broken feathers, mites *if you are experiencing this, PLEASE READ*

[MichelleT]

I am SO glad that I found this post and I'm really interested in canyoncito's progress. I just want to make sure I got this:
1. You dipped the birds, and cleaned the coop. How many times and how often did you dip?
2. You cleaned the coop out as well (mouse-ridden).
3. You saw no results (page 7) and so retired the coop and built a new one.
4. You eventually saw results and updated (page 8). How long did it take to see results?

I am about to attempt the process now. We have one hen in particular that I was sure was just picking her own feathers but her tail was ratty all the time too. None of the others seemed affected so I just did my Sevin-dusting when I cleaned the coop (4X/year) to cover that base. Then I noticed dark striping on her tail feathers as well as the feathers of all the others. Nothing really noticable - it was as if the a few little wispy parts on several feathers had just turned black. I couldn't find anything that matched that until last week when I found this thread and a couple others. It all makes so much sense now. Especially since I'm finding bare spots on the others now, except these spots are very well hidden so I didn't notice.

Anyway, if you could let me know the answers to the questions above, that would be great!
Especially #1, I think you said somewhere to repeat the treatment in a month, but someone else said to do it for consecutive days. What do you (or anyone that's found this to be successful) recommend for the timing and number of treatments? I have 3 birds that appear to be molting and 2 that molt every winter. (Five total)

Thanks in advance!!
Michelle

 

[tierfontein]

Hi everyone on this thread!

Good news at last!!
after 6 months of dusting my flock ( it had spread to 5 birds), I am glad to say all have their full feathers back, even the rooster who had lost all his long curved tail feathers and looked like a new breed!

Diatomaceous earth!!

Seems as though you just have to be patient, keep the coop very clean, also dusted with diatomaceous earth once a week at least, and KEEP AT IT FOR MONTHS!

I still dust the coop now just to be safe even though they are all cured as we still have many wild birds coming in to eat their food.

Good luck!

 

[canyoncito]

I hope you continue to have success. We've used DE for years. I'm so glad for the fall when they finally grow new feathers!

 

[canyoncito]

I dipped the birds in 4-10 day intervals, 3 times total. That should take care of new eggs hatching.
Cleaned the coop out many times.
I did NOT retire the coop. I kept one flock of 13 in the old coop and started a new flock of 34 in the second coop. The birds in the old coop are fine and the new birds in the new coop are very bedraggled. So the mites switched coops.
I saw results in the old flock around molting time and they continue to be mite free (Dec to July). The new girls got the mites now, however. Their coop has very little wood, lots of metal fencing, no place for mice to hide.

 

[MichelleT]

Thanks canyoncito! That's exactly what I was looking for. Our coop is wood and elevated and mice do get in (winter) but I am very vigilant about getting rid of them. Did you do anything special to clean it? I usually completely empty it (vacuum small pieces of bedding out) then wash it down completely with Orange Oil cleaner. I got some Oxine and thought I'd spray some of that in there as a preventive measure (disease).

 

[BirdaMay]

Will this lime sulfur stuff by Revival Animal Health kill red spider mites? They are on me and in my room- just because I snuggled a new chicken.

I've dusted him with DE only to learn that it's better as a preventative.

This rooster who has them looks like he molted recently and is still shedding the feather shafts from the new feathers. His breastbone is REALLY sharp to the point I was in fear for his life. Looks like I bought me a sick rooster. Well, I gave him a round of Corid for 5 days and also put him on Rooster Booster wormer and have been giving him Dubia roaches, so he's started gaining weight, but I still saw a fast crawlie on him and get red spider mites on me every time I handle him.

There are other birds that may have been exposed including some 2 week old chicks. I'm desperate to eradicate them, as it's unlivable for them and me, and I have company coming in a few weeks.

Thanks!

 

[the poppster]

Will this lime sulfur stuff by [COLOR=333333]Revival Animal Health kill red spider mites? They are on me and in my room- just because I snuggled a new chicken.


I've dusted him with DE only to learn that it's better as a preventative.


This rooster who has them looks like he molted recently and is still shedding the feather shafts from the new feathers. His breastbone is REALLY sharp to the point I was in fear for his life. Looks like I bought me a sick rooster. Well, I gave him a round of Corid for 5 days and also put him on Rooster Booster wormer and have been giving him Dubia roaches, so he's started gaining weight, but I still saw a fast crawlie on him and get red spider mites on me every time I handle him.


There are other birds that may have been exposed including some 2 week old chicks. I'm desperate to eradicate them, as it's unlivable for them and me, and I have company coming in a few weeks.


Thanks![/COLOR]

Try Dy-Fly barn spray. It will eliminate just about any creepy crawling or flying biting insects. It's relatively safe for most animals....they use it in dairies, poultry houses, kennels.....don't know if it is meant for mites, but I used it in my coop and run, this spring and summer for mosquitos and biting flies, no one seemed to suffer any bad effects from it. It's worth checking it out. We used to get a concentrated form of it and mix it in spray bottles, for use on our horses for stable flies and face flies. I've sprayed it on the dog when the sand flies started to chew the tips of his ears, till they bled! It's got something in it that I think is made from daisies. Pyrethrin....it is in a petroleum distillate base.

 

[the poppster]

I don't know if it would help to keep the mites away, but I've picked and dried Tansy, crushed the leaves and flower heads and mixed it into the nest box bedding....adding a hand full to each nest whenever I refresh the bedding. I know it's not good for birds to eat it....but I'm not worried. I've got it growing in my yard...and they won't touch it....my point is that pretty much nothing else will eat it either....no bugs or small mammals (mice).... so far I've had no problems with bugs on my birds or in the coop...I've had a past flock that suffered from leg mites....but so far none of my birds show any signs of them.....I've made a tansy tea and wetter down the perches, then let them dry in the sun, before reinstalling them in the coop during one of my quarterly mucking out the coop day....the perches are made of white cedar to start with...suppose that helps....so far so good...

 

[CherylZrimm]

No, I don't mind at all!  I have, more times than I care to count, completely treated every square inch of the coop with permethrin, emptied and refilled nest boxes and sprinkled them with diatomaceous earth, painted the roosts with linseed oil, treated the hens themselves with DE, permethrin, and neem.  Nothing, but nothing, keeps these awful mites away! My success with the sulfur is also short-lived but it's the best thing so far.  

 

[canyoncito]

Tansy. I'll have to look into that!