Eek!

Today was not a good day.  It began with lots of furious itching(!) ...  The chicken house has got red mites.  LOTS of red mites. 

I spent all day thinking about it, and reading other peoples accounts of how awful it is.  So, I came home prepared.  New mite spray, mite powder, rubber gloves, garden hose, disinfectant, overalls and wellies.  Those mites don't have a chance of surviving now.  I may be slightly damp and still a bit itchy in places, but I think we did a thorough job.  The chooks didn't have a clue what the drama was about, but I'm hoping they'll have an easier nights sleep tonight, although it'll take a week or two to see if it's worked for sure.

On the plus side, decontaminating the two houses meant we had to let both the newbies and the oldies out in the garden together.  And despite a little over-the-top domination from bully Bertha, the newbies seemed to cope OK, and a sort of calm did descend.   We'll see if this continues over the weekend...  Fingers crossed...