Grow Your Own Magazine

Sterling Board is cheaper than external-grade ply, and does the job just as well. I doubt the chook house you can buy for the price of the materials would be nearly as good as you can make.
I would be inclined to attempt to STICK felt down onto the roof, all over, with bituminous stuff, so that there is NO gap between felt and under-layer. The normal approach of nailing it on is an open invitation to all sorts of undersirables (in the case of a chook-house, mites).
If you can't find anything that will stick firmly enough (and I'm not sure what there is, not having had to make one in ages), a mono-pitch roof of Sterling Board (or marine ply) will probably be weather-proof if given a few coats of bituminous paint, and re-painted annually.
The last chook house we had was a corrugated iron shed, with a wooden floor, the nest box was a wooden box we just happened to have handy, and the perch was a bit of 2"x2", secured where the sides had supporting 'rails'.

__________________
Flowers come in too many colours to see the world in black-and-white.

Well I bought some creosote light (whatever that is) last week and finally got around to painting the coop with it. A revelation! All mites running for it as soon as the first fumes hit the wood. I painted it then squashed as many as I could find.
Definitely the way to go.

__________________
"Orinoco was a fat and lazy Womble"

The subject of the dreaded mites is also on the thread "Hen house cleaning regime"

I've had my chooks since last September and never had mites until this past 10 days. I had been bitten many times and although I deflea my dogs regularly, I thought it was fleas. Mistake! I found literally clusters of thousands of mites on my hens perch. I've been scrubbing the perches every day since and spraying them with flea/insect spray, and the following morning I find them all dead.
Tomorrow morning I've got someone coming to help completely clear, spray, and dis-infest the coop. I've been using deep litter that is only changed every few months (poos taken out regularly though). I'm now wearing a plastic shower cap and an old
cotton coat when I go in the coop because the mites were getting in my hair, and it's
giving me the screaming pieackers!
The coop will be emptied, sprayed with Poultry Shield then sprayed everywhere with StrikeBack, only newspapers put on the floor and the place dusted with Diatom. I'm now so paranoiac about mites, I'm undressing in the utility room and putting the clothes in the washing machine immediately. I've been finding the mites on the shower cap so that goes in the machine as well.
I've just resprayed the perch with insecticide.
Does anyone with an Omelet chicken house also have red mites?

Ive been thinking about changing my hen house, which is felt roofed etc, and tricky to clean without squeezing in to it which gives me the heebie jeebies as Im sure things are dropping on to me from the ceiling so I want better access. In the meantime Ive cleared out my shed to allow half of it to become new home, then thought, why not leave them in there, tonnes more space. Would this be better for them, or would I still have the same problem do you think, only on a larger scale? Shed is 6' x 8' and at the moment I have just the four chickens. Is it daft to think the mite will have further to travel from to get to them so it hopefully wont be as bad for them? Ideally I want to find a house with a lift off lid so I have full access for cleaning.

__________________
SuzyB
www.mind-spillage.blogspot.com

If the shed has not had chickens in it before then it won't currently have mite in it, so your hens will be fine in there. However, at some stage the mite will find them, although chances are not this year, as the mites will become less active as the weather gets colder. If your birds are happy in the shed, then leave them in there, and this will give you the opportunity to totally clean out and Creocote your existing house from top to bottom, and let it dry thoroughly before allowing the birds back in. I would also suggest removing the felt roof and replacing with something less mite-friendly. I agree that a lift-off lid, or one hinged from the top, so you have top access, is great for cleaning out, handling birds at night etc. All ours are top accessible (they are all home made) and makes cleaning a dream (in fact I'd rather clean out one of our houses than muck out my kids' bedrooms!).

Give me cleaning out the chooks over our house anyday,at least all the mess just goes straight on the fire or compost...no putting away millions of things that have no place!

On the subject of "is a shed better"...our main problem coop was/is an altered shed,I like the fact that it's walk~in,but certainly hasn't meant our mite problem was easier.We've now got two converted sheds...in use & a homemade smaller coop that our boys are currently in.The plan is to keep them all & when there's no chicks/cocks that need coop three it can be temporary housing for when we need to re creocote the sheds.(we also have a little ply cube that Andi made as a broody coop,as soon as the chicks are big enough to be mixed with the others this will be given a coat of creosote...ready for next year!

__________________
the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

This is a brilliant thread and has made me ask myself all sorts of questions SWMBO wants some "rescue hens", probably 8 or 10, and wants me to build a coop. The construction isn't a problem, but after reading this thread I've decided to make it modular so I can easily dismantle it for thorough cleaning. Anyway - enough waffle - my question for the experienced amongst you is---- is there a plastic liner or smooth finished product which I can use to line it to minimise hidey holes for those foul sounding critters?

If money was no object for me, I'd line a completely creocoted shed with Formica, seal up the joints with silicone sealant, and make some ventilation holes near the top with those plastic insert thingies sealed in place. The floor would be covered with lino that could be moved out for cleaning. Then every cleaning day, it'd be washed down with Smite.

Is it my turn to win the lottery this week?

__________________
My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

OK Maureen
Is there a cheaper option?

Hi all,

OK, we discovered our little red mite problem last Saturday, despite the usual rigourous cleaning regime...
Puffed the birds, scrubbed the coop on Sunday, and the blighters were back on Monday.
Tuesday, in the rain when I was recovering from a cold, I got some creocote and a brush... WOW... I could see them running a mile from the stuff. It was wierd - they were coming out of the woodwork (pun intended!) like there was no tomorrow (and for them, there wasn't). I put the birds into a very large cat carrying box for the night - tight for them, but they didn't get nibbled in the night.
It's now Thursday, and the smell has disippated, so we've let the birds back in, and they are very happy...

I think CreoCote is a good preventative answer, though does not remove the need for regulate cleaning etc.

My next step is to remove the felt from the roof permanently, and replace it with some thing else, perhaps that wavey plastic stuff used for carport roofs, and add a little gutter /water butt solution.

Build a box shaped house out of exterior grade ply with a slightly sloping roof to let the rain run off. Fill the joints with silicone if you wish. Then creosote the lot internally. Make removable perches/slats which can be taken out at each clean.

While you may not avoid mite altogether, this gives them very few places to hide, so can easily be seen and dealt with when you do get them, therefore avoiding a major infestation.

Just wanted to report on a new product we're going to give a try(new to us but probably not new as such!)
It's called GET RID & is 100% organic~"consists of untreated microscopic algae which physically penetrates the outer layer of crawling insects causing them to wither & die...."Ha~ha!!!
Can't personally vouch for it's effectiveness but my friend that got it for me has been using it throughout the summer & is really impressed.I'm assuming it will work on lice too?
I think she said it's five ponds a tub...350g...and if you buy three you only pay £5 postage.She got it from Ebay.
I shall let you know what I think in a week or so.
Although,touch wood,since the creocoting I've not spotted any anyway.

__________________
the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

This may not be the conventional way of dealing with red mites but it has worked for me.

In France there is no spray available for red mite due to it's toxicity. On the advice of another grape I used hot vinegar and a hot air gun to first season and the fry the b******s. This worked up to a point but was rather long winded. Earlier this summer with little time to spare for the vinegar treatment and a bad infestation in desperation I sprayed with Raid for crawling insects. I let the house air well before letting the chooks back in.

At the next clean-out there were considerably less mites but I sprayed again. Just cleaned again and guess what NO MITES I know it's getting cooler and they are not such a problem but there are usually a few about.

Guess what I shall use from now on?

__________________
Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

I had a very bad infestation of red mite. Cleaned out the coop, sprayed it with Poultry Shielf. When dry, I put new shavings on the floor and heavily sprinkled floor, nesting boxes with lots of diatamacous earth. (I use shredded paper that can be changed every couple of days in nest boxes).
The perch is washed and scrubbed every day and sprayed with Strike Back. No more mites seen.

http://www.calciappro.fr/documents/F...3_Screen.jpg?0
LES PARASITES EXTERNES DES POULES (POUX: insectes et acariens)

hi there! god I didn't even know about these little blighters!
the first link i've given might be interesting for roitelet (it means little king no?!) it's also a non chemical way of treating red mites.
The second link is some gruesome photos for those of you who want to see the beasts close up!!! yukk, you need a strong stomach, and i'm off to ispect my girls house asap!
have just checked links, the first one only gives a photo of product but if you google name roitelet, it will come up, it's bicarbonate of silicone

From the minute I sprinkled the diatamaceous earth all over the deep litter (shavings), in the nest boxes and on the hens, I haven't seen a red mite anywhere.
They disappeared within just a couple of days, and my coop was really badly infested.
I also slightly dampen their perch and sprinkle it on there as well.

It is non toxic (even if they eat it ).

I also use it on my dogs as a flea deterrent. A darned sight less toxic than
the stuff they have to swallow or have sprayed on them.

what is the product?

One of the trade names for it is DIATOM

Do people reckon it's okay to not spray the coop with poultry shield this week? We've had snow on the ground for 10 days or so, and I did it last week.

I don't want to leave them cold and damp (although obviously don't want red mite either). What do folks reckon?

I haven't done mine either - I've added Diatom to the dust bath area and sprinkled it in the coops too. No sign of anything yesterday.

Thanks Sue, I'll just give them a quick change of bedding then. The girls will be happier too - normally when I do it I have to shut them out of the run while the coop dries out. Even though I put their food and water outside for them, and do it in the afternoon after everyone's laid, a small picket line forms outside the door!

Can you post pics of you in your stunning outfit

After reading this thread I could do with a laugh

__________________
You have to loose sight of the shore sometimes to cross new oceans

I would be a perfectionist, but I dont have the time

have you tried stalosan f, i use it on my coop. its a dry powder dissinfectant you spread on the floor, the chooks do the rest with there feet. kills vertually everthing and is animal safe.also reduces amonia hop this helps,all the best

__________________

For mites use a Permethrin based disinfectant all over the house, especially in the crevices. You use Frontline on the birds themselves, between their shoulders, the amount determined by their weight (and you can't eat the eggs I think). Get on top of the mites now as their life cycle is only 7 days! I had an explosion of mites last year and lost two hens to them. Once the infestation is gone, use a diatomaceous powder to dust the house. This is harmless to the birds but will cut the mites to pieces. It won't deal with a heavy infestation though. Check your birds vents also for northern fowl mite - these live on the bird and for these you need flea powder or anything Permethrin based. Mites are a bugger! Red mites look dark red and shiny when full of blood. Northen fowl mites are dark grey and move FAST!.
Good luck!

You can buy this stuff for £28 for 25kg if you look hard enough on the web...we are being ripped off by a lot of places.......................

Can you put a link on to where you can buy diatomaceous powder at that price please? I've had a look and 25kg is around £80

__________________
My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

Which stuff?

__________________
"Orinoco was a fat and lazy Womble"

We all had very bad infestations of mites last year. One gentleman went so far as to burn down his hen house (not the birds!!)
After trying many things, I finally discovered Strike Back and that did the trick. The perches were dusted with diatomaceous powder morning and night and the bedding (finely chipped wood chipping) and nests.

Poultry Shield didn't rid my coop of mites last year, and the coop was cleaned out once a week, sprayed with a pressure hose and sprayed with Poultry shield.
I got so frustrated at findind millions of mites that I decided to purchase an Eglu. After discussions with customer service at Omlet and people I know who have Eglus, I decided against it. Eglus get mites, they hide in the crevices and it is a long haul to take the thing apart and put it together again.
Hopefully the long term very low temperatures might have killed off a lot
of mites/eggs, but I started in February dusting everything with DE and spraying all the wood with Strike Back, and maybe these preventative measure will help

Valerie

Don't berate yourself, its so easy to get these pests! And I've no idea why so many hen houses are tongue and groove - heaven for mites!

Sorry, my post got split I think...diatomaceous earth.

Oh blimey, I'll try and find it, it was like a big poultry supply place which only did bulk................

[QUOTE=jessmorris;658285]Don't berate yourself, its so easy to get these pests! And I've no idea why so many hen houses are tongue and gr.

Totally agree. Almost all "bought" henhouses are the same. We make our own, like a box with minimal joints, creosote the insides and remain virtually mite free year round. We get a few in an old house we have which has rather more joints than our newer models but a good dollop of creosote soon sorts them out.

I thought we'd come to the conclusion that diatomaceous earth doesn't work very well and all you need to do, is to paint the inside with creosote replacement, creocote. (is that what you mean Richmond)

Why cock about with all the other expensive stuff, when this sorts it out?

__________________
"Orinoco was a fat and lazy Womble"

Yes that is what I mean, Womble. Creocote or any other creosote replacement is suitable. I don't use anything else in my houses at all.