A few weeks ago I treated my coop for red mites. At the time there was a reasonable infestation, but the birds seemed ok.
This evening, I found that 8 out of my 12 chickens had abandoned their roost and were sleeping in other spots in the coop. Most were on roosts on the other side of the coop, and one was in a nest box.
I checked their regular roost, where 4 birds remained. I did see a few red mites under torchlight, but only 20 or so. I also wiped under the roost with a damp cloth, and very few were squashed when I inspected it inside afterwards.
Would just a few red mites cause them to abandon the nest?
As I am moving soon, I will be giving all of my chickens away. My brother is taking them, as well as their roosts, to his home where he has an empty coop waiting for them.
I am going to paint the roosts with red mite treatment before he goes.
My question is: Can you ever really get rid of all red mites, or is it acceptable to always have them in small numbers? The chickens seem healthy and are laying well.
Krista
This evening, I found that 8 out of my 12 chickens had abandoned their roost and were sleeping in other spots in the coop. Most were on roosts on the other side of the coop, and one was in a nest box.
I checked their regular roost, where 4 birds remained. I did see a few red mites under torchlight, but only 20 or so. I also wiped under the roost with a damp cloth, and very few were squashed when I inspected it inside afterwards.
Would just a few red mites cause them to abandon the nest?
As I am moving soon, I will be giving all of my chickens away. My brother is taking them, as well as their roosts, to his home where he has an empty coop waiting for them.
I am going to paint the roosts with red mite treatment before he goes.
My question is: Can you ever really get rid of all red mites, or is it acceptable to always have them in small numbers? The chickens seem healthy and are laying well.
Krista
