Felt Roofs

I've been looking through the housing thread as I hope to keep quail in the near future. I see that forum users have a variety of arks, hutches, cages etc.

However I noticed some of the hutches have felt roofs. These are to be avoided with chickens as they provide a great hiding place for red mite, which seem to be on the increase and are hard to get rid of.

According to my Katie Thear Quail book, red mite are also a problem for quail.

So, do you all think these felt roofs are OK ? Do any of you have problems with mites or treat for it ?

Thanks, Karen x

Hi Karen,

Felt is excellent for roofs, and your ruight it's a great hiding place for red mite.

The thing you must do, is remove the felt once a year, give the top a good scrub dust with redmite powder, and replace with new felt.

I've done this for many years, and have had little problem with red mite.

Derek.

Thanks, that is interesting Derek. I won't rule out all the felt roofed houses then.

Regards, Karen

hi karen, have you thought of a plastic roof ? its called lexon you can get clear plastic one the same as they use on car ports from builders merchents . just a thought

That was a good question - I have been thinking about that myself and I have bought two aviaries with felt roofs

I shall remember to replace it this time next year - I still have some roofing felt - but may investigate the alternatives at the time.

Is there any way of sealing the inside to prevent the little horrors?

Mites -that is.

lottie wrote:Is there any way of sealing the inside to prevent the little horrors?

Mites -that is.

At first I thought you were talking about the birds xD



Andrew.

good point lottie, presumably it's not the felt itself but the dry environment between the felt and the wood that provides a hiding place for them.

could you apply some tar or glue between the wood and the felt I wonder?

Can't you just hose it down with mite spray?

easier said than done with some chicken/duck house designs. You have to take the whole roof off, which is bolted on to the house.

Besides, I might forget to do it one year

Ahh right. The only things I have with felt rooves are my hutch and mini kennel thing - they're easy to lift the felt and squirt, or just soak the wood with spray.

OK daft question time ... do you get red mite spider thingy's in Scotland??? I've never seen any ..... I do remember as a kid playing in a forest down south and sitting on a log bench that was crawling with tiny little dots - would they have been red mites?

Hi Suz,

Yes, you get red mite anywhere, even Scotland.

They are carried about by birds, which land on or near to your pens, they then drop off and seek out warm bodies of other birds.

Red mite in poultry houses, only come out during darkness, where they feed straight from their prey, be it chickens, ducks or quail, they don't mind. Normally the first indication is a rapid drop in egg production.

Red mite are very difficult to control, even fumigation does not kill them all, Commericial houses are powerwash from top to bottom, normally twice with powerful disinfectants, but even this is not fully effected.

Monthly spraying is the norm on poultry farms to control these pests, where the opperators look like some spaceman from a Dr Who programme, lol.

They hide in the smallest of crevices, they have barbs on their feed so even power washing can sometime not dislodge them.

Refelting the roof is good standard practice, this is where most of the pest hide during the day.The roof needs to be powerwashed, left to dry, treated with some redmite dust or spray ( I used duramitex) which is made for pigeon lofts, but works fine in poultry houses too, and the birds don't need to be removed.


Derek.

We use proper creosote and jeyes fluid which I know some people don't like using. Haven't seen any evidence or red mite yet. (Well when I say 'we' perhaps I should say OH. )

Suz wrote:OK daft question time ... do you get red mite spider thingy's in Scotland??? I've never seen any ..... I do remember as a kid playing in a forest down south and sitting on a log bench that was crawling with tiny little dots - would they have been red mites?

Those little red mites you sometimes see on walls or wooden benches are different, the ones that infest poultry are a lot smaller. I use battles louse powder, and every couple of months give the hutches a good spraying with johnson's mite spray (if anyone can recommend an aerosol that's bigger i'd be grateful!).

Hi Emma,

This is what one seller says about Duramitex.

"QUOTE"
Duramitex is a concentrated insecticide which when diluted with water and applied liberally to all loft surfaces will eradicate red mite and other insect pests from the loft.

Dosage:
Regular 3 monthly treatments using Duramitex will keep the loft free from red mite.

Duramitex will not harm pigeons, and birds do not have to be removed during treatment.

Duramitex can be applied liberally with a brush or sprayer to ensure the solution seeps into cracks and crevices. Duramitex dries onto the loft surfaces and has some residual activity against mites that walk across it.

It costs about £6.50-£7.00 a bottle and will last a full year.

Derek.

Oh that sounds pretty good, presumuably I could just buy one of those bottle spray things.

Thanks for that Derek - and well worth the money by the sound of it. I think I will start saving those spray bottles you get for shower and kitchen cleaners - they sound ideal - once washed out thoroughly I could make up a batch and keep a spray bottle or two handy.

Are there any signs on the quails to look for?

Hi Claire,

As red mite only feed on birds during the darkness, you'll find no mites on birds during the day.They don't live on the birds.

Red mite are naturally grey in colour, and only get their name from feeding from bird. They drink blood and large amounts it turns red.I read once, a hundred mites can drink a full drop of blood, if you times this by a million, you can see why birds become anaemic.

Derek.