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Platypus

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 56
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 09 12:58 pm Post subject: Flies

We are getting LOADS of flies around the chickens at the moment, especially during warm weather. Not just a few but literally hundreds of what I think are greenbottles (smallish with a green sheen) that generally congregate on the cecal poo.

They are not on the chickens, if anything the chickens chase the flies, and none of the chickens have any wounds or sores

We only have 3 chickens and they are generally kept in a caged area (8ft x 10ft with a 6" deep gravel bed) and allowed to "free range" in our small garden most of the time. I hose down the gravel about once a week and apply Jeyes fortnightly. I also hose any poo in the garden most evenings.

Because our garden is small the flies are becoming a real problem. Sitting out in the evening means being constantly buzzed by the damn things and BBQs are just not on!

Does anyone else have this sort of problem?
Is there anything I can do about it?

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 09 1:06 pm Post subject:
I'm afraid it goes with the territory . There's that fly trap thing - https://www.ascott-dairy.co.uk/acatalog/Red-Top-Fly-Trap-HS54.html and someone, I can't remember who, told me that they just use old-fashioned fly papers. I really sympathise - they are buzzing in our kitchen window and it's horrible .

ksia

Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 2320
Location: Mayenne, France

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 09 3:13 pm Post subject:
Jeyes would've been my suggestion - maybe up it to weekly at peak fly times? Can you open up their house during the day - air and light might help.

Woodburner

Joined: 28 Apr 2006
Posts: 2904
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 09 6:25 pm Post subject:
Sounds like you are keeping it too wet, to me. I don't wash the ground and I don't have flies, well there must be some but not that you'd notice without looking for them. The chooks are in a pretty small area by many peoples standards too. 16 sq ft each. The ground has been bare for a long while now.

Platypus

Joined: 14 Apr 2005
Posts: 56
Location: Hampshire

Posted: Wed Jul 15, 09 11:21 am Post subject:

Thanks for the replies,

Interestingly most of the flies are in the garden not the pen and none in the coop. It is also noticeable that they leave the normal poo alone only going for the cecal, but they hang around all over the garden.

Makes me wonder if there is some other source nearby where they are breeding. I always thought that greenbottles laid eggs on rotting meat, and there is none of that available in our garden.

That Red Top job looks like it might help, but Ascott are charging 2/3rds the cost of the trap for postage, which is just daft. I'll see if I can get one locally, there's a Scats near me.

I did wonder whether, as woodburner says, I should let the poo dry out rather than trying to wash it away. The flies certainly prefere the fresh stuff!

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