All of my roosters have mite infestation; hens are fine

[thkosan]

clhbubba: Eprinex is a dewormer/parasiticide for cattle but can be used for chickens as a "top spot" application: .25 ml / 5 lb chicken. Spread the feathers between the shoulders and apply directly to the skin. Do not give orally...

JennsPeeps: I am DREADING the second application -- 2 apps 10 days apart for internal worms, same for external parasites, right? We have about 100 chickens...

 

[therealsilkiechick]

we use adams flea and tick spray that comes in a blue bottle. for silkie sized birds and bigger 2 sprays under each wing, back and vent. smaller birds1 spray. they r killed instantly and it protects for 3mths.

 

[thkosan]

That what we use as well -- but we use Adams powder. We dusted and used Eprinex (as it was a bad infestation and also time for the 6 monthly deworming.)

 

[M@M@2four]

I dust mine with Sevin dust--you can buy this at Walmart in the lawn and Garden section. I dust them and then dust them again 7 days later. Then I do it again if I see mites or about every 3 months....mites can kill them, so you will want to move quickly on this...

 

[thkosan]

The Adams powder kills mites -- all kinds of mites. The Sevin, if I remember correctly, is better on northern mites (definitley true with Poultry and Garden dust, which may be the same thing). We're in Texas and have southern mites. Eprinex also kills all kinds of mites. We were mite free the day after we powdered the roosters and applied the Eprinex. I'm still puzzled why the hens only had a few mites when every single rooster was heavily infested.

 

[Barn Maid Ann]

Quote:
Most parasites are attracted to the most stressed of a population. I think someone else theorized that the roosters tend to be too busy to care for themselves, or to eat well, and perhaps live a more stressed existence. There may be a better explaination, and if so, I would like to hear, too.

So if you are treating with any of these products, how does it affect the egg 'eatability'? And for how long?

 

[thkosan]

Although Eprinex is supposedly zero, I stick to 14 days. Better safe than sorry.

I agree with you -- and wonder if the roos are stressed by the predators. It's high season for hawks and we lost one rooster and several hens. I've put hen savers on the littlest roosters and many of the hens since. The one rooster with the least infestation is a coop baby -- his girls all stick near the coop and he dirt bathes with them. The rooster with the worst infestation the the best rooster I have -- he really watches out for his girls and always has one eye on the sky. So maybe you are on to something and it is stress related...

 

[ivan3]

The area on the host most preferred by the NFM is the vent region but in severe infestations, mites can be found over the entire body (Cameron 1938, Anonymous 1959, Loomis et al. 1970, Lemke et al. 1988). Cameron (1938) seldom found mites on young birds. Kirkwood (1968) also found this to be true and suggested that it may be due to lack of contour feathers. He and others (Payne 1930, Cameron 1938, Hansens 1951, Abasa 1965) stated that roosters have more mites than hens, possibly due to differences in plumage in the vent area. Males have more contour feathers near the vent, whereas female plumage in this area is characterized by proportially greater amounts of down. Feathers are preferred over down by O. sylviarum (Kirkwood 1968), and population reduction has been demonstrated by clipping feathers in the vent area (DeVaney 1986b).

Interesting reference article (covers some other pests as well).

http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/66151020/downloads/lincoln.pdf​

 

[Jenski]

Do you use DE or any other products in your coop/nest boxes? I figure my hens get a dusting of DE on their bums every time they sit in a nest box . . .

 

[moduckman]

Rooster dust very seldom, hens will dust quite often. The dusting will get rid of more of the mites. This is one reason hens will sometimes have few or are mite-free.