July 22nd, 2009 . Posted in Chickens | 2 Comments »
Tags: Chickens, cleaning, coop, mites, nest box, parasites, poo
Today I was cleaning out the chickens, when I noticed a small pile of black poo in the corner of the nest box that the chickens sleep in. I went to pick it up when I noticed it was moving! At first I thought that ants had somehow got into the coop, but on closer inspection it was a pile of thousands of tiny mites.
At first I thought this was chicken poop...
...but chicken poop doesn't move!
I’m not 100% sure what these are but I think they might be the dreaded red mite. Even though most of the mites were black, when I wiped them off the dust pan and brush it left streaks of red blood over it so I think they have been feeding on the girls. This might be why they keep making such a racket every morning!
A close up of the parasites
I didn’t have time to completely clean the coop today, but I spent a good hour and a half removing all of the bedding from the floor. Most of the mites were in the nest box, so after I had cleaned it out I spread a lot of stalosan f over the floor (it is a powdered disinfectant) and blocked the nest box off so that the girls can’t sleep in there. I also removed the bedding from the rest of the coop apart from the area where the girls lay (there didn’t seem to be any mites in there).
I think this weekend will be time to give the coop a good clean out – I intend to go to my local pet shop and buy some mite powder. I will then give the coop a good clean out and replace all of the bedding, and give it a good sprinkling of mite powder.
I feel really bad for the girls – there were so many mites and they must have been driving the girls nuts! When the girls went in to sleep tonight I lifted the lid of the coop slightly to see what they would do. When they first went in, they had a good look at the wood blocking off the nest box. Then they went up to it and started pecking at it – trying to find away into the section that they normally sleep in. It was really horrible to watch – they clearly wanted to go sleep in their usual spot but I think it is best to keep them out of there for a few days.
July 8th, 2009 . Posted in Chickens | Comments Off
Tags: eggs
Just a short post today – I have sold my first box of eggs for £1.20. Now I just need to sell another 500 boxes and then I will be in profit!
July 2nd, 2009 . Posted in Mealworms | Comments Off
Tags: Mealworms
Last night when I went upstairs there was another mealworm beetle in my bedroom – my girlfriend trod on it by accident when she went upstairs. It still seems pretty healthy so I put it in the container with the others. I wonder if they are breeding in my house or something…
July 1st, 2009 . Posted in Mealworms | 1 Comment »
Tags: Mealworms
Yesterday, I went upstairs to find these crawling around on my carpet.
Tenebrio molitor - The mealworm beetle
After a bit of investigation, I have come to the conclusion that they are mature mealworms. Since mealworms are quite expensive I have decided that I will hang on to them and see if they produce any offspring.
When I first spotted them I only saw two of them, and I hate killing insects so I grabbed a pint glass and trapped them inside. Pretty much straight away the two beetles that I caught started mating so there is a good chance that the female will lay some eggs. Then when I went upstairs again to clean my teeth I saw another one on the skirting board in the bathroom so that one ended up in my collection too. I have put them in an ice cream tub with some wood shavings, porridge oats and a piece of soggy tissue paper. Now I just have to wait and see if they will survive…
July 1st, 2009 . Posted in Chickens | 1 Comment »
Tags: Chickens, hot
Not a lot has been happening recently which is a good thing! Generally, the times when I have a lot to write about are the times that things are going wrong but everything has been plodding along fine at the moment. This week has been incredibly hot – in fact I am sitting outside in the garden now at 9:30pm typing this because it is more comfortable than sitting indoors.
Here are some photos of the girls that I have taken in the past week…
Daisy and Victoria inside the chicken run
A nice close up of Meg. Notice how small her comb is compared to the others...
This is a great close up of Daisy!
One thing that I have learnt about chickens this week is that they pant when they get hot. Every time I have been outside recently they have all had their mouths open to try and cool down.
Daisy panting to cool down