Egads...Mites...I was sooo embarrassed...

Camelot Farms

Chickenista
10 Years
Jun 5, 2009
5,840
28
241
VA,TN,NC Tri-State area
Had a gentleman stop out tonight to look at a pair of OEGB's that I want to rehome. He is holding the little roo and I have the hen. I am giving him the whole story on how we take care of our birds, the NPIP process etc. I happen to mention that all of the breeders were recently treated for mites. He flips the roo upside down and says 'uh oh, whatever you did...didnt work'

I nearly melted in embarrassment. The little fella was teeming with mites.

So now I have to retreat all of the breeders again. Anyone have a suggestion on a good product?
 
If you have the time, I washed mine with Dawn detergent soap in warm water once, then 2 weeks later again with Dawn detergent. It works great as a chemical-free alternative to killing mites. It kills them equally as good as Sevin, as far as my testing showed. However, it takes a long time to blow dry them afterward, 30-45 minutes ( you must make them absolutely dry, even in 75 degree weather because they need dry feathers to regulate their basic body temps).

Do your birds have a dust bath? That should keep them mite-free. Put dirt, sand, and ashes in the dust bath to choke out any mite attempts.
 
Last edited:
Quote:
I was mortified! Thankfully, he could see that we take good care of the birds, We had just finished watering and had our ACV out and all of the feeders and waterers were sparkling clean. Bedding was nice and deep and clean. Had my records available for when they had been wormed etc.

So, I dont think he thought I was a bad bird keeper. I just felt like one. So glad that I mentioned it before he saw them. Ugh! I am still blushing at the thought of it...
 
Quote:
I will find the time! Of course it 40 degrees here right now. I could bring them in and after the bath just leave them inside til they finish drying. Guess I know what I will be doing for the next few days....birdie baths.
 
Good Gawd, that's the stuff of nightmares. How embarrassing. So sorry that happened to you.

What the h-e-double toothpicks was that bird thinking when he invited all of those insects to take up residence?

Good luck with the treatment phase.

Renee
 
Here is a copy of an old thread, written by threehorses; hope it helps:


There are a lot of them aren't there?

I wouldn't recommend Capstar, no. There are systemic products that are useful, drop on, but you'd be looking at ivermectin 5% pour on for cattle, or Eprinex by Ivomec - also pour-on. More on that later.

Mite prevention is best done by painting the wood in the coops so that all the cracks, joints, and eyes on the wooden walls 3' up, on the roosts, on the nest boxes, etc are filled in. In the old days they painted with creosote, but we've found that it's not so healthy to birds (or humans).

However, there are permethrin products for goats, cattle, and poultry that are very safe and easy to use.

The simplest for birds is "poultry dust" that contains permethrin. Just check the label for PERmethrin. Its's marketed in shaker cans under a bunch of different names. You can also get a liquid permethrin to spray on the wood if you have mites. Mites spend the majority of their time on the wood, not on the bird. Lice are the opposite. So for mites you spray the wood, dust the birds (or use ivermectin or eprinomectin), and dust the bedding. For lice you dust the birds (and you can use ivermectin or eprinomectin) and the bedding, nestbox materials, but don't have to spray wood as they lay their eggs on the bird.

There's a product called Poultry Protector that looks promising for washing lice eggs off of birds, mite eggs off of wood, but I personally would still have some chemicals around (as much as I hate chemicals) just in case.

On ivermectin, it's also a wormer. So you would want to use it carefully as it's a very strong wormer.

I personally recommend that you pre-treat with wazine first if your bird fits any of the following statements:
- The bird is under 4 months old (then dust only, use wazine only)
- The bird hasn't been wormed in 6 months.
- The bird is thin or has diarrhea
- The bird has an unknown worming history
- The bird is shedding worms.

Wazine will paralyze only adults, while ivermectin kills adults and larva. If your bird has an unrecognized heavy infestation, then starting with ivermectin could kill all the worms and shock or stress the bird unnecessarily. So it's a good idea to worm first with Wazine to get the numbers down so that you can use Ivermectin thereafter.

I just worm with Wazine 17 (piperazine 17%) first, and then 2-4 weeks later use ivermectin or eprinomectin (or fenbendazole if I'm just treating parasites, not mites or lice). Then I use the ivermectin when needed for lice/mites, or twice annually for worming.

But if your birds are likely worm free and you get mites/lice that take blood, you can certainly use the pour on versions of ivermectin or eprinomectin. I like the generic ivermectin as 250ml is only $14 and it lasts ages! I had lice come into my flock this year, sucking lice (not just poultry lice) and they bloomed quickly. I treated on day one and it took three days for all the lice to take blood, so over three days I saw all the lice die off. It's supposed to have a 28 day effect in cattle. I know it has a three to four day effect (at least) in poulltry. My hens also gained weight. (They were behind on their worming, which I do twice annually).

So, I hope this info helps. Keeping this stuff on hand so it's there when you need it really helps. In my case, I had the stuff when I needed to treat for lice and thankfully because they went from practically no lice to absolutely covered quickly.

Also checking for lice and their nits frequently helps. (Although obviously it doesn't keep them away, as I found out this year). Check for mites at night as that's when they move onto the birds on the roosts.

Incidentally, some people like to try more natural products in hopes of reducing the threat of mites and lice, mostly lice really as they spend time on the bird.

DE (food grade only please) can be used in the dust bathing areas - just sprinkle on top, stir into the soil. Scrape bedding aside- use on the floor, replace the bedding, sprinkle on the bedding, stir in. Never use to dust the birds, never breathe it in, and never have them there when you're applying it. Some people feel this helps to keep lice down. I think there's something to it.

Here's another thread ...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=208399
 
Quote:
I was mortified! Thankfully, he could see that we take good care of the birds, We had just finished watering and had our ACV out and all of the feeders and waterers were sparkling clean. Bedding was nice and deep and clean. Had my records available for when they had been wormed etc.

So, I dont think he thought I was a bad bird keeper. I just felt like one. So glad that I mentioned it before he saw them. Ugh! I am still blushing at the thought of it...

You are not alone!!! I've had the same thing happen before..and I had just dusted everyone about 2 weeks before that happened to me...embarrasing for sure!
barnie.gif
 
Quote:
I will find the time! Of course it 40 degrees here right now. I could bring them in and after the bath just leave them inside til they finish drying. Guess I know what I will be doing for the next few days....birdie baths.

FYI - you HAVE to blow dry them, even if they are indoors. They are completely unable to regulate body temps with wet feathers, and can get sick if they are sitting around wet even if it's 70 degrees inside.

Also, just like with the heavy chemical treatments, you have to wash them in Dawn again in 2 weeks, because of the mite cycle (the eggs hatch) after the second washing inDawn, no more mites OR eggs!
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom