Exactly how can you tell if they have mites??

[MakNat]

I know thats a dumb question. But do they scratch like dogs and cats. Or can you see them. Thats alot of feathers to go through. I looked at a couple of birds and didn't see anything.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This link might help. Photos often do. Usually a check aroud the vent is enough. They hang out around the moisture.

Ohio State – Mites and Lice
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

Don't forget to check after dark in case you have roost mites. They hide in the cracks in the coop during the day and attack at night.

Good luck!!!

 

[CityChook]

I go out at night periodically and check their vent area with a flashlight. Doesn't make the girls happy, but only takes a second. The mites come out at night and will scurry with the light from the flashlight. They are brownish and small, but you'll see the movement.

To dust the chickens, I like Miss Prissy's pantyhose method the best -- fill a pantyhose foot with pyrethrin, turn the chicken over in your lap and poof poof poof. Use your fingers to ruffle their feathers so the dust goes to the skin level. Make sure you get under their tail and under the wings. Takes less than a minute per chicken and you're done. I do it in the coop so any residual dust goes into the shavings. Not a bad idea to dust the roost area and the nest box too.

Red mites are a real problem here when it's cold -- you wouldn't think they could live when it's subzero, but they can. Grrrrr.

Hope this helps.
CC

 

[goldnchocolate]

Try sticking your hand in their nest and leaving it there for a minute. If you have any little "hitchhikers" on your skin you will know it. They are hard to see but their bite packs a wallop!!!!
I have used DE (diatomaceous earth/fossil flour) with good success in treating the chickens for mites. I sprinkle it in their nests, all around their coop, on their roosts and in their dusting holes.

 

[MakNat]

Thanks guys! I think I've lucked out and don't have any!!! I checked a bunch of them late last night. My barn has a limestone floor and they dust in it. And I found one of my DH's bags of concrete tore up and rolled in!! I guess that is doing the trick!!!