Tiny bugs on eggs

[GBryant890]

I changed the straw bedding in my chicken's nesting boxes yesterday. (2 NH Reds, 1 Auracana/Easter Egger about 7 months old) Today, when I went to get their eggs, I found one egg with traces of waste on it and about 8-10 tiny bugs crawling on it. I'm thinking mites of some sort.

What can I do to get rid of them? I'm using straw in the nesting boxes and about 8-10 inches of bedding pellets http://www.pineriverbedding.com/products.html for the coop bedding. Would adding diatomaceous earth to the bedding be enough or should I remove it and start over?

Suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[PeepersMama]

It sounds exactly like mites.
The first thing I would do is clean the coop spotless. If you can, pull them and all their bedding out of it for a night and let it freeze; I think that would be the fastest way to kill them all. Definitely add some DE to the bedding, just not a whole lot. DE in large amounts can be bad for their respiratory systems. If any of them have feather loss on any scale, I'd give them a bath the night you let the coop freeze. I'd say more but I have to get ready to go into town.

Hope this helps!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I changed the straw bedding in my chicken's nesting boxes yesterday. (2 NH Reds, 1 Auracana/Easter Egger about 7 months old) Today, when I went to get their eggs, I found one egg with traces of waste on it and about 8-10 tiny bugs crawling on it. I'm thinking mites of some sort.

What can I do to get rid of them? I'm using straw in the nesting boxes and about 8-10 inches of bedding pellets http://www.pineriverbedding.com/products.html for the coop bedding. Would adding diatomaceous earth to the bedding be enough or should I remove it and start over?

Suggestions would be appreciated.

Any bedding material can harbor mites/lice and other creepy crawlies.

The new straw you put in may have had them in it. Clean out your coop and dispose of the straw (I know that stinks!) Some people do sprinkle a bit of DE and rub it into the corners, etc. to help prevent mite/lice infestations.

Since you are seeing the critters, you may need to treat the coop and your chickens with a Poultry Dust or use a permethrin spray that can be found at your local feed store.

Unfortunately cold weather does not kill mites/lice. You may see a decrease in infestation inside the coop, but they are simply "hibernating". These critters just decrease their metabolism until the appropriate temps/environment stabilizes. Most species live on their host, so winter time is usually not a problem when you are on a warm chicken, they continue to breed, hatch and re-infest their host.

Your best bet is to start over with fresh bedding of choice, treat the coop and chickens.

Good Luck!

http://www.birdmites.org/mites.html