BEWARE OF GNATS!

[CBormann]

thats right gnats. in the last 24hours i have lost 20 of 25 chickens to gnats. they bite the face of the chicken causing them to bleed and eventually the chicken gets so stressed it dies or they get into their throat and nose and cause suffication.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

OMG, how horrible! I am so sorry for your losses. I wish I had some advice for you.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Gnats? That sounds more like the work of what we call Yellow Flies or Mosquitos.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Yep, I just discovered my chicken's run full of them tonight. I got crazy with the DE and the Sweet PDZ. My hens have been stressed and it's effecting their laying too. I've been pouring over the forums looking to see if there's something else I can do. I certainly don't want to lose any of my girls!

 

[oldbat]

When I still lived in Montana and was heavily into trail riding and roundups, gnats were often a problem for both horse and rider. We used "Gnat Away" for both horses and ourselves. Here's some info:

Gold Nugget Gnat-Away
Active Ingredients: Herbal extracts and emollients in a vanishing cream base.
How to Use: Apply to affected areas as needed.
Advantages: All natural; nontoxic; nice odor; works well; no oily residue.
Disadvantages: Too expensive to use on entire horses, so reserve it for spot-treating much-bothered and sensitive areas, such as your horse's face and ears; not widely distributed-you may have to search to find it.
Cost: About $9 to $12 for a 16-oz. jar of cream.
Contact: Neogen, 800-621-8829 to order, or for a distributor near you.

I still have part of a tube, and it still works. It's probably 20 years old. Got it from the farm and ranch store where I worked at the time.

Good luck. oldbat

 

[MOMS CHICKS]

I live in Iowa and since the floods the Buffalo Gnats are really bad. People are losing chickens and some have lost whole flocks. I put a fan in the coop and that seems to work pretty well. I also use the fly strips and hang them from the ceiling. On nice days when I know it is not going to rain and no breeze I put a box fan at the end of the run. Just as long as the air keeps moving they seem to stay away. I also have been told to use a dish soap and water mix and spray the yard early morning or evening since gnats and musquitos live in the grass.

 

[Emzyyy]

are you serious?

 

[MOMS CHICKS]

There was a article in the local paper about the Gnats and they talked about how the Gnats were killing chickens. (Cedar Rapids Gazzett)My husband got told by a friend that he went out and all of his chickens were dead and he said that they had red dots all over them. His neighbor also lost a bunch of chickens also.

 

[JewellFarm]

OMG, that's horrible. I am so sorry for your loss, but thank you for posting this. I guess that's one more thing on the list to worry about. Who would have ever thought that gnats could kill a chicken?

 

[RubberChickenLubber]

Here's a link with info about them. It says livestock and poultry can be killed by them. http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/blackflies.htm