Poor Meg

July 24th, 2009 .

Since I discovered the mites I have been cleaning out the bedding each day and lining the bottom of the coop with newspaper. When I removed the newspaper again today it was covered in tiny red mites. I also emptied the area that they lay eggs and gave it a good sprinkling of stalosan f.

In general the girls have seemed happier the past couple of days – I think the reason that they have been making so much noise in the mornings has been because they were being eaten alive by mites. When I let the girls out today they all seemed fine, but after about an hour I noticed that Meg was wandering around slowly and not scratching around in the mud like the others. I gave her some meal worms and some poultry spice, but she has been getting more and more lethargic as the day has gone on. She has spent the last few hours standing by herself under a tree.

Meg has been sitting all by herself for hours

Meg has been sitting all by herself for hours

I’m not sure if she is sick or just tired – the last few times that I went out to look at her she had her eyes half closed, and kept closing them for a while. I’m wondering if the mites have made her slightly anemic or something…

I hope she is just tired...

I hope she is just tired...

Oh No!

July 22nd, 2009 .

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...

At first I thought this was chicken poop...

...but chicken poop doesnt move!

...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

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.

Sold my first box of eggs

July 8th, 2009 .

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!

1 More…

July 2nd, 2009 .

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…

Mealworms!?

July 1st, 2009 .

Yesterday, I went upstairs to find these crawling around on my carpet.

Tenebrio molitor - The mealworm beetle

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…