Are these mites?!

[hkijo]

I noticed several teeny tiny bugs crawling on my hands after cleaning the coop yesterday. I have read so many threads on mites, and was paranoid that’s what they were, but these bugs seem like they are much smaller. My flock all just finished molting and all look great, and are behaving normally.

I checked the roost with a flashlight last night when I closed the girls in and didn’t see anything crawling around, but again, they’re so small I may have missed them.

Are there mites that are that tiny? They are definitely smaller than 1 mm, they look like little grey specks moving around.

I am planning on stripping the coop and run, and treating because I’m paranoid but it would be amazing if these were just some other annoying yet harmless bug!

 

[Kiki]

Could be mites or lice.

 

[Kiki]

If grey... probably lice.

 

[hkijo]

Oh lovely

Thank you!

 

[Painted Calls]

Welcome to BYC!

Sounds like mites. Permethrin usually works well.

 

[hkijo]

Welcome to BYC!

Sounds like mites. Permethrin usually works well.

View attachment 3037783

Thank you so much!!

 

[Painted Calls]

Oh I forgot to mention..

You'll need to remove all bedding and treat the coop and the birds. Spray under each wing, around the vent, and the belly. Repeat the spraying every 10 days until all signs of mites are gone.

 

[hkijo]

Oh I forgot to mention..

You'll need to remove all bedding and treat the coop and the birds. Spray under each wing, around the vent, and the belly. Repeat the spraying every 10 days until all signs of mites are gone.

Oh yes, I plan on stripping run and coop this weekend and giving everything a deep clean! I’ve read to throw eggs away 2-3 weeks after treating too, correct?

I inspected two birds today and didn’t see anything them, so I’m hoping I caught this super early

My run is 12’x14’ on a concrete slab, currently bedded deeply with pelleted pine shavings (I have horses too and use the same bedding) but I was considering switching it out with sand and mixing in poultry dust or DE…does this sound like a good plan?

 

[Painted Calls]

Oh yes, I plan on stripping run and coop this weekend and giving everything a deep clean! I’ve read to throw eggs away 2-3 weeks after treating too, correct?

I inspected two birds today and didn’t see anything them, so I’m hoping I caught this super early

My run is 12’x14’ on a concrete slab, currently bedded deeply with pelleted pine shavings (I have horses too and use the same bedding) but I was considering switching it out with sand and mixing in poultry dust or DE…does this sound like a good plan?

No egg withdrawal for permethrin.

You could use poultry dust. I'd skip the DE.

 

[hkijo]

Revisiting this thread as I’m STILL battling these dang mites. I’ve sprayed the entire coop with permethrin every 10 days for the past month, dusted the hens with permethrin dust and STILL have them. I’m going to try Elector PSP next and treat the hens with Ivermectin next and hope that does the trick.

I have 8 new chicks in the basement and need to get this taken care of before they can move outside. Can I treat the chicks with Ivermectin as a preventative when I move them out? What would the dosage be? I plan to move them out when they’re around 7-8 weeks old.