Chicken Dusting for Mites for a lot of Chickens

[cammartinez]

How and what product would I use to dust 100s of chickens? Is this something that should be done on a regular basis or only when there is a problem... like mites?

I found out that both of my farm works are complaining about itching and one said he saw little dark bugs with hairs on himself. The itching is worse at night.

Now I am wondering about bird mites now. We have never dusted before. Is that appropriate for such a large amount of chickens? We are wanting to sell them to kill now, so not sure if it is even worth it. Thoughts?

 

[MrsBrooke]

External parasites that feed on chickens do NOT feed on humans. Poultry lice and mites are species-specific.

If your guy has creepy crawlies on him, I doubt it's from the chickens or their blood-sucking buddies. (Bed bugs, maybe?)

To actually answer your question.... 5% Sevin dust is my go-to. Some people say food-grade Diatomaceous Earth works, but I've never really had any luck with it. I found it to be irritating to my chickens' respiratory systems.

If you have 100s of birds, you're going to have to go with a bulk option. You can get three-packs of Sevin at Lowes or Home Depot... they're 1-1.5lbs each, from what I remember.

As for requirement and frequency... Technically, no, you don't *have* to dust your birds on the regular. "Wild" chickens get a long just fine without it... Access to clean dirt is usually sufficient to control parasites through dust bathing. If you notice a bird acting sluggish or lethargic, it can't hurt to hit them with dust, though.

I worm regularly, and I dust when necessary.

If you're selling them to process, I'd be more worried about potential stunting and anemia if you have a growing bird playing host to vampire bugs. But a bird like that would show symptoms that you could treat with the dust and some high-protein treats.

Hope that helps!!

MrsB

 

[cammartinez]

I read that although chicken lice does not affect humans... mites can feed on humans but not live on them to complete their life cycle.

Several places I read mentioned bird mites on humans.

It's just strange that though they live in too totally different places that they are both having symptoms.

Our chicken just stay in our chicken house and don't go outside. We use sawdust bedding. Is the product just placed on the bedding itself or does a power need to be applied directly to each chicken?

 

[MrsBrooke]

Dust the vent, under each wing, between the shoulders, down the back, and around the head as best you can. Repeat in seven days. Wait. Repeat AGAIN in seven days.

Three treatments, seven days apart, over 21 days, directly on the chicken.

MrsB

 

[MrsBrooke]

You can also dust the roost and the areas where they dust bathe. ^_^

MrsB