Definitely mites. Now what?

[Lnzsmith]

So our old Buff definitely has mites. Saw them running on her red belly. It is November in Missouri, so dipping her is a bit worrisome. She has brand new coop mates (haven't introduced them yet but due to complicated circumstances they are in her coop and she is on our sunporch so of course they now have mites too, we didn't completely clean the coop although we changed the chips etc).

Please give me a step by step to how we should treat them and the coop.

Any tips for prevention in the future would be great. They are garden helper birds so they will always free range and come in contact with wild bird areas.

Does using Ivermectin (what we use to worm 2x a year) work on mites as well?

TIA all! This forum saved our older Buff with a serious prolapse this summer, though sadly she got taken by a fox (we think) last week...

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes lice can be mistaken for mites. Lice are fast moving, while mites are slow. Lice will leave small white clumps of eggs at the base of feathers. I would use permethrin which comes in powder (garden dust) and in liquid concentrate for mixing gallons of spray for things like the coop, nests, etc. It is safe for chickens. There are directions on how to mix it on the label for both the chickens and the coop treatment. The dust may be better for the chickens in cold weather, but you will still need to treat both them and the coop every 7-10 days for a few times until they are gone. Here is some reading about lice and mites:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

 

[Lnzsmith]

Oh it's definitely mites...slow moving and gross. And she's pretty covered. I read over the Chicken Chick info but no way can we buy her expensive delousing agent, don't have an extra 75 cents around here much less $175!!

Okay, permethrin. I read somewhere, I think the Chicken Chick, NOT to use the garden dust?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Lnzsmith Welcome To BYC

You can find permethrin based poultry dust or spray at most feed stores like Tractor Supply. Read the labels, some products do say "garden and poultry" as long as labeling includes instructions for use on poultry your good to go
Here's a few that some members found:https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pesticides-approved-for-poultry-in-the-us.1151513/

 

[Eggcessive]

TSC sells permethrin (Control Solution10%) pints for $10-11. It mixes many gallons for a bottle sprayer or a hand sprayer. It is a better buy than the dust. Many people have used Sevin dust although permethrin is probably a little safer, although I use it. It is not approved for poultry nowadays.

 

[Lnzsmith]

Thanks! Okay, I have been reading up on all this. I think we'll dust her and the new chickens (it's too cold to spray her I think, plus she seems fairly weakened by all this, and here we thought she was just sad about the fox taking the Buff she was bonded with). Then we'll spray out the coop this weekend (the first time I can get to it).

Can we dust her at like 10 p.m.? My husband won't be home until then. Of course by then she is deeply asleep? Will it cause her to go into shock or something? Otherwise we won't be able to do it until tomorrow afternoon (not asking the kids to do this obv) and she is pretty horribly infested. Like all over.

 

[Lnzsmith]

I feel like it's too cold to spray her?

 

[Lnzsmith]

Okay, I just read that permethrin is highly toxic to cats. We have 6 that are all over, all the time. What are we going to do???

 

[Folly's place]

I too have cats, but not in the coop at night. Go out with a flashlight, and wearing a N95 dust mask (from the paint department) and treat all the birds and the coop. Permethrin spray concentrate is the least expensive useful product out there! You aren't drenching them in liquid; a few spritzes will do! Permethrin dust is much harder to use, and the spray does a better job on the walls and roosts.
By morning, everything will be dry, and safe. Of course you aren't spraying the cats!
Doing the birds on their roosts with spray is the least stressful method; no muss, no fuss, no time at all and it's all done! Mary

 

[Eggcessive]

When I dust my chickens, I put on a headlamp at night, and grab each chicken off the roost, and do what I need to do--check them, dust or worm them, and set them back on the roost. If your headlamp has a red light, it can be easier to sneak up on them. Then I calm them down, and apply the dust. Dawg53 used to suggest placing the dust in a pillow case and putting the chicken inside up to the neck to apply dust. Others take a pair of panty hose, put dust inside and pat the chickens with that. Mites hatch out within 7 days, so you will ned to repeat the treatment at least once or twice to get the newly hatched mites beofre they are able to reproduce.