Cochin Thread!!!

Thought I'd share a picture I took yesterday of one of my Mille Fleur project pullets, and my one and only (for now
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) Frizzle!
Very pretty~
 
I did a necropsy and found out what killed him~ mites!! I'm so mad, I thought I was done with them. I had fought a tough battle with them this year, lost 3 birds to them. :( I guess the battle isn't over! Time to move the birds around & burn the inside of my pens. :/
Mites???! wow - I did not know these would kill a bird. Do they get them internally or what happens that they die from them?
 
No, they are external parasites, like fleas on a dog. If they have a severe infestation the mites will suck all their blood. The bird turns pale and gets very weak and soon dies of anemia and starvation. Poor Jack, I didn't know he was suffering from them until it was too late. :( I thought I had eradicated them. I looked at them under my microscope and those little buggers are DISGUSTING!! So nasty. :/ And so hard to get rid of. I had some in a ziploc bag, watched them scurrying around in there like crazy, then poured in some Permethrin dip, and it stopped them dead in their tracks within minutes. Permethrin (10%) is the way to go. And burn the inside of the pens if you can. Grrrr!!!
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Quote: mites feed on blood, so if the load is severe the bird could become severely anemic. I rescued a pair of cochins this last spring that were swarming with parasites, internal and external. the hen was so anemic her comb and wattles were pale pink... after treatment and a good month on free range she finally reddened back up, but never did lay well for me, so i sold them again.

i use ivermectin pour-on with the birds twice a year and a permethrin spray in the coops. since i free range mostly, i only have a few small breeding pens that i can move around if needed.
 
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mites feed on blood, so if the load is severe the bird could become severely anemic. I rescued a pair of cochins this last spring that were swarming with parasites, internal and external. the hen was so anemic her comb and wattles were pale pink... after treatment and a good month on free range she finally reddened back up, but never did lay well for me, so i sold them again.

i use ivermectin pour-on with the birds twice a year and a permethrin spray in the coops. since i free range mostly, i only have a few small breeding pens that i can move around if needed.
So let me ask you this (if you don't mind) I know someone who uses front line for dogs on the chickens. He sprays a little squirt near their glands and says it works great for keeping lice away. Would this work on mites too? Also how do you know if your birds have mites? Can you see them? I am new at raising chickens so excuse my stupid questions ....
 

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