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[boskelli1571]

Mine have started laying again - there was a big hiccup d/t broody hens. It seems if you have a broody everyone other hen has to go broody for at least a day or two . I removed all the 'broody eggs' a couple of days ago and now we are back to normal - drowning in eggs!
Since they are in a cool old barn the heat doesn't seem to affect laying too much unless we reach 100F (38C).

 

[CCUK]

My latest weapon in my fight against the itchy scratchies!

Smoke bomb! Comes highly recommended. I'm not sure but at the moment I'm willing to try anything. I'm sick of the horrible little things. I did a full clean out 2 days ago with all the sprays amd powders, I go in today and the hens had scratched the shavings up and they were literally crawling with redmite. Everything out let's go battlefield on 'em! Once done I'll spray and powder again. Fingers crossed.

 

[PouleChick]

I'm so pleased I haven't had to deal with them yet! Dreading the day!

 

[CCUK]

Yeah, they're a nightmare. Chickens are pretty clean. Nothing noticeable on them. Just in the coop. I'm not convinced the smoke bomb will work but I'll spray everything down again before I put shavings back in.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I too have had another battle with them today although it seems to be a long drawn out war!

I spray the coop at least every other day but alas they were still visibly present. So I took the roof off the coop and the nest boxes apart only to find the little beasties all tucked up in the nooks & crannies! Creosote was the order of today after mite kill spray in all the places I could not reach. Stinks a bit in there but they will have to cope. Either that or get blood sucked by the mites!
I’m really thinking about getting a new coop and burning this one. The other coop though in the other run is not infested, go figure

 

[PouleChick]

I havent' done it yet but old fashioned lime wash is meant to be an effective detterent.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Never heard of the lime before, I will look into it. Thank you

 

[CCUK]

I've heard of limewash. Like the whitewash you used to see on farm buildings. It's also meant to be a good deodoriser and antibacterial.

 

[PouleChick]

I've heard of limewash. Like the whitewash you used to see on farm buildings. It's also meant to be a good deodoriser and antibacterial.

Exactly - it has very high pH so the mites hate it and in theory won't go in the wood where it is painted - however totally safe for the chickens. I figure the added bonus is that you slap a fresh coat on each year to make everything fresh and white which is what they all did back in the day! Lime is an amazing material - currently doing lots of research due to our renovations on our old barn / house!

 

[boskelli1571]

I too have had another battle with them today although it seems to be a long drawn out war!

I spray the coop at least every other day but alas they were still visibly present. So I took the roof off the coop and the nest boxes apart only to find the little beasties all tucked up in the nooks & crannies! Creosote was the order of today after mite kill spray in all the places I could not reach. Stinks a bit in there but they will have to cope. Either that or get blood sucked by the mites!
I’m really thinking about getting a new coop and burning this one. The other coop though in the other run is not infested, go figure

Thankfully I've never had them, not sure if we get them in the US. I would burn the coop and replace with a spiffy new one...