Tiny tiny black bugs in the chicken coop, help!

Put DE all over the coop after you clean it again. Your going to have to clean the coop frequently in order to get rid of these bugs. Also dust your birds. By the way do the bugs look like the ones in this post http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/569630/bugs ? I'm really not sure what you have but do what I said and that should work.

We have the same problem which I just discovered two days ago.  I am going to hose down the coop with bleach and dust the chickens.  These small (almost invisible) bugs are everywhere.  Any additional suggestions would be most appreciated.  We raise our birds organically and I am reluctant to use chemicals.  We have a 32 bird coop and the problem has spread to our silkie coop as well (5 birds) and the chickens do not interact and they coops are not located near each other.  

Burn all of the shavings once you clean the coop.

hello

just gone to clean our coop this am and we have the same very small black bugs !

we have hosed the coop but they are still there.

You posted to clean the coop with DE but what is that?

Many thanks

DE is diatomaceous earth. It is very fine like talc powder & it literally desicates (drys out) the bugs, killing them. No harm to the chickens unless they breathe a lot of it in. MAKE SURE to get food grade DE...available in my feed store right next to the chicken feed. I sprinkle it in their pine shavings in the coop & mix it in & also in the dirt in the run, so when the chickens dust bathe, they are bathing w part DE... Good luck!

Hello, I am also new and have exactly the same problem.  I can't see any on the actual chickens but hundreds in the nest box.  

 

Is there a brand name for DE? and also how do you dust down a chicken and what with?

 

sorry for my completely moronic post!

Hi Pipling...welcome to BYC!  No such thing as a moronic question...except those you don't ask!  :) 

 

There isn't (to my knowledge) a specific brand name for DE.  Check with your feed store...ask for food grade DE and they should know exactly what you mean.  It's not terribly expensive and a little goes a long way.  

 

Clean out the whole coop, then when you put the bedding back in, sprinkle some DE on it and sort of stir it up enough that it's not all sitting right on top...the chooks will take care of the "real" stirring as they scratch.  Also put some DE in their dust bath and mix it just a little bit.

 

DE is perfectly harmless on the skin or even eaten...the only danger is inhaling it.  So, make sure you wear a mask when working with it and take care that the chickens aren't downwind where they can breathe it in.

 

I found mites on mine as well, and did just this.  You can actually dust the chickens, but I found that just having it where they get it on them was sufficient.

 

HTH

Mickey

Thank you :)

 

I will pop in a bit and try and get some.  I have cleaned out the coop and let them free range this afternoon anyway in a garden full of rowdy 10 year old boys!

LOL, they should be tired tonight!