Mites: I've tried EVERYTHING

do your chickens have a patch of dirt for dust baths? it's supposed to help

Get a plastic coop. I have had my Eglu coop for years and never had any problems with mites. There are also other companies that have plastic coops. Snaplock is also a good company. Here are the two websites: www.omlet.us and www.snaplockchickencoops.com

Good luck

My coop is a metal dog kennel 10x10x6 with heavy duty tarps covering most of the sides for wind break and to keep out wet weather and a kennel top slanted to keep rain off the top. My floor is just plain dirt pretty much. I'm adding sand eventually so that it lessens the mud issue when water runs off the lawn into the coop area in winter. I also use a large plastic doghouse as a nesting box. They aren't laying yet but when they do I hope they will use this as a nestbox. I'm tired of hunting eggs in the bushes. haha I use DE all around the coop area for dust baths. I've never had a problem with mites on my chickens in the 3 years I've had them.

Is anyone using sand in the nest boxes? I thought straw was the only nesting material to use.
If you use sand approximately how deep?

Islands said:

I agree with the sulphur remedy, I have used it for years.  Buy flowers of sulphur at the feed store, turn your hens upside down ,hold them with one hand and shake the dust up under their feathers to the skin.  I also get petroleum jelly and mix the sulphur in some of that and put it all over their legs...this stops leg mites, the leg mites lift the scales on their legs and live in there.  I also lift any boards in the hen house and dust the sulphur under there as well.  I do whitewash my hen houses every few years and that does help as well.

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I too have been using sulphur for years. On my chooks, goats and horses with great results.
Sometimes the old remedies work so well that some entrepreneur puts it in a fancy package and sells it as " their idea ". Sulphur is a mitacide. Read the active constituent on the label.

twinzmom said:

Is anyone using sand in the nest boxes? I thought straw was the only nesting material to use.
If you use sand approximately how deep?

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I am using sand a couple of inches deep where my broody hen and her 4 babies sleep right now (in a covered kitty litter pan). I scoop it out every morning with a kitty litter scoop to get the babies' little poo bits out.

I don't know how well sand would work if an egg broke in the nestbox...haven't tried using it for the egglaying hens.

Sand can attract and make home for fleas, which are harder to get rid of sometimes. if wooden coop and/or wood in coop, white wash all of it till coated decent, let dry enough to coat floor in light layer of DE, then use: white vinager, the original blue kind of dawn dish soap, and/or peppermint oil heard works too (use hot in spray bottle on mist and won't be too hot on them). make sure to spray vent, legs (rubbing in there), head and face with holes, and especially under wings good. put them immediately locked back in cooop to shake off dust bath and dry, and any mites should be dead stuck in coop.

Wild birds are horrible about bringing pests, especially if you don't have roof over your run. song birds, mallard ducks, and rodents were loading my pigeons down horribly with roundworms and feather mites.

Honestly, those mites will hide in even screw holes. We paint everything after building a coop and this week, I've been at the poultry farm, painting the inside of one of their large coops. Paint kills the existing mites and eggs and seals all the places mites like to hide...I also used silicone along any cracks or crevices that I couldn't paint. I once read that if your coop is wood and you can't get the lice/mites under control, plan to burn down the coop and build again...but heck, who can afford to do that??? Not I, for sure! Rather spend $22 for a gal of exterior semi-gloss at Walmart!

Islands said:

I agree with the sulphur remedy, I have used it for years. Buy flowers of sulphur at the feed store, turn your hens upside down ,hold them with one hand and shake the dust up under their feathers to the skin. I also get petroleum jelly and mix the sulphur in some of that and put it all over their legs...this stops leg mites, the leg mites lift the scales on their legs and live in there. I also lift any boards in the hen house and dust the sulphur under there as well. I do whitewash my hen houses every few years and that does help as well.

Click to expand...

What is "flowers of sulphur"? I've heard of powdered sulphur for the garden, used it before. But never heard of "flowers" of sulphur.