Introduction: Chicken Roost Parasite Free

Recently I have been having a severe infection of bloodlice in my chickencoop. So I needed to act on this and one of the measures is the roost they sit on.

As a chicken sleeps on the roost the blood lice will attack and drink blood from the chicken. If the infection inside the coop is severe the chickens (and chicks) are doomed and will die.

There is not a golden or single remedy to get rid of bloodlice but i will always be a combination of best practises. One off those is a raised roost with tins filled with dieselfuel. This will keep bloodlice from reaching your chickens and also drown the lice a the same time.

Step 1: Materials

Materials needed for this are availble at al hardware stores and with a bit off luck they may even be lying around your workshop:

  • piece of wood for your chickens to sit on (as smooth as possible because the cracks can be great places for bloodlice to hide and bread).
  • 12mm thread of 150mm or more lenght.
  • 12 x 12mm washers
  • 4 x 12mm nuts
  • 2 x 12mm end-nuts
  • 2 pieces of rubber (home-made) with a 12 mm hole
  • 2 tins (with a 12 mm hole drilled in the center of the bottom)

I used 12mm nuts/bolts/washers but you can change these sizes to your specific project. The bigger the chickens te stronger your design needs to be.

Step 2: Make a Seal...

To keep the diesel inside the tin I made a rubber seal out of on old seal from a sink. I prefer to recycle as much as I can. What ever works for you is fine. An O-ring will work to. Just as long as the diesel doesn't leak from the tin.

I used a double seal. This means that is placed one seal on the outside and one on the inside of the tin. To make the roost you will need 4 seals (2 for each tin).

Drill 4 holes in the rubber seal. Make the holes the same size as your threaded bar. In my case that is 12mm. Then cut the rubber into 4 pieces.

Step 3: Make the Tin Can Work...

To contain the diesel I used 2 used (and empty) tin-cans. Remove their wrapping and cutt of the top by 1/3.

Drill a hole of 12 mm in the bottom. Push the threaded bar through the hole with a seal on each side.

Then place a washer and a nut on both sides and tighten them. Test the seal by adding some water and checking for leaks.

Step 4: Final Assembly

With all the parts and pieces at the ready it's time to assemble them. This is the order parts are mounted onto the thread from top to bottom (including the base it wil be mounted to).

In the previous step of this instructable we already mounted from 6 to 12.

  1. e(nd cap
  2. washer
  3. roost-stick (wood or steel)
  4. washer
  5. nut
  6. nut
  7. washer
  8. rubber
  9. tin
  10. rubber
  11. washer
  12. nut
  13. Mounting base
  14. washer
  15. nut
  16. washer

Step 5: How to Use It?

If the roost is completed you can fill up the tin with diesel. Do not fill it al the way to the top. 2/3 full is fine.

Check the tin regularly to see if it is still working, if the seal is still oke and.... most importantly... if the bloodlice are falling in the trap and not killing your chickens.


Good luck!