could mites or worms be present?

[rhodered10]

i have 10 girls who i have had for over a year now and they have been doing well ( except a feather picking problem) but i have been wondering if i should worm them and dust them on a regular basis because i fear that they may have worms or mites. i have never dusted them with chemical before and i was wondering if i should because more than a few times i have seen a little bug crawling on one of my girls but just asumed that they picked it up outside and would just jump off of them. if i should dust them should i do it on a regular basis? and what product should i use? and also i see my girls flicking their head alot i know chickens do this sometime but how often should they flick their heads until you feel that they have a problem? and also worms, i was also wondering if i should be concerned about worms because i have also never wormed them before and i was wondering if i should also do this on a regulaar basis and also what product should i use? i know i have alot of questions but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[gritsar]

You can do a mite check by arming yourself with a flashlight and going into the coop at night, after the chickens have gone to roost. Check around the vent area for tiny bugs - red, black or white - moving around. Also, around the comb area. I do regular mite checks, but I don't dust or treat unless I see a problem.

I worm once a year with a broad-spectrum wormer, valbazen. Other folks never worm, some only worm with natural products or after a positive fecal float done by the vet.

 

[rhodered10]

thanks, i have no problem using chemicals on my girls if needed my mom prefers that we try to keep the girls all natural or maybe even organic but to me it doesnt really matter as long as they stay healthy, the thing is however if you do do a mite check if u just see one or two bugs should you then treat them for mites or just asume its a normal thing?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I would treat, to keep them from multiplying. I had one hen, just one time, I found to have a few mites. The very next morning I treated the entire flock with a product called Poultry Protector and dusted the coop heavily with DE. Haven't had a problem since.

 

[rhodered10]

might i ask what is DE? and also i have a concern about my girls feather picking problem, they do pick and eat each others feathers so i was wondering if the dust that you use for them could posibly be harmful for them because they would most likly ingest some of the product.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
DE or diatomaceous earth is an all natural product with a variety of uses including pest control. Here's a good thread about it:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=129777

 

[rhodered10]

thanks! i will be sure to look it up and give it a shot!

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
The one thing you need to be absolutely sure of is that the DE you purchase is food grade or Codex. It will say so on the bag. There's more than one type of DE.

 

[Judy]

I have read accounts of finding chickens infested with lice/mites when DE alone was being used as a preventative; it may help but I wouldn't depend on it alone. It is only effective against soft bodied insects. Permethrin is a pretty good compromise -- available as poultry dust, flea and tick spray, several products.

Here's some reading for you:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5770173#p5770173

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[rhodered10]

ok were do you usualy find it? would it be at a store like tsc?