We are still receiving calls and emails about Red Mite control and thought that it would be good to mention that we now have a pack of fumers, which mean that you can get into the nooks and crannies without having to bend or stretch. 

These Blitz Mini Fumers are selling like hot cakes!  They are powerful and make the job of Red Mite control easier, which I know is what you want to hear

The great thing is that they come in packs of 2 so that once you have used the first one you still have a second application, without having to buy more.  We always recommend to apply a product at least twice, as we find that nothing short of creosote will kill Red Mite eggs.  This means that the first application will kill the mites and then in approximately 5 to 7 days you do the second application which will kill off the recently hatched mites.  These immature Red Mites will not be able to reproduce in that timescale so the pack of two will do the job nicely!

If you have one of our chicken houses or indeed any chicken house that has air vents, please cover these as best you can to keep the smoke inside the house.

Our Red Mites sprays are still a great solution, and with our range expanding we can ensure that we can provide even more, very versatile solutions.

We have had a large influx of enquiries with regards to Red Mites, so I thought I would update the blog with some information and solutions.  Unfortunately due to the weather and time of year, it appear that Red Mites have been on the rampage!  There are many other factors as to how mites make their way to chicken coops and houses, such as the bedding used,  and also felt roofs can harbour the little creatures causing a lot of hassle and also expense to the humble chicken keeper.   This is one of the main reasons why all our chicken houses are felt free.

It doesn’t sound too nice but these pesky creatures come out at night and feed off your bird whilst she is asleep.  This is what gives the mites their name, with them being red after they have fed.  In the day-time they generally do not appear this colour, which can confuse some over the name and what they may see in their chicken house or chicken coop.

If you have red mites you will usually notice that the egg production is down, as the chickens will need to replace the blood they have lost from the mites feeding, meaning that they have less energy to produce eggs.  Also they will start to peck each other, usually around the base of the tail, as this is where they will see the infestation.

Although this sounds rather scary, the good news is that if you do have an infestation of red mite then we have solutions.  Our stongest product is the Red Mite Killer Spray which is available in both 250ml and 500ml sizes.  The can states that the spray is effective for up to 6 weeks, however we recommend that you treat the house and 7 days later you treat it again, to ensure that it is free of mites.  We also have Total Mite Kill Liquid, which will also kill the mites in much the same way, however with this spray we recommend that you use it 3 times, every 3 days to see maximum results.

Of course with the sprays it’s important that your birds are away from the house and it is stripped of its bedding etc, with the house being well ventilated for a few hours before returning the birds.

Now if you do not have red mites and are keen to keep it that way then we have a naturally formulated powder, Red Mite Powder.  As it is natural then it can also be used on the bird as well as in the house.

We like to sprinkle this around the perches and the corner edges of the house when we are cleaning our houses, and we are happy to say that we are mite free. 

I know there is a lot of information out there when it comes to red mite control, but hopefully the above will summarise for you what to look out for and to assist in your quest to keep your houses mite free!

Firstly hello to everyone

Being my first blog (hopefully first of many) I would like to say that before I joined P&T I was not the most experienced of people at all when it came to chicken keeping!  I recall many a day in my childhood on my grandparents farm, collecting eggs in the morning, knowing that I would enjoy them for breakfast that day, but that was probably as far as my knowledge went.

Since joining I have learnt so much and I hope that as this knowledge will expand and I will be able to pass it on and assist others with little “tricks of the trade” so to speak.

As Trevor mentioned we have lots and lots of little chicks who have been successfully hatched from one of our new incubators, and reared in the last few weeks.   I have been eagerly watching them and can say, without doubt that they have blossomed under the brooder hen, and enjoyed every mouthful of the chick crumb!  I never knew they could eat so much.

The next stage has started and we have erected a Seabright chicken house and run today, which looks really good.  There is plenty of space in the run (something I would imagine people would worry about) and as the house is raised the chicks will even have more room to run around in.

As new products, special offers and helpful tips come to my attention, I will be the first to pass this information on, however please feel free to email any questions, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll just ask Trevor!!!!!

We have today finalised our new design and alterations to our super popular Dorking chicken house, we have changed the door opening system and ventilation as well as improving the wood quality and increasing the thickness from 10mm to 12mm. We have also added a small chicken run for those days you can not free range your birds. Can be seen at http://www.pandtpoultry.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/shop.category/categoryid/10

I am getting asked every day how to contact the BHWT? Well please try http://www.bhwt.org.uk/ this is their main website. My main contact is Lisa Pope but i believe all volunteers are very helpful so done be nervous to contact you local agent, please remember they are volunteers so have day jobs and may take a day or two to get back to you. I know you want your chickens today but you may have to wait until their next rescue date, please do wait if you can as it will be very rewarding for you.

Again please do remember they are not a business, they are a charity and therfore please understand this is done in their free time given to the help of battery hens so responce time may not be same day, please work with the volunteers it will be worth it for you

I am sorry yes our famous 12kg deluxe kits have been delisted due to the problems bringing in all the parts due to the faliures of 2 companies during the recession.

We do however offer a full range of other chicken feeders.

The cold weather is finally due to land this week, the clocks have changed and we all know chicken keeping is not as much fun with cold fingers!!!

But please think of your birds the jobs must still be done, house cleaning, fresh water daily, an extra 1/2″ of bedding in the house for extra insulation each time etc.

But also time to throw out a handfull of mixed corn or cut maize in the morning and afternoon so they can go to bed with full crops to help them get good release of food through the night and of course to give them a little winter fat.

It is also a good time to extra chicken vitamins and I also like to give a nice drop of green / white tea once a week to really stimulate their metabolism - NEVER black tea as this causes runs and once it even caused sour crop.

Please dont ask but my chickens and I have had long discussions over time and we have agreed that they prefer white tea but even though I buy direct from China it is still too expensive so we mix a small ammount of white tea with green. Although my brahmas do not touch it and they want darjeeling - but i have tricked them by mixing green with a few rose petals (this is because darjeeling is a black tea and too fermented for them).

Yes it is official Trevor is mad, the man whom runs P&T Poultry is mad but the good thing about my madness is it works after a dire weather season and 2 huge floods, storms etc my birds look better than ever

Oh yes almost forgot, with the huge rains over the last 2 years i would suggest this winter you up the calcium in the feed or vitamins or give more oyster shell grit and less mixed grit over the winter to really give the hens back what seems to be bleaching away.

‘Will my dog be ok with keeping chickens?’ this is a very common question and one to be honest I can not answer because I do not know your pet.

However it is uncommon for dogs trained by their owner to respect chickens to ever attack them.

My giant dog is a gentle giant, loves humans loves geese, chickens and ducks because I trained him to respect them but he also knows where to stop the geese wandering to and also where and where not to let people go to because he is well trained.

I just assumed this would progress on to all other animals but I soon learnt that when some of the sheep fell I had not trained him as to what they were and to respect them, now he is trained he is good with them as well.

So it is really a case of teaching the dog how to respect the animals you have I am afriad only you and the dog will answer the question but in training them the answer should be they are fine.

The good news I very rarely hear of dog attacks from people whom have both.