Irish Spring, cut in 4ths or less and hung in mesh bags(old hosiery or made from scraps of tulle) and tied in blueberry bushes, has kept deer and possibly rabbits from eating the leaves and fruit. It lasts incredibly long even in rainy times (South Carolina) over a year for me. People say it repels mice so I put it in my camper. The mice loved it and gnawed the corners off the soap bars😑 so I don't do that anymore!
I'm using a small bug zapper hung in the coop. The chickens do not bother it and it kills tons of flies. I can dump the flies on the ground and the chicken can eat the flies if they want, but usually, I just throw them away cause I hate flies.
Another solution is to take a plastic milk jug, puncture some holes with a knife, leaving the tabs created pointing into the jug. Leave a little milk in the jug and it will draw in the flies, especially when the milk spoils. Hang a couple of jugs so prepared in the area of your chickens. Cheap and effective. 😊
The fly traps brought way more flies to our acreage. They were way worse… Right now I have the vanilla trees up and they seem to be working Lol Let’s talk more about the chicken care journal? What a good idea!
Thanks! I use my Chicken Tender Journal to document everything from illness and medications, to egg laying (and if different remedies help with production), when I got each hen, etc. Link in the video descriptions!
The Irish Spring soap definitely helps a lot. We live in the countryside and the flies were really bad on both our front end our back. I bought some tulle bags from Walmart and hung one bar on the back deck, and two bars on the front deck. The flies reduced tremendously. Now there are only a few.
If you can grow mint, (also sage, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme) etc. dry them or use fresh and put in your coop and run. Mint is the easiest and it grows fast. This and other herbs deter flies as well, plus it smells great and the chickens love it.
Want to get rid of Flys completely? Cheap? Start a SOLDIER FLY FARM and they will eat all of the house flys. It's simple to make, and costs Nothing to feed them, just kitchen scraps. Don't do all this other non sense, just be smart and use the flys natural enemy. The soldier fly does not bite or anything.
Sure! Or put some in the nesting boxes, or plant some around the edges of the run…. My chickens actually hate mint and won’t eat it so it’s a great bug deterrent that will last a while! ✌🏻❤️🐓
Hello, I love, love, love your videos. I've gotten so much information from you. I've been doing my homework before I get my flock next spring. I also what to tell you how much I like the statue of St. Francis and the blessed mother. I also have them and will be putting them near my coop. Anyway, thank you for all the good information. I look forward to learning even more from you. Dianne C.
I think a combination of the things you mentioned would work, I hang the soap in the coop, the smell stays as long as its not getting wet, plus I make my own sprays for coop and yard, No Flies!!!
Hi! My spray is a bottle that’s full of half clean water and half white vinegar. That’s the base and you can use it with any combo: I like peppermint, lavender, and lemon. For a half gallon bottle I do about 10-20 drops of each. That’s great for killing bacteria and also deterring pests like flies and mice! ✌🏻❤️🐓☀️
Hi! My spray is a bottle that’s full of half clean water and half white vinegar. That’s the base and you can use it with any combo: I like peppermint, lavender, and lemon. For a half gallon bottle I do about 10-20 drops of each. That’s great for killing bacteria and also deterring pests like flies and mice! ✌🏻❤️🐓☀️
I use fly baits and I put them on the south east corner of the property, the wind normally comes out of the north Vary rarely do we smell them!! I put them up close to the house and barn I realized that was a mistake immediately 😂 I have found it doesn't matter where you put them the Flys will go to them!!!
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to try every single one of them! 🤣. Flies are reaching stupid levels already here in Pensacola and I need to get a handle on them!
I put pieces of the soap in the mesh garlic bags and hang them all over. It worked initially, but got even more flies after the smell faded just a couple of days later.
I put those vanilla scented trees in my coops and I hated the smell and my chickens eggs dropped by two thirds in just a couple of days. We threw them in the trash today. (Edit: After dumping those trees in the trash just yesterday, this morning about 1100 I collected eggs and they are already double what was there yesterday. We should have a normal egg yield by this afternoon.)
Roosters usually don't like drakes or ducks in general and will run them off they will potentially even severely hurt ducks cause ducks can't fight back as good as chickens and roosters
I actually also was taught not to mix chickens and ducks because of the way ducks mate - the drakes are shaped differently than the roosters and it can really hurt a chicken when they’re mating. I’m not sure how often a drake would try to mount a hen but that was something I didn’t forget! ✌🏻❤️🐓🦆
@@realsimplemama yea I had a rooster try to mate with my male ducks I used to have I had females too ig the rooster couldn't tell the difference between m and f ducks or he just didn't care and he would mate with them and make their butts raw and bloody and like I was saying the male ducks couldn't defend themselves from the rooster they would just let it happen, also turkeys are not good with chickens either they will fight and really hurt chickens cause their 2-3 times bigger the best bird to raise with chickens are guinea fowl just make sure you don't have too many males I like a 4-6 females to 1 male
I have chickens and ducks together, no problem. One rooster to 8 hens. One drake to 4 females. If anyone gets out of line they go to the stew pot. Period!
@@GypsyBrokenwings too funny! I also have chickens, ducks, and guinea fowl. I have one aggressive rooster who spends a lot of time in time out. I'm always telling him he's going into the stewpot...😘
It's not just annoying, it can be dangerous to your flock. I just delt with flystrike in one of my hens and luckily I caught it in time. I don't know why no one talks about this.
@@realsimplemama if you want I can tell you what I did to save my girl. But yes ,it's an important topic for chicken keepers to know. If you could do a future video on it that would be awesome. Thanks.
@@rebeccakrause7057 I had a sweet Barred Rock hen come into my yard from who knows where with fly strike. It was so far gone and horrendous. I am new to my own hens and tried my hardest to save her. I couldn’t and took her to a poultry vet to be euthanized. Nothing should have to die that way. Definitely info and awareness is needed! I will forever be traumatized by that poor hen. I would love to know what you did to save your girl please!
@mountainsidespooky98 when I noticed her becoming sick I isolated her from the rest of the flock and when I looked her over I noticed the wound with maggots coming out. I hosed out the maggots and soaked her in Epsom salts for 20 minutes and then threw diatomaceous earth on her butt.i did this twice a day for about three days and she started to become more alert and got better!
I hung that once and a gecko got stuck on it. I felt so bad. I got it off and washed the gecko and it finally came around and took off buta piece of skin was missing on that poor guy.
I use FlyBayte spray on the outside walls of my coop, the flies eat the spray and then they die so no flies will be reproducing. I've never seen a chicken eat a fly,so I don't worry that they will be poisoned. The residual effect of the Flybayte has been pretty good. I have a horse, so fleas are inevitable. I'm going to try the vanilla air fresheners and the Irish Spring in both my coop and my horse barn
Hey! I do have a video here and an article on RealSimpleMama.com about what I use and how I set it up! In concept the fans are GREAT but I didn’t use a big enough battery. I’ll also say that I’m getting a new solar fan build in the next week and I’ll be installing it to try it out. Then I’ll have a new review too! ✌🏻❤️🐓
Just a thought. I wonder if some sort of lemon plant or citronella plant( not sure if it exsists) planted around might help? Mosquitoes hate citronella and we used to put it in our made up fly repellent for our horses. Along with vinigar and tea. Some of these flys really bite.
Hey! I bet you’re right. I did a video recently about plants who repel flies BUT I haven’t cross-checked to see which ones would also benefit chickens. I’d never want to put a toxic plant near them. ✌🏻❤️🐓
I have some questions for you!!! I wasn’t sure where to ask so I’m just gonna do it here in the comments maybe other people are wondering the same thing. I love how your chicken coop looks like a little garden! We fenced in a little area of our yard where the grass wasn’t so great and made a chicken coop in it however it looks terrible and I would love to do some things to make it look nice like put some plants in it like you have, And it seems like you don’t have any chicken poop lol. So I’m wondering what did you lay on the ground is that bark? And what type of trees do you have in there I see some of them I’ve been sent stuff with chicken wire but the ones that aren’t thin stuff what are they? And by chance did you plant any of the lemon balm you were talking about in this video? I would love to know. And did you put that cute yard chair in there too? Or is that on the other side of your fence. If it’s in the coop how do you keep the chickens from pooping on it!? I would love to know details on all of that you have just done a darling job and I would love for my chicken coop to be a lot more pleasant to look at
Hey! Yes I can help you with everything! I’ll do some quick answers here but you can also always email me theMama@realsimplemama.com ✌🏻❤️🐓 I do have videos here about easy ways to keep the run from getting too poopy and which materials I use - it’s mulch and a bit of peat moss. The blue chairs are in with the girls! The newer folding one they don’t use but I’ve donated the solid blue hard plastic one to them and I spray it down 🤪 I have a vitex lilac, little gem magnolia, and redbud tree. ✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemama Oh my gosh thank you so much! And your chicken coop is so cute I’ll send you pictures of the space I have. I was listening to another UA-camr talk about lemon balm keeping the flies away I thought I might plant some lemon balm on the outside possibly🤷🏼♀️. I absolutely love how you have a clean Coop! I will email you thank you
i have backyard chickens and during the warmer months the whole yard is FILLED with flies. ive had a chicken pass away from fly strike before and we've had problems with broken eggs and maggots. nothing ever seems to work but ill give this method a try!
If you can't clean up right away just throw some diatomacous earth on the bird poop and that keeps thefliesat bay. Wear a mask as it can hurt your lungs if you breath it . A little goes a long way
I use Spalding Lab fly predators. They are tiny wasps that eat fly larva. I have a compost pile outside the coop area to 'plant' them, and drop them on dog poop. A month later, huge drop in fly population.
I have been wondering about fly predators. I know they work well with horses and we had 2 here on my property, but they have been moved off the property so I never got to try them. I know that I was told that you sprinkle them directly on the manure. So how do you do that with chickens? Their poo is so small!
@@eventermama7925 I put them in compost piles on either side of the chicken run, but outside the run because I think chickens would eat the larva. And I drop them directly on dog piles, and a bit in my trash can outside. Spalding is shooting for regular shipments, but I found one or 2 a year was enough. This year I might need more as I have more animals, added rabbits to the homestead.
I wonder if the essential oils would cause harm later on with the soil and microbiological stuff... but considering you aren't drowning your ground with it, lol... thanks for the tips...
Couple months ago I watched this video cuz the flies were getting to outrageous numbers here in Texas. They were getting in my house. Every. Single. Day. So, I tried the Irish spring in a mesh bag hung by my front door. It drastically reduced the numbers of flies entering my home, but did not eliminate them completely. Good, but could be better. Next, I tried rubbing the bar of soap all over the trim around my front door. Worked like a charm. Didn't have a single fly for weeks. Until it rained. Soon as I saw one fly, I reapplied the soap. No flies since. Almost done building my chicken coop, so I'll be giving this a try there soon. Now, if anybody knows what to do about red wasps, I'm all ears lol
Last year there seemed to be more red wasps here. Haven't had any wasp nests near the doors after we hung zip lock bags filled with water and some pennies. Got shiny new ones from the bank. This year, here in Arkansas, we are having a problem with black wasps. They tap you gently with their bodies when you are in their territory and if you don't leave quick, the next tap is a sting. I like your method of rubbing the Irish Spring soap around the doorways.
Aw, bless your heart. Thanks for the tip ! I've never even heard of black wasps before. That sounds intimidating... Yeah, give the soap rub a try. If you don't like it, wash it off. No harm done. 🙂
I have a ranch and horses and cows and chickens, and all that you’re supposed to put the fly bait away from the chicken run to draw the flies to a completely different area not in the chicken run
Hey Beth. My mom used that blue sugar fly bait because the neighbors had a compost pile, and we couldn't even open the door without them swarming in. She put it out in the morning, and that night the cement slab was covered with flies. It was late, so we left it, and the next morning, there was a blanket of roaches that had preferred it to the compost and met their demise. I don't recommend letting chickens anywhere near it, it's obviously very deadly.
Question... I just watched you video and in it you said that you raked it out and added material... What kind of material are you talking about? (The wife is new to keeping chickens...)
Hi! I have other videos if you’d like more details but I like to add bagged leaves and/or mulch, and peat moss is my favorite! Don’t feel that you absolutely have to add anything at all, dirt is just fine. And especially if you get materials from the city or from your neighbors, please make sure that they have no fertilizers and no pesticides in them as of course, those could be very dangerous. ✌🏻❤️🐓
My chickens absolutely LOVE flies!!! Flies provide them with lots of protein. Chickens love bugs. Chickens are carnivores, and prefer bugs over every other type of food.
I would like to know where you got that pool. I have been having issues with pasty butt on my older chickens...not sure if it is there diet or what. I thought if I could get them to soak, it would loosen that up. The only way I can do that is to catch them...anyway you know what I mean. Can you help?
Hi! The pool is really old and I know it’s expensive now. Walmart and similar stores have them for as little as $10! Or check out my “bathe” video and see the bug bin setup I made. That might be better for soaking. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Hi! I have a whole playlist here called Chickens in Your Garden - but I do lots of perennials who do well in my USDA zone, and give them time to get a strong root system before I let the chickens get access. ✌🏻❤️🐓🌱☀️
I know this is a great video about flys , but I have a question? My three girls are plucking each other’s feathers and eating them .. they are in a 14x35 foot run , clean water daily, 16%layer pellets, plenty of things to keep them entertained.. has your chickens ever done this?? I use peat moss and pine bark mulch in their run and sand in their 7x7x6 foot chicken coop
Hey! I’m so sorry, I know that’s infuriating. And it can happen for a few reasons but it seems like maybe a nutrient deficiency if they’re actually eating them. Do you offer calcium separately (like in a little bowl or tray)? Email me and let’s talk. ✌🏻❤️🐓 theMama@realsimplemama.com
I RUBBED IRISH SPRING ON MY CABIN CORNERS BC THE SQUIRRELS WERE CHEWING ON IT ! I do it every springtime and it works great. It also smells nice. It does keep wasps away too when you slice it into pieces and put it in a mesh bag. I use the Mandarin CUTIES BAGS (oranges) Just use bread ties and you have a makeshift mesh bag. Plus they don't go into landfills and kill birds.
I use the Irish Spring. Cut it in quarters, put each chunk in a stocking, and hung them around the run up high, so the chickens can’t get to them. Works wonders!
Oh my gosh! What breed of chicken is the girl in the beginning of the video?? I have been looking everywhere to find a chicken that looks like my girl Betsy and yours looks like her twin! Would appreciate any info. Thank you. And thank you in advance for this vid. Had to stop to ask this first. Lol
Lol! Winner winner! It’s sort of a running joke with my family (and our UA-cam family), we have a set of plastic cobras that randomly get hidden around the chicken run. The joke is that I bought them a few years ago in the hopes that it would scare the chickens away from my plants, but of course they don’t care and it didn’t work at all. So now we just move them around occasionally. 🐍✌🏼❤️🐓
I’ve used fly predators that eat the fly larvae. It keeps the population down but you have to plan in advance. Purchased from company called Natures Good Guys. I also use the fly bait bags but can’t tell if they really help since they work by bringing flies to them and in Texas in the summer there’s no shortage of flies even if you don’t have chickens. Plus those bags stink to high heaven. They’re pretty disgusting.
@@realsimplemama there is another fly trap I used once before that isn’t the wet trap. It’s a dry one that is lured in with a less smelly bait. I need to try those again this summer. They worked but weren’t as easy to use as the bag type.
I didn’t know that chickens have a low sense of smell and taste. I switched out all of our pine shavings for a mix of sand and used coffee grounds two days ago and ever since, the chickens refuse to go in the coop at night. If it’s not the smell, then what might they be protesting?
It could be smell as they can sense it a little bit. It could also be… and I’m serious… they’re afraid of it! I’m sure it definitely looks different to them. Can you grab a few, one at a time, and put them up there manually?
@@realsimplemama the past two nights, I’ve had to catch them all and I look like a fool doing it. I put them up on their roosting bars so they can’t run out the door, but maybe I bypassed the opportunity to let them touch it. Maybe it’s the dark color?
Hey guys I bought one of those fly traps that you guys were promoting and they stiffed me for it, and charged my account . I tried disputing it but for some reason they still charged me and never sent it to me . please be aware and let them know I never got it ! thank you
Oh no! That’s terrible I’m so sorry. I am not affiliated with them at all so I have no contact info but keep trying to contact them and write negative reviews. 😔
Reading this title i can't help but wonder if flies in a chicken coop are like snacks in my pantry. Nature will take its course. Why manage something that is not a problem? Haven't you seen chickens chase insects? Its entertaining and healthy exercise, plus a snack if they win.
Yes but there are also diseases like fly strike which will kill chickens. So I help where I can to limit risk. But I understand what you mean too. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Soap will bleed into the ground....buuuut that's coming from a guy in West TN that has a maggot bucket in the middle of his chicken run.....run is 50x30 ft but nonetheless
Oh that’s a good point too. Damn. I’m hoping by using so little that it would be a negligent difference! And I’d love to learn about the maggots (no seriously I mean it!🤪)… I’ve wanted to start growing my own mealworms for a while. ✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemama I grow mealworms and use a bucket....mealworms take a little time but are easy to keep in a three tier plastic drawer system, very clean. Bucket: drive a four foot garden post into the center of the feeding area with 1/2 inch holes drilled along sides and bottom of a bucket. to allow flies to enter and maggot to exit. put a piece of meat in bottom of bucket and lid. nature does the rest, no smell if you dont over fill...a steak sized piece will do.
They eat and thrive on bugs. And they love eating scorpions, roaches, beetles, worms and grubs. That's what makes their meat tastier. They eat mice too, and eggs, and cooked eggs, and meat. They're omnivores like dogs, rats and other birds. You can't leave electric cords around them, they'll chew right through them like a rat will. They are VERY sensitive to chemicals and smells. They love and need grass. And of you can dig a hole for them, shoveling and turning over dirt, they love fresh interesting buggy dirt. Most animals do. With the soap, they'll chew it and get sick, maybe kill them. Don't put it in places they can gnaw it. Cheyenne are chewers and gnawers. Actually, they like branches and leaves and wood like kindling twigs. They're hunting for termites and ants to eat.
You're wasting the air freshener trees. Theyll only last a week that way. Keep em in the baggy they come in and gradually move it down as time passes, that way the trees last for months instead of a puny week
Lol! Yes! Winner winner! This is a long time running joke on my UA-cam channel, there’s actually a video explaining it if you search for the word “snake”. 😆✌🏻❤️🐓🐍🐍🐍
I wouldnt recommend exposing anything to an air freshner 24/7 unless its all natural. Chickens can actually smell too. AND flies can cause fly strike, which if not caught, can lead to death very quickly. So they can be far more than just annoying.
Those bags that attract flies smell like a dead rotting animal. Unless you hate your neighbors, don't get one because your neighbors WILL hate you if you put one up!!!
Irish Spring, cut in 4ths or less and hung in mesh bags(old hosiery or made from scraps of tulle) and tied in blueberry bushes, has kept deer and possibly rabbits from eating the leaves and fruit. It lasts incredibly long even in rainy times (South Carolina) over a year for me. People say it repels mice so I put it in my camper. The mice loved it and gnawed the corners off the soap bars😑 so I don't do that anymore!
Oh my gosh - good idea on hanging it but that’s so weird about mice! They gnaw on chicken feathers too 🤦🏻♀️ what weirdos! ✌🏼❤️🐓
I tried the Irish Spring soap in all three of my coops. Didn’t help at all.
@@realsimplemama b😅😅
@@amyhamner7862 it has to be the Irish Spring original scent, it doesn't work with the others🤷🏽♀️
I tried it and it didn't help me either.
I'm using a small bug zapper hung in the coop. The chickens do not bother it and it kills tons of flies. I can dump the flies on the ground and the chicken can eat the flies if they want, but usually, I just throw them away cause I hate flies.
Another solution is to take a plastic milk jug, puncture some holes with a knife, leaving the tabs created pointing into the jug. Leave a little milk in the jug and it will draw in the flies, especially when the milk spoils. Hang a couple of jugs so prepared in the area of your chickens. Cheap and effective. 😊
That’s a good idea too! I’ve seen a similar solution with water and moth balls but haven’t tried it. ✌🏻❤️🐓
I'm going to try the soap 🧼 method! Great tips!! Thank you, for your time in making such good videos love your chickens 🐔 ❤️ they are so adorable 😍
The fly traps brought way more flies to our acreage. They were way worse…
Right now I have the vanilla trees up and they seem to be working Lol
Let’s talk more about the chicken care journal? What a good idea!
Thanks! I use my Chicken Tender Journal to document everything from illness and medications, to egg laying (and if different remedies help with production), when I got each hen, etc. Link in the video descriptions!
Thank you for sharing!
The Irish Spring soap definitely helps a lot. We live in the countryside and the flies were really bad on both our front end our back. I bought some tulle bags from Walmart and hung one bar on the back deck, and two bars on the front deck. The flies reduced tremendously. Now there are only a few.
That’s great! So you left the bars whole?
Please explain. Need help. Did you leave whole?
@mrmavros873 hi! I didn’t cut it up. But I did scrape it on the coop walls and doors like a piece of chalk.
@@realsimplemama yes, I left them whole. So sorry! I wasn't getting notifications! ☹️
I have actually used your idea & it really smells good, Who Know🤗❤❤❤❤❤
If you can grow mint, (also sage, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme) etc. dry them or use fresh and put in your coop and run. Mint is the easiest and it grows fast. This and other herbs deter flies as well, plus it smells great and the chickens love it.
Yes! I’m propagating my mint right now. I actually don’t want to plant it in the run because it’s invasive. Thank you for reminding me ✌🏻❤️🐓
Want to get rid of Flys completely?
Cheap?
Start a SOLDIER FLY FARM and they will eat all of the house flys.
It's simple to make, and costs Nothing to feed them, just kitchen scraps.
Don't do all this other non sense, just be smart and use the flys natural enemy.
The soldier fly does not bite or anything.
So just harvest the mint and scatter it around? I have tons of mint growing.
Sure! Or put some in the nesting boxes, or plant some around the edges of the run…. My chickens actually hate mint and won’t eat it so it’s a great bug deterrent that will last a while! ✌🏻❤️🐓
I thought I killed the wild mint I replanted in my veggie garden. It came back the next year better than before. It is so nice.
Wow! I had no idea! Many thanks for this! Howdy from Plano, Texas! 😎👍🏻🐔🐔
Hi! I’m a Coppell/Lewisville girl born and bred 😎✌🏻❤️🐓
Thank you for sharing
I have heard of using Irish Spring shavings around your veggie garden to keep deer away.
We use the fly bait. It stinks to high heaven, but it really works.
Hello, I love, love, love your videos. I've gotten so much information from you. I've been doing my homework before I get my flock next spring. I also what to tell you how much I like the statue of St. Francis and the blessed mother. I also have them and will be putting them near my coop. Anyway, thank you for all the good information. I look forward to learning even more from you.
Dianne C.
You’re so welcome! I can’t wait for you to get your own flock! Always here to help (just like Francis and Mary)✌🏼❤️🐓
Thank you for the info, from a new chicken owner
I’m in zone 8b Texas too! Near Guadalupe River. Yeah lots of flies! Thanks for the tips.
Hey neighbor! 👋🏼Have a great summer! 🌱☀️❤️
Me too ! In SA
@@trinadolotina8183 🤠💓
I think a combination of the things you mentioned would work, I hang the soap in the coop, the smell stays as long as its not getting wet, plus I make my own sprays for coop and yard, No Flies!!!
What kind of spray. Recipe please. I have hens and sheep. Ty
@@WonbyGrace2 PM me
Can I please know ur recipe too, and see u told the other one to Pm u, how can I pm u? Thnk u so very much and Blessings
Hi! My spray is a bottle that’s full of half clean water and half white vinegar. That’s the base and you can use it with any combo: I like peppermint, lavender, and lemon. For a half gallon bottle I do about 10-20 drops of each. That’s great for killing bacteria and also deterring pests like flies and mice! ✌🏻❤️🐓☀️
Hi! My spray is a bottle that’s full of half clean water and half white vinegar. That’s the base and you can use it with any combo: I like peppermint, lavender, and lemon. For a half gallon bottle I do about 10-20 drops of each. That’s great for killing bacteria and also deterring pests like flies and mice! ✌🏻❤️🐓☀️
I use fly baits and I put them on the south east corner of the property, the wind normally comes out of the north
Vary rarely do we smell them!!
I put them up close to the house and barn I realized that was a mistake immediately 😂
I have found it doesn't matter where you put them the Flys will go to them!!!
Use Irish Spring shavings in your grass and hung in in mesh around your garden and on fruit trees
I just found your channel and subscribed! Great information! I’ve been using the vanilla scented car trees for years and they absolutely work!
Hi! Good to have you here! And thank you for letting me know ✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemamar🎉🎉😂0o
Hola! I am also here in San Antonio. Very interested in the Irish Spring to see if it works.
I like it so far! Smell seems to last about five days.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm going to try every single one of them! 🤣. Flies are reaching stupid levels already here in Pensacola and I need to get a handle on them!
They’re all cheap and easy so why not? Let me know which ones work! ✌🏻❤️🐓
I put pieces of the soap in the mesh garlic bags and hang them all over. It worked initially, but got even more flies after the smell faded just a couple of days later.
Oh no! We have to be careful when it’s rainy or humid as that’s when the flies are worst. ✌🏼❤️🐓
Irish Spring really smells strong.
Mint
I put those vanilla scented trees in my coops and I hated the smell and my chickens eggs dropped by two thirds in just a couple of days. We threw them in the trash today. (Edit: After dumping those trees in the trash just yesterday, this morning about 1100 I collected eggs and they are already double what was there yesterday. We should have a normal egg yield by this afternoon.)
Muscovy ducks are great for fly control and the drakes will protect the chickens from predators.
Roosters usually don't like drakes or ducks in general and will run them off they will potentially even severely hurt ducks cause ducks can't fight back as good as chickens and roosters
I actually also was taught not to mix chickens and ducks because of the way ducks mate - the drakes are shaped differently than the roosters and it can really hurt a chicken when they’re mating. I’m not sure how often a drake would try to mount a hen but that was something I didn’t forget! ✌🏻❤️🐓🦆
@@realsimplemama yea I had a rooster try to mate with my male ducks I used to have I had females too ig the rooster couldn't tell the difference between m and f ducks or he just didn't care and he would mate with them and make their butts raw and bloody and like I was saying the male ducks couldn't defend themselves from the rooster they would just let it happen, also turkeys are not good with chickens either they will fight and really hurt chickens cause their 2-3 times bigger the best bird to raise with chickens are guinea fowl just make sure you don't have too many males I like a 4-6 females to 1 male
I have chickens and ducks together, no problem. One rooster to 8 hens. One drake to 4 females. If anyone gets out of line they go to the stew pot. Period!
@@GypsyBrokenwings too funny! I also have chickens, ducks, and guinea fowl. I have one aggressive rooster who spends a lot of time in time out. I'm always telling him he's going into the stewpot...😘
Fly traps work
It's not just annoying, it can be dangerous to your flock. I just delt with flystrike in one of my hens and luckily I caught it in time. I don't know why no one talks about this.
Oh no. I’m so sorry. I don’t know enough about that to do a video, but I’ll look more into it and learn.
@@realsimplemama if you want I can tell you what I did to save my girl. But yes ,it's an important topic for chicken keepers to know. If you could do a future video on it that would be awesome. Thanks.
Sure you’re welcome to email me theMama@realsimplemama.com
@@rebeccakrause7057 I had a sweet Barred Rock hen come into my yard from who knows where with fly strike. It was so far gone and horrendous. I am new to my own hens and tried my hardest to save her. I couldn’t and took her to a poultry vet to be euthanized. Nothing should have to die that way. Definitely info and awareness is needed! I will forever be traumatized by that poor hen. I would love to know what you did to save your girl please!
@mountainsidespooky98 when I noticed her becoming sick I isolated her from the rest of the flock and when I looked her over I noticed the wound with maggots coming out. I hosed out the maggots and soaked her in Epsom salts for 20 minutes and then threw diatomaceous earth on her butt.i did this twice a day for about three days and she started to become more alert and got better!
Hi! Did the Irish soap trick work? I’m in Texas too!
Hi! I feel like it does work for a while but once you don’t smell the soap anymore, it’s ineffective. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Use old fashion fly tape works well for me
I hung that once and a gecko got stuck on it. I felt so bad. I got it off and washed the gecko and it finally came around and took off buta piece of skin was missing on that poor guy.
I use FlyBayte spray on the outside walls of my coop, the flies eat the spray and then they die so no flies will be reproducing. I've never seen a chicken eat a fly,so I don't worry that they will be poisoned. The residual effect of the Flybayte has been pretty good. I have a horse, so fleas are inevitable. I'm going to try the vanilla air fresheners and the Irish Spring in both my coop and my horse barn
Have u ever tried freezer bags w/water w/4 or 5 new /shinny penny's?
No I haven’t! What’s the theory? ✌🏻❤️🐓
What fan is that in your coop window? Do you have a link? ( if you like it 😅)
Hey! I do have a video here and an article on RealSimpleMama.com about what I use and how I set it up! In concept the fans are GREAT but I didn’t use a big enough battery.
I’ll also say that I’m getting a new solar fan build in the next week and I’ll be installing it to try it out. Then I’ll have a new review too! ✌🏻❤️🐓
Just a thought. I wonder if some sort of lemon plant or citronella plant( not sure if it exsists) planted around might help? Mosquitoes hate citronella and we used to put it in our made up fly repellent for our horses. Along with vinigar and tea.
Some of these flys really bite.
Hey! I bet you’re right. I did a video recently about plants who repel flies BUT I haven’t cross-checked to see which ones would also benefit chickens. I’d never want to put a toxic plant near them. ✌🏻❤️🐓
I have some questions for you!!! I wasn’t sure where to ask so I’m just gonna do it here in the comments maybe other people are wondering the same thing. I love how your chicken coop looks like a little garden! We fenced in a little area of our yard where the grass wasn’t so great and made a chicken coop in it however it looks terrible and I would love to do some things to make it look nice like put some plants in it like you have, And it seems like you don’t have any chicken poop lol. So I’m wondering what did you lay on the ground is that bark? And what type of trees do you have in there I see some of them I’ve been sent stuff with chicken wire but the ones that aren’t thin stuff what are they? And by chance did you plant any of the lemon balm you were talking about in this video? I would love to know. And did you put that cute yard chair in there too? Or is that on the other side of your fence. If it’s in the coop how do you keep the chickens from pooping on it!? I would love to know details on all of that you have just done a darling job and I would love for my chicken coop to be a lot more pleasant to look at
Hey! Yes I can help you with everything! I’ll do some quick answers here but you can also always email me theMama@realsimplemama.com ✌🏻❤️🐓 I do have videos here about easy ways to keep the run from getting too poopy and which materials I use - it’s mulch and a bit of peat moss. The blue chairs are in with the girls! The newer folding one they don’t use but I’ve donated the solid blue hard plastic one to them and I spray it down 🤪 I have a vitex lilac, little gem magnolia, and redbud tree. ✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemama Oh my gosh thank you so much! And your chicken coop is so cute I’ll send you pictures of the space I have. I was listening to another UA-camr talk about lemon balm keeping the flies away I thought I might plant some lemon balm on the outside possibly🤷🏼♀️. I absolutely love how you have a clean Coop! I will email you thank you
I agree, your chicken run is awesome...I am jealous!!
i have backyard chickens and during the warmer months the whole yard is FILLED with flies. ive had a chicken pass away from fly strike before and we've had problems with broken eggs and maggots. nothing ever seems to work but ill give this method a try!
Oh my gosh! That’s insane. I’m so sorry. Yes let’s be in touch and I’ll help however I can. Maybe look into barn lime and well. ✌🏼❤️🐓
If you can't clean up right away just throw some diatomacous earth on the bird poop and that keeps thefliesat bay. Wear a mask as it can hurt your lungs if you breath it . A little goes a long way
I use Spalding Lab fly predators. They are tiny wasps that eat fly larva. I have a compost pile outside the coop area to 'plant' them, and drop them on dog poop. A month later, huge drop in fly population.
I have been wondering about fly predators. I know they work well with horses and we had 2 here on my property, but they have been moved off the property so I never got to try them. I know that I was told that you sprinkle them directly on the manure. So how do you do that with chickens? Their poo is so small!
@@eventermama7925 I put them in compost piles on either side of the chicken run, but outside the run because I think chickens would eat the larva. And I drop them directly on dog piles, and a bit in my trash can outside. Spalding is shooting for regular shipments, but I found one or 2 a year was enough. This year I might need more as I have more animals, added rabbits to the homestead.
@@theresaowen2708 I may Try that!
I would grate the soap and hang it in bags around. Kinda like Irish Spring sachets.
Ooh that’s a good idea too! ✌🏼❤️🐓
I wonder if the essential oils would cause harm later on with the soil and microbiological stuff... but considering you aren't drowning your ground with it, lol... thanks for the tips...
Hi! I use it only in the coop honestly, when the chickens aren’t in there. But that’s a good point too. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Couple months ago I watched this video cuz the flies were getting to outrageous numbers here in Texas. They were getting in my house. Every. Single. Day.
So, I tried the Irish spring in a mesh bag hung by my front door. It drastically reduced the numbers of flies entering my home, but did not eliminate them completely. Good, but could be better.
Next, I tried rubbing the bar of soap all over the trim around my front door. Worked like a charm. Didn't have a single fly for weeks. Until it rained. Soon as I saw one fly, I reapplied the soap. No flies since.
Almost done building my chicken coop, so I'll be giving this a try there soon.
Now, if anybody knows what to do about red wasps, I'm all ears lol
Last year there seemed to be more red wasps here. Haven't had any wasp nests near the doors after we hung zip lock bags filled with water and some pennies. Got shiny new ones from the bank. This year, here in Arkansas, we are having a problem with black wasps. They tap you gently with their bodies when you are in their territory and if you don't leave quick, the next tap is a sting. I like your method of rubbing the Irish Spring soap around the doorways.
Aw, bless your heart. Thanks for the tip ! I've never even heard of black wasps before. That sounds intimidating...
Yeah, give the soap rub a try. If you don't like it, wash it off. No harm done. 🙂
I have a ranch and horses and cows and chickens, and all that you’re supposed to put the fly bait away from the chicken run to draw the flies to a completely different area not in the chicken run
Hey Beth. My mom used that blue sugar fly bait because the neighbors had a compost pile, and we couldn't even open the door without them swarming in. She put it out in the morning, and that night the cement slab was covered with flies. It was late, so we left it, and the next morning, there was a blanket of roaches that had preferred it to the compost and met their demise. I don't recommend letting chickens anywhere near it, it's obviously very deadly.
Question... I just watched you video and in it you said that you raked it out and added material... What kind of material are you talking about?
(The wife is new to keeping chickens...)
Hi! I have other videos if you’d like more details but I like to add bagged leaves and/or mulch, and peat moss is my favorite! Don’t feel that you absolutely have to add anything at all, dirt is just fine. And especially if you get materials from the city or from your neighbors, please make sure that they have no fertilizers and no pesticides in them as of course, those could be very dangerous. ✌🏻❤️🐓
My chickens absolutely LOVE flies!!! Flies provide them with lots of protein. Chickens love bugs. Chickens are carnivores, and prefer bugs over every other type of food.
They are omnivores
If you hold out a fly and a carrot, my chickens will go for the fly first. But you are correct, they eat anything available
Black Soldier Fly Larvae - if you have these beneficial insects, they chase away the flies.
I would like to know where you got that pool. I have been having issues with pasty butt on my older chickens...not sure if it is there diet or what. I thought if I could get them to soak, it would loosen that up. The only way I can do that is to catch them...anyway you know what I mean. Can you help?
Hi! The pool is really old and I know it’s expensive now. Walmart and similar stores have them for as little as $10! Or check out my “bathe” video and see the bug bin setup I made. That might be better for soaking. ✌🏻❤️🐓
I am going to try to watch that if I can figure out how to get there...I really appreciate your help!!Thank you!!
Hi! It’s a recent video so it should be close to the top. Or look for the magnifying glass 🔍 icon and type in “bathe”. You’ll find it!
Quick question, what kinds of plants do you have in the coop? Our chickens seem to eat anything we put into there.
Hi! I have a whole playlist here called Chickens in Your Garden - but I do lots of perennials who do well in my USDA zone, and give them time to get a strong root system before I let the chickens get access. ✌🏻❤️🐓🌱☀️
Awesome, I’ll go check that out. Thank you for the information.
I know this is a great video about flys , but I have a question? My three girls are plucking each other’s feathers and eating them .. they are in a 14x35 foot run , clean water daily, 16%layer pellets, plenty of things to keep them entertained.. has your chickens ever done this?? I use peat moss and pine bark mulch in their run and sand in their 7x7x6 foot chicken coop
Hey! I’m so sorry, I know that’s infuriating. And it can happen for a few reasons but it seems like maybe a nutrient deficiency if they’re actually eating them. Do you offer calcium separately (like in a little bowl or tray)? Email me and let’s talk. ✌🏻❤️🐓 theMama@realsimplemama.com
I RUBBED IRISH SPRING ON MY CABIN CORNERS BC THE SQUIRRELS WERE CHEWING ON IT ! I do it every springtime and it works great. It also smells nice. It does keep wasps away too when you slice it into pieces and put it in a mesh bag. I use the Mandarin CUTIES BAGS (oranges) Just use bread ties and you have a makeshift mesh bag. Plus they don't go into landfills and kill birds.
Did the Irish spring method work?
It seemed to work great! But we just got a crazy random thunderstorm so now I have to reapply. ✌🏼❤️🐓
I use the Irish Spring. Cut it in quarters, put each chunk in a stocking, and hung them around the run up high, so the chickens can’t get to them. Works wonders!
Is chili powder good for chickens ik cayenne pepper is
Yep! Same thing - chickens can’t really taste nor smell the spicy capsaicin but it will kill internal parasites who can’t take the heat. 😎✌🏻❤️🐓
Menthol plants chicken don’t like them and mosquitos absolutely despise them so I grow all around they like it
Oooh I hadn’t thought of that! I have a citronella plant going crazy by my back door and a huge lemon balm I’ve never split…. Hmmm… ✌🏻❤️🐓
Oh my gosh! What breed of chicken is the girl in the beginning of the video?? I have been looking everywhere to find a chicken that looks like my girl Betsy and yours looks like her twin! Would appreciate any info. Thank you. And thank you in advance for this vid. Had to stop to ask this first. Lol
Hi! I currently have a dark brown Easter egger, a barred rock, a silver laced Wyandotte, and three Java hens. ✌🏼❤️🐓
I heard it will keep mice away that soap
So do the flies not like the tree air freshener ? Does it deter them from flying around?
Right! It keeps them away. It’s worked well so far as long as the tree still has its scent.
@@realsimplemama Thank you - These are some great tips without having to smell death outside your back door with those other contraptions.
4:25ish What is on the ground?
Lol! Winner winner! It’s sort of a running joke with my family (and our UA-cam family), we have a set of plastic cobras that randomly get hidden around the chicken run. The joke is that I bought them a few years ago in the hopes that it would scare the chickens away from my plants, but of course they don’t care and it didn’t work at all. So now we just move them around occasionally. 🐍✌🏼❤️🐓
Can I use oregano oil for the spray???
Hi! I would think so. I’ve never used it in a spray but it has lots of benefits as a general rule. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Flies are food to the chickens. Stinking flytraps is used then flies are dried and fed to the chickens.
bug zapper?
I’ve used fly predators that eat the fly larvae. It keeps the population down but you have to plan in advance. Purchased from company called Natures Good Guys. I also use the fly bait bags but can’t tell if they really help since they work by bringing flies to them and in Texas in the summer there’s no shortage of flies even if you don’t have chickens. Plus those bags stink to high heaven. They’re pretty disgusting.
Yes I agree - the bags fix a problem but then create another problem instead! If love to learn more about the predators. ✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemama there is another fly trap I used once before that isn’t the wet trap. It’s a dry one that is lured in with a less smelly bait. I need to try those again this summer. They worked but weren’t as easy to use as the bag type.
The bag traps work but it will turn into a bag of live maggots so keep an eye on it
Ooh good point too! Thanks ✌🏻❤️🐓
Um hi my chicken was atttacked by a dog lucky she is ok but she is limping and I am worried on what it could be can you pls help me
Oh no I’m sorry. Yes email me and let’s talk - theMama@realsimplemama.com
Is that a Wayfair coop??
Hi! My red coop is made by Rugged Ranch and the gray is by Aivituvin. I’ve never bought anything on Wayfair actually. 😉✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemama thank you! I will check them out🐔
I didn’t know that chickens have a low sense of smell and taste. I switched out all of our pine shavings for a mix of sand and used coffee grounds two days ago and ever since, the chickens refuse to go in the coop at night. If it’s not the smell, then what might they be protesting?
It could be smell as they can sense it a little bit. It could also be… and I’m serious… they’re afraid of it! I’m sure it definitely looks different to them. Can you grab a few, one at a time, and put them up there manually?
@@realsimplemama the past two nights, I’ve had to catch them all and I look like a fool doing it. I put them up on their roosting bars so they can’t run out the door, but maybe I bypassed the opportunity to let them touch it. Maybe it’s the dark color?
What breed of chickens are those? Not the rock, the other Black n white
Hi! Lacie is a silver laced Wyandotte. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Hey guys I bought one of those fly traps that you guys were promoting and they stiffed me for it, and charged my account . I tried disputing it but for some reason they still charged me and never sent it to me . please be aware and let them know I never got it ! thank you
Oh no! That’s terrible I’m so sorry. I am not affiliated with them at all so I have no contact info but keep trying to contact them and write negative reviews. 😔
Reading this title i can't help but wonder if flies in a chicken coop are like snacks in my pantry.
Nature will take its course. Why manage something that is not a problem?
Haven't you seen chickens chase insects? Its entertaining and healthy exercise, plus a snack if they win.
Yes but there are also diseases like fly strike which will kill chickens. So I help where I can to limit risk. But I understand what you mean too. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Soap will bleed into the ground....buuuut that's coming from a guy in West TN that has a maggot bucket in the middle of his chicken run.....run is 50x30 ft but nonetheless
Oh that’s a good point too. Damn. I’m hoping by using so little that it would be a negligent difference! And I’d love to learn about the maggots (no seriously I mean it!🤪)… I’ve wanted to start growing my own mealworms for a while. ✌🏻❤️🐓
@@realsimplemama I grow mealworms and use a bucket....mealworms take a little time but are easy to keep in a three tier plastic drawer system, very clean.
Bucket: drive a four foot garden post into the center of the feeding area with 1/2 inch holes drilled along sides and bottom of a bucket. to allow flies to enter and maggot to exit. put a piece of meat in bottom of bucket and lid. nature does the rest, no smell if you dont over fill...a steak sized piece will do.
flies can be deadly causing fly strike to kill your flock friends.
Fly bait draws more flies, plus they are nasty!!
That was my mistake. Didn’t have any flies. Got that and got lots of flies. !
Yep exactly 😫 that’s why I mention it, a lot of people don’t realize it - it’s ok! ✌🏼❤️🐓
JSUK there is nuttin dirtier/nastier than a chicken! lol
I TRIED THE FLY BAIT, AND THEY DON'T WORK!
Irish spring doesn't work... I've got several bars. Flies land on soap😅
What?! No!!!
They eat and thrive on bugs. And they love eating scorpions, roaches, beetles, worms and grubs. That's what makes their meat tastier. They eat mice too, and eggs, and cooked eggs, and meat. They're omnivores like dogs, rats and other birds. You can't leave electric cords around them, they'll chew right through them like a rat will. They are VERY sensitive to chemicals and smells.
They love and need grass. And of you can dig a hole for them, shoveling and turning over dirt, they love fresh interesting buggy dirt. Most animals do. With the soap, they'll chew it and get sick, maybe kill them. Don't put it in places they can gnaw it. Cheyenne are chewers and gnawers. Actually, they like branches and leaves and wood like kindling twigs. They're hunting for termites and ants to eat.
You're wasting the air freshener trees. Theyll only last a week that way. Keep em in the baggy they come in and gradually move it down as time passes, that way the trees last for months instead of a puny week
Is that a snake at 4:25?
lol! It is! But a fake one 😉 I have a whole video about the fake snakes and why I got them! ✌🏻❤️🐓🐍
@@realsimplemama I'll trust you but I ain't doing that. I'd forget about them and have a heart attack each time I went out.
Fly bait bags definitely BRINGS in flies. They will fill it in a day 😢
Is it me or is there a snake in the right hand corner at 30s??? :o
Lol! Yes! Winner winner! This is a long time running joke on my UA-cam channel, there’s actually a video explaining it if you search for the word “snake”. 😆✌🏻❤️🐓🐍🐍🐍
I wouldnt recommend exposing anything to an air freshner 24/7 unless its all natural. Chickens can actually smell too. AND flies can cause fly strike, which if not caught, can lead to death very quickly. So they can be far more than just annoying.
Good point! Thank you for sharing. I’ll do a video soon where I discuss flystrike. I appreciate you. ✌🏻❤️🐓
But, chickens eat bugs including flies I assume
True! They just aren’t super great at catching them and the chickens can’t fly. ✌🏻❤️🐓
Well what were you talking bout? It keeps fly's away! lol
chickens can’t smell or taste??? then why do they like some foods, bugs etc but not others?
From what I can tell it’s instinct and visual - like they know the sizes and shapes of leaves to avoid, etc.
Those bags that attract flies smell like a dead rotting animal. Unless you hate your neighbors, don't get one because your neighbors WILL hate you if you put one up!!!
Yes. Use only if there is plenty of property between you and neighbors.
Fly bait smells really bad it's gross
Those things smell so BAD.
They smell like death; it’s not worth the trouble.
Doesn’t work have four full bars in a six ft x six ft area and thousands of flies still and mice also