bugs--should I expect some? which are bad?

[aim4balance]

Hello!
Our 7 week old girls have been in the outdoor coop for a couple of weeks now (the weather has been great!) Just a few days ago I noticed some little bugs running around the sawdust. Both are small--one looks like a mite, the other looks more oval and dark brown. The girls are acting the same, I've checked them over and no issues, I watched them in the coop last night and they weren't scratching/etc too much. How do I know which bugs are bad? A coop will always have some bugs, right? I was going to buy DE to spread around until I read something about it being harmful to compost piles (I add my soiled chicken bedding to my compost pile). Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[The ChickenKing]

I'm also fairly new to this, but the most I have now are flies, which are inevitable. Mites usually hang out in the cracks and crevices of the coop, like in between the door, they're small red dots and easy to spot. You can use DE but I'm not sure what it does to the compost and you have to wear a mask as it has very fine particles that are used to cut through an insects underbelly and dehydrate it. Hope this helped.

 

[aart]

To know if you have bugs that are bugging the chooks, it's usually best to take the chickens off the roost well after full dark and examine their skin very closely.

Part the feathers clear down to the skin all around the vent, under the wings and around the head and neck. You'll need a good flashlight (headlight works best so you can use both your hands) and someone to hold the chicken, it's really hard (for me anyway) to do the job by myself.

 

[aim4balance]

The bugs I've found are all climbing on the coop sawdust. Does anyone see bugs in theirs?
BTW what is a chook?
checked closely and with a flashlight, no bugs on the girls!

 

[The ChickenKing]

The bugs I've found are all climbing on the coop sawdust.  Does anyone see bugs in theirs?
BTW what is a chook?

I haven't found anything in mine yet, it's just another term for chicken

 

[aim4balance]

After looking info up about DE, it seems it can be used when thrown in the compost with the coop bedding. So I'm going to get some and spread it out thinking it will help ward off anything further. Thanks!