Eww...MITES!

[MagpieDucks]

One of my chickens is somewhat of a special needs bird. She only has full use of one leg, so she has to kind of hop/drag herself around.

She free ranges during the day and only lives with 2 Bantam ducks. There are chickens very close to her but not in direct contact.

She had quite a bit of fecal matter (poop) clustered around her vent/abdomen, and I finally got around to giving her a bath today. I wish I had examined her more closely earlier, because when she was in the water, I noticed a ton of small specks floating in the water. I’ve concluded that they are mites, probably Northern Fowl. I finished bathing her, put my clothes in the wash and took a shower (some were crawling on me).

1. What sort of product would you recommend to treat them with? The chicken The Chicken Chick recommends Elector Psp spray, which I would be all for using except for the fact that it costs $150 for an 8 oz. bottle.

2. Are poultry mites harmful to humans in any way?


Any other information would be useful!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally use a pyrethrin or permethrin based poultry dust. Since she's disabled you are gonna need to dust her probably monthly. You will also need to treat the coop, spraying all roost cracks and any other cracks where mites like to hide. For that I would get the spray.

Initially you will need to treat once a week for 3-4 weeks to break the life cycle.

Mites can get on you and drive you bananas, but they can't live on you. Shower and wash your clothes after handling a mite infested bird.