BDutch's bantam flock & natural breeding projects #5 🪺 🪺 and #6

[MaryJanet]

If its 12C outside, then the temp in the coop will be higher.

I know (from others) that a steam device does the job. Getting boiling water in the coop in another way seems difficult.

It's an open air coop, not closed so it might be cooler than you think. I'll check the coop thermometer - ok, it says 11C on the coop thermometer right now (4.50pm) and the Weather Bureau says the temperature is 11.2C, so that's quite close. However, the hens will create warmth on the roost once they've gone to bed.

For boiling water, I can bring the roost perches to the kettle in the laundry. The rest of the coop is made of metal, including the sawhorses on which the roost perches are mounted. The floor is sand covered with wood shavings, so that's a risk factor.

I'll try to establish a routine of pouring boiling water onto the roosting perches every Saturday. Assuming there are mites in the coop, that should keep them in reduced numbers.

 

[RoyalChick]

I think the idea is to put the rolls in a place where you are certain the mites will have to walk through. In his case the mites climb up the wall, which is why he says it's important that the chickens must be made to roost some space away from the wall, otherwise the mites will directly just climb on them and skip walking on the roost.

Strange enough, last year when I had mites (I'm expecting some again now we have our usual summer weather back) they didn't go on all the old roosts made of branches and irregular wood, but I did find them on the smooth recent roost my partner's father had made for us from half drafters.

Edited to add : last year I treated the roost with juniper oil. I'm not sure if it's a product sold in other countries but here it's used a lot for cattles and farm animals. It worked very well but once the roost were oiled, the hens had trouble getting a good grip. This year I am going to give a try at a drop of Neem oil on each bird. Although it's not authorized as a pesticide here, I use some in the garden and it seems to be one that cause lesser damage to bees.

I have been reading more and I think I understand how to use the cardboard. I will try various options. Basically I have lots of possible mite hiding places in my construction and the cardboard will compete with those - so I need to make it attractive to the mites.
I have never actually seen any signs of mites - and one possibility is that most of my structure is exposed to light for the whole day - even my wood roosts are in front of windows.
I can think of couple of darker areas and I will start with the cardboard traps there.

And @MaryJanet I also read about steam and boiling water and a boiling kettle might work for me too.

 

[MaryJanet]

I have been reading more and I think I understand how to use the cardboard. I will try various options. Basically I have lots of possible mite hiding places in my construction and the cardboard will compete with those - so I need to make it attractive to the mites.
I have never actually seen any signs of mites - and one possibility is that most of my structure is exposed to light for the whole day - even my wood roosts are in front of windows.
I can think of couple of darker areas and I will start with the cardboard traps there.

And @MaryJanet I also read about steam and boiling water and a boiling kettle might work for me too.

The more I think about it, the more I see how to make the boiling water option work: make it the first task of the day, put the kettle on an extension cord so it's handy, stand a roost on its end and pour from the top so the boiling water runs along, flip the roost and repeat from the other end, then repeat the process (including the flip) with the roost horizontal, then leave the roost in the bright sun to dry. Or blast it with a hot hairdryer on a wet day.

It should work out ok I think.

 

[RoyalChick]

The more I think about it, the more I see how to make the boiling water option work: make it the first task of the day, put the kettle on an extension cord so it's handy, stand a roost on its end and pour from the top so the boiling water runs along, flip the roost and repeat from the other end, then repeat the process with the roost horizontal, then leave the roost in the bright sun to dry. Or blast it with a hot hairdryer on a wet day.

It should work out ok I think.

And I am so excited because I just found the perfect length of corrugated cardboard in the box breeding pen in the back of the car.
I took another look at the roost end to see if I could see the ash debris shown in the video (mite poop) and nothing.
I think my walls may be the higher risk areas though I didn’t see anything there either.

 

[MaryJanet]

And I am so excited because I just found the perfect length of corrugated cardboard in the box breeding pen in the back of the car.
I took another look at the roost end to see if I could see the ash debris shown in the video (mite poop) and nothing.
I think my walls may be the higher risk areas though I didn’t see anything there either.

Your chickens are far from lethargic too. "Full of beans" puts it mildly! I wouldn't be surprised if your coop was clear or only had minor populations in the dark corners.

 

[Sequel]

I made a couple rolled cardboard traps. I did them two different ways and tucked them into the back of the nest boxes.

 

[Sequel]

I watched a few of Papy Nounn’s videos today, apparently he started using the cardboard traps because the chemicals he could get didn’t work. Another video he built a coop from a 1000 liter liquid container, I’m not sure what they call them. He designed all the wood framing to easily come apart so he can clean them with a propane torch.

 

[RoyalChick]

I watched a few of Papy Nounn’s videos today, apparently he started using the cardboard traps because the chemicals he could get didn’t work. Another video he built a coop from a 1000 liter liquid container, I’m not sure what they call them. He designed all the wood framing to easily come apart so he can clean them with a propane torch.

I remember that video - it was quite an amazing set-up.
I had a minor and unexpected set-back on my corrugated cardboard traps. For some unknown reason the trash guy (who is a different company from the recycling guy) took all the cardboard that I had left out. That means I need to wait for some of the boxes still in the car to hatch some more baby boxes.
I am scratching my head about him taking it - this is the same trash guy who made me open up my trash bag because he thought he detected a beer bottle improperly thrown out. For sure he isn't getting paid to collect cardboard!
In my imagination he has a red mite problem and took them to use in his own coop!

 

[Sequel]

I remember that video - it was quite an amazing set-up.
I had a minor and unexpected set-back on my corrugated cardboard traps. For some unknown reason the trash guy (who is a different company from the recycling guy) took all the cardboard that I had left out. That means I need to wait for some of the boxes still in the car to hatch some more baby boxes.
I am scratching my head about him taking it - this is the same trash guy who made me open up my trash bag because he thought he detected a beer bottle improperly thrown out. For sure he isn't getting paid to collect cardboard!
In my imagination he has a red mite problem and took them to use in his own coop!

That is so weird!!!! I hoard cardboard to line my compost bins. I cut an ear off a soggy box to make those yesterday! Maybe he felt bad about that beer bottle accusation!

 

[BDutch]

Check every day now with biscuit paper rolls. Yesterday and today I didn’t find any red mite in the extended coop anymore. Not even a tiny one.
In the small coop I found a few. Most tiny red mites where were the chicks sleep in the laying nests. But all together just about 7 tiny mite yesterday and 5 today (with more rolls).

We had over 3 weeks with no rain (weather record) and because it was warm and windy modt of these weeks the soil got really dry. Yesterday we finally got a nice amount of rain. These were the side effects of a thunderstorm that was passing at several km from here. About 45 milimeters.

Checking on the chicks I found them under window waiting for the rain to pass, except for one silly cockerel who was looking flabbergasted and took a shower. One of the mama’s accompanied the chicks. The other mama’s and laying hens were in the coop area (covered small run between the small coop and the extension coop.

The window for shelter. It also blocks the rain to the covered run.

The situation last week. I took the roof of the extension to repair the Chick Guard auto opener.

The small coop after cleaning: