they have the most mites on them to kill as many as possible?

We couldn't figure out where the mites came from - never had them before. But when Ken went to grab some flakes of straw from around back he spotted one on the baling twine. Oh, oh. I'd been putting the mites in there to feast on my girls every time I provided them with fresh nesting material. And none of us want to use chemicals on our chickens. After all, we got chickens to get eggs and meat that we know have had the best diets, lifestyle and are in good health. But here's the thing - if they are being eaten alive by external parasites, they are NOT healthy. They are anemic and they are miserable. And you know what else? You can bring those mites into your home on your shoes, your britches - even on your skin without knowing it. So yep, sometimes you just gotta break down and put all those thoughts about "only using natural products on my chickens" in your back pocket, bite the bullet, and get the problem under control. I wish you all the luck in the world combatting this. Heck, I wish ME all the luck in the world combatting this.

I'm not going to say anything about the size of your coop for that many birds or offer any other advice. Right now your biggest problem is the mites and that's what you need to focus on. And remember that the mites feed most heavily at night, so that's the reason your girls don't want to go in at night.

 

[bigt447]

Get a safe insecticide available at any reputable poultry supply store and not only put it in coop but also on the chickens. I agree that DE won't do it.

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!

Sounds like you had a good workout cleaning out your coop today.