Chicken Died. Now covered in mites. Can you help me ID?

[HUGEPurplePuppy]

Warning for pictures of a dead chicken

One of the roosters I have died. He had been active my sickly and I had quarantined him inside the coop.

Today I went down and he was dead and he’s absolutely covered in mites. Are these opportunistic? Or do I have a serious infestation on my hands?

I plan on looking at some of the flock members tonight…but I’m hoping (vainly I’m sure) that this isn’t what it looks like.

 

[sourland]

You have a serious infestation on your hands.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

You have a serious infestation on your hands.

X2. This is a massive infestation. One of the biggest I’ve seen. I would suggest starting to get rid of them. Try permethrin spray.

 

[HUGEPurplePuppy]

X2. This is a massive infestation. One of the biggest I’ve seen. I would suggest starting to get rid of them. Try permethrin spray.

You have a serious infestation on your hands.

I’m probably up for a horror scene when I go down tonight aren’t I

Any guess on which type it is? And does that matter for treatment/clearing of infestation?

 

[Hannahnic14]

We had a HORRIBLE infestation like this and the only thing that cleared it up was Elector PSP. Yes its expensive but if you don't want to buy the whole bottle you can get enough to mix 1 gallon of solution on eBay. I'll leave you the link I ordered from so you know its reputable.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125078125648#vi__app-cvip-panel

For reference - 1 gallon of mixed solution (1 gallon of water & 10mls of elector psp) treated 55 chickens & and 4 coops with a little left over.

Soak down your coops, replace bedding, spray birds. Birds - spray back of neck, under wings, on top of wings, vent area, and in the chest. Make sure you get the spray on the SKIN. Not the feathers.

Dont get overwhelmed, take it 1 step at a time, you got this!

 

[dawg53]

Warning for pictures of a dead chicken

One of the roosters I have died. He had been active my sickly and I had quarantined him inside the coop.

Today I went down and he was dead and he’s absolutely covered in mites. Are these opportunistic? Or do I have a serious infestation on my hands?

I plan on looking at some of the flock members tonight…but I’m hoping (vainly I’m sure) that this isn’t what it looks like.

I tried zooming in to ID the external parasites but the parasites were too blurry to see what you're dealing with.
You're going to need a magnifying glass to properly ID the parasites close up. All I can tell you is that lice have 6 legs, are off white or white or straw in color.
Mites have 8 legs are black or red in color. Mites suck blood, cause anemia, then death.
I suspect you're dealing with mites.
Here's a link with close up photos to help you ID the parasites.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG140

 

[Vickischics]

You have a serious infestation on your hands.

I agree. Im sorry you had experience this. As you've learned, you need to do frequent checks on your flock.
You will need to clean out your coop and run and treat EVERYTHING! You'll also need to treat your flock or they will end up like your rooster very quickly.
Go to TS and purchase Permethrin spray. I buy the concentrated one and mix it down because I use routinely on the coop during clean outs.
Good Luck and keep us posted

 

[TheOddOneOut]

For future reference - when you have a sick bird, check EVERYTHING to find out what's happening. He was obviously sickly because he was so infested with mites.