Mites

[spies04]

Hi! At our county fair, I had a family tell us that they bathed their chickens with vinegar to kill the mites so I wanted to see if anyone had experience with that. I believe (my memory can be lacking

) that they bathed them with a vinegar/water combination and then put them into another bucket bathing them with a baby soap and then rinsing in a clean water only.

Any thoughts if you have heard of this? thanks!

 

[Wyandottes7]

I've never heard that bathing them in vinegar water kills mites. In my experience, vinegar doesn't kill mites, at least not quickly.The usual use of vinegar water when washing chickens is as a second rinse, to cut away any remaining soap.

 

[spies04]

Thank you! It seemed odd to me but thought maybe someone had come up with a home-made remedy to get rid of the mites. By the way if anyone has any helpful ideas to that please send along.

 

[JaceAgain]

DE sounds soooo much easier

They even bathe themselves.

 

[kittydoc]

I agree that vinegar will not kill mites, but it is a good grooming aid.

Depending on what kind of mites are present, different treatments are available. DE may not totally prevent mites, but it is very helpful if the chickens use it regularly.

Scaly leg mites can be literally smothered with Vaseline or oil, applied 2-3 times to the legs, I believe about a week apart. I've seen motor oil and kerosene mentioned elsewhere, but would highly discourage that since less toxic substances are equally effective. It takes a long time for the legs to return to a completely normal appearance.