Feather mite reinfestation

[PotassiumJunkie]

Got on top of a bad case of feather mites but it keeps coming back!!

The coop has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected so not sure why it keeps happened.

I know there’s obviously the chance of reinfection but I mean it’s literally just a constant cycle of I treat, it clears up, it comes back very soon after

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Eggcessive]

I have never dealt with feather mites. What have you treated wpyour chickens with to get rid of them? Have you tried a product with permethrin or pyrethrins in the coop? Or have you used ivermectin on the chickens? It seems that I have read where feather mites are difficult and may need ivermectin to kill them. It is usually applied to the back of the neck and repeated in 14 days. The dosage depends on the product used. Here is alink to read about depluming mites:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry

 

[RoosterML]

Do you have other birds getting into around the coop of chickens?

 

[PotassiumJunkie]

Yeah, I phoned the local chicken vet who recommended ivermectin and dosed them at 14 day intervals for 6 weeks, was good for about a month after that, started losing feathers again, treated them with 1 treatment again (didn’t do 2 week intervals this time though, just a one off treatment) Was good for another wee while and now they’re losing feathers again.

Haven’t used permethrin inside the coop! Maybe I should do this? Just cleaned with poultry guard and scrubbed a lot!

Wild birds do occasionally be around the coop but I had 2 years without issues and now just constant. And the birds are around way less than they used to be since I put up a bird table at the other end of the garden because they get food there instead of having to go to coop

 

[Kiki]

Got on top of a bad case of feather mites but it keeps coming back!!

The coop has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected so not sure why it keeps happened.

I know there’s obviously the chance of reinfection but I mean it’s literally just a constant cycle of I treat, it clears up, it comes back very soon after

What am I doing wrong?

What are you using to clean with?

 

[Kiki]

Yeah, I phoned the local chicken vet who recommended ivermectin and dosed them at 14 day intervals for 6 weeks, was good for about a month after that, started losing feathers again, treated them with 1 treatment again (didn’t do 2 week intervals this time though, just a one off treatment) Was good for another wee while and now they’re losing feathers again.

Haven’t used permethrin inside the coop! Maybe I should do this? Just cleaned with poultry guard and scrubbed a lot!

Wild birds do occasionally be around the coop but I had 2 years without issues and now just constant. And the birds are around way less than they used to be since I put up a bird table at the other end of the garden because they get food there instead of having to go to coop

14 days is not good enough.

You need to try using pernethrin on BOTH the birds and coop WEEKLY for no less than 3 straight weeks to break the mite life cycle.

This is extremely easy to use:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/martins-horse-stable-permethrin-citronella-spray-1-qt

 

[Eggcessive]

Kiki, isn’t ivermectin one of the few treatments for depluming mites, as I posted earlier with this link:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry
It say that ivermectin can be used to treat the mites, which the OP says works, or Malathion or Sevin which I would use for the coop, not the birds. Permethrin would be safer to use on the coop, and a product with spinosad might also be good.