BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures › Deer ticks by their eye sockets - is this a problem?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Deer ticks by their eye sockets - is this a problem?

post #1 of 10
7/20/12 at 5:55am
Thread Starter 

My hens are around four months old and have been free ranging in our yard during the day time.  I noticed that several of them have been hosting some hitchhikers - little deer ticks - right around their eye sockets.

 

   They don't seem to be bothered by them.  I picked up a few of the girls and pulled some of the ticks off, but they seemed mostly annoyed with the process.  

 

  I doubt there is any way to avoid this, since our property is mostly wooded and FULL of ticks, but is this something I should be worried about?

 

  Thanks!

We have a dozen different breeds of chickens and we love them all!

Reply

We have a dozen different breeds of chickens and we love them all!

Reply

Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens

Why Join BackYard Chickens?
Have you ever wondered how a hen can lay an egg every day?
Poll: Why raise backyard chickens?
post #2 of 10
7/20/12 at 5:58am

Not much you can do about it exept get rid of the taller grass and shrubs which host ticks or chopping down some trees to open up some sun. It's also good to get rid of some trees because it's important that chickens get their sun.

Reply
Reply
post #3 of 10
7/20/12 at 6:05am
Thread Starter 

The three acres or so we use as a back yard has very few trees in it, and the girls spend most of their time in the sun just beside the tree line.  We haven't been able to mow for the last week due to thunderstorms - I guess that's part of the problem!  

 

   I'm mostly just wanting to know if it's dangerous for them somehow.  Even once the grass is mowed and the sun is out, we aren't interested in chemically treating our property so the ticks are here to stay.

We have a dozen different breeds of chickens and we love them all!

Reply

We have a dozen different breeds of chickens and we love them all!

Reply
post #4 of 10
7/20/12 at 6:17am

It can be a problem if it isn't taken care of so I'd pluck the ticks off and burn them and mow your lawn soon to minimize tick numbers.

Reply
Reply
post #5 of 10
7/20/12 at 6:55am

That is weird. We've free ranged for years and years and live on wooded mountain property full of whitetail deer and never have found one tick on a chicken, though the woods are full of them.
 

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

Reply

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

Reply
post #6 of 10
7/20/12 at 8:50am

Maybe your chickens don't eat ticks they find.

Reply
Reply
post #7 of 10
7/20/12 at 8:52am

Specklehen there's omehing you need to see...look at the thread http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/689282/chicken-flesh-eating-disease-warning-graphic-pics

Reply
Reply
post #8 of 10
7/20/12 at 9:04am

Specklehen there's a thread you should look at. It's called Chicken Flesh Eating Disease Warning- Graphic pics

Reply
Reply
post #9 of 10
7/20/12 at 9:08am

You could try getting some guineas?

Chickens: 3 Basque Hens, 4 Olandsk Dwarfs, 5 Swedish Flower Hens, and 2 Seramas.

 

Ducks: 1 Khaki campbell, 1 Black Crested duck, 4 Muscovies, and a Mallard that visits every once in a while .

 

Geese: 2 Old English.

 

Chicks/Juveniles: 10 Basque Hens, 12 Swedish Flower Hens, 5 Rhodebars, and  2 Seramas.

 

Website: http://blackwalnutfarms.webs.com/

Reply

Chickens: 3 Basque Hens, 4 Olandsk Dwarfs, 5 Swedish Flower Hens, and 2 Seramas.

 

Ducks: 1 Khaki campbell, 1 Black Crested duck, 4 Muscovies, and a Mallard that visits every once in a while .

 

Geese: 2 Old English.

 

Chicks/Juveniles: 10 Basque Hens, 12 Swedish Flower Hens, 5 Rhodebars, and  2 Seramas.

 

Website: http://blackwalnutfarms.webs.com/

Reply
post #10 of 10
7/20/12 at 2:54pm

I had a bird that was always getting ticks, also around her eyes. Guess that's the best place for them to clamp on. :) I just pulled them off when I saw them and nothing bad ever happened because of it that I know of. :)

Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

Featured Stories on BackYard Chickens

Why Join BackYard Chickens?
Have you ever wondered how a hen can lay an egg every day?
Poll: Why raise backyard chickens?
BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures › Deer ticks by their eye sockets - is this a problem?