Chicken Mites and lice

[brightonchicks]

I am going to dust my pullets with seven powder but what do you use to clean the coop and rid it of these buggers? It is a small coop.

 

[dawg53]

I am going to dust my pullets with seven powder but what do you use to clean the coop and rid it of these buggers? It is a small coop.

You can use sevin dust in the coop also.

 

[brightonchicks]

You can use sevin dust in the coop also.

But don't I need a spray to get into all the cracks, something that will stick to or stay on the roost?

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Sevin dust is not a spray, it's a DUST. It IS persistant. Put a pile of it at the entrance to their house and hit it full blast with a leaf blower. I guarantee you the dust will get in every small crack and crevice including roosts and nests. Make sure there's no birds inside their house and wear a mask when you do this.

 

[LisaLouHoo]

Sevin dust is not a spray, it's a DUST. It IS persistant. Put a pile of it at the entrance to their house and hit it full blast with a leaf blower. I guarantee you the dust will get in every small crack and crevice including roosts and nests. Make sure there's no birds inside their house and wear a mask when you do this.

I did this today, so thanks @dawg53. It worked really well. I had the dust swirling in the air for at least 10 min! Now, hopefully the mites will be gone. I had to cull a pullet for failure to thrive and using a magnifying glass, I noticed the tiny red mites on her skin and they quickly got on my arms. I don't know how anyone would discover these unless you are able to have a tame enough hen and a magnifying glass handy to spread the feathers and have them hold still. I was glad I checked her out before getting rid of the body.

 

[MissBokBok]

In the future, you can go into the coop at night with a flashlight and shine it directly on their faces. After about a minute, you will see tiny red dots moving on their skin. I think the bugs come out in response to the light. As far as lice, look between their feathers while they're perched. You might see a very quick tan movement, but a better sign is clumps of spiderweb-looking things on the base of their feathers. These are the eggs. Hope that helps.