First Time Owning Chicks

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TurkeyGobble

TurkeyGobble

Hatching
8 Years
Feb 2, 2011
6
0
7
Hello. I am from Florida. I just moved into a new house and I have a nice sized, fencened in back yard, so I figured I would get some chickens and let them run around back there. I have had my chickens for 4 days now. I love them, they are just wonderful. I thought this site would be a good place to help me learn about taking care of chickens with help of knowledge from more experinced chicken owners. I have a male and female rhode island red, a baby silkie and a turken, which is a crossbreed of a turkey and a chicken. I have a couple of questions about my turken and I was wondering if anyone would be able to answer them.

I noticed yesterday as I was puting the turken back in the coop that he had little white things all over his head and neck. The are very visible to the naked eye and about half a millimeter in size. Some most seemed stationary, but I did see a couple moving. Does anyone have any idea what these things are? Could they be some sort of lice, mite or flea? How would he have contracted these things? How do I get rid of them? Would the other bords have gotten them as well because they are kept in the same coop? If I have to treat all of the birds and is it okay to treat the baby silkie who is only a week and a bit old? The rest of the birds are pretty young too, not even old enough to produce eggs but they are almost at that age. I also have cats in the house, would they need to be treated as well? And what about myself, clothing and other household fabrics because I was holding him as I noticed the white things.

If anyone is able to answer these questions it is much apprechiated. I am very worried about my little guys.
 
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from Ohio
 
First off
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this is a great site. Your Turken is not a cross between a turkey and a chicken. He/she is all chicken. They were bred with less feathers so they would be easier to pluck. Yes it sounds like you have mites. Not real sure what to use as so far I have never had that problem,but you need to address it quickly as it can cause big problems and you will have to treat all your birds. Check some other areas on here. Also place a post in emergencies on how to treat there are alot of knowledgeable people on here. I have 2 Turken aka Naked Necks. They are great birds.
 
Welcome from Northern California.
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I've never had a problem with mites myself (yet) but as Sheila said, you should check with the Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures section of the forum. I know there are treatments I've seen at the local feed store that are to treat mites. You will probably need to treat all your birds as well as the coop.
 
Hi there, and Welcome from another Floridian! Make sure you register on the Floridian Thread under "where are you-where am I?".

I treated mites with the Seven powder (although it is called something else now - check your nearest feed store), and have not had a re-infection. My mites were dark colored, though, so I'm wondering if these might be lice?
 
I have read that Sevin Dust is a good product to use to treat mites. But if it is lice do you think I could use that same stuff?

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!
 
5% Sevin is often used, but so are Pyrethrin/permiehrin products, and I would choose these for your young birds as I personally feel they are probably safer. You can buy poultry dust at the feed store or Adams' flea and tick spray (for dogs and cats) at the vet or WalMart. If you have a TSC you can buy these ceimicals in a spray or dust for chickens.

You have to treat all the chickens and the coop. You don't have to treat people or other animals; they only affect birds. (they might climb on you for a minute but will not infest you.)

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=425486

People who use a dust often put the whole bird, except the head of course, in a bag and dust with the bag gathered around the neck. Or you can make a powder puff thingy out of nylon hose or the like and puff it on them. Since you have them on heads, you will probably have to use a spray and spray it on your hand or something and wipe their heads. You will have to treat everything again, at least once, as the first application won't kill the eggs, so they will hatch.

It's a pain but you can win against them. Good luck.
 
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Welcome to BYC. Sounds like lice. Sevin dust will kill them right away, redust them in 10 days to kill hatched nits. Include dusting inside their house, roosts and nests. Again, redust everything in 10 days.
 

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