getting rid of mites naturally?

[ReliezFarm]

Get a good sized cat litter pan and make them a dust bath with lots of diatomaceous earth. Spreading it around the stall might help, but they really need to rub it in, because that's how it physically kills the mites.
There are instruction here for how to make a 'dust bath' for them. I have free roaming birds and in my garden of herbs where they like to snack, I have an area against the house with lots of loose dirt and diatomaceous where they flop around.
it's sooo cute!

 

[ChickenTripp]

I have an old tire in their coop filled with sand, soil, DE and a little charcoal, but I haven't seen them use it yet. The snow is covering the frozen ground outside. Maybe a bigger container (cat pan, like you said) would entice them to take their dust bath!

 

[ReliezFarm]

Throw some treats in there so they can explore and find it

 

[annagoodspeed]

It looks like I have a bird or two that have depluming mites, feathers with horizontal lines of missing feather material, etc. I have started feeding garlic, but the logistics of processing 20 cloves a day for the whole flock sounded daunting, so started researching sulphur powder as a possible alternative. I just found this study that I hadn't found referred to in any forums. Not specific for depluming but sounds great for everything else, hopefully it will work for them too, either in a bath or in feed, some are using it at .3% of ration...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22458590

 

[annagoodspeed]

Here is something for Chooks4life, it looks like fermenting garlic maintains allicin levels and also increases sulfur. This might be worth looking into more, for me, processing a bunch of garlic into a fermented paste would be more efficient than a daily chopping?

http://www.fortheloveofbody.com/blog/m6nrc5uas1toswe5oaikwda00vjfg1z


As a fermentation nerd, I've been studying the effects of fermentation on garlic's medicinal properties and am thrilled that allicin content does not reduce during fermentation and increased sulfur compounds are formed, (Journal: Food Science and Biotechnology & LaChance). One study found that fermenting the garlic increased antioxidant properties by up to 13 times compared to the control garlic. The fermented garlic had increased polyphenols as well as higher amounts of SOD (superoxide dismutase), an important part of the antioxidant chain which reduces free radical damage, (Journal: Plant Foods for Human Nutrition).

Linking around from this, and what is says in the text, if allicin is only active for 60 minutes after crushing, I can't see how a long term ferment could even start to hold and maintain levels. Another source mentioned not crushing cloves before ferment to preserve it until crushed and eaten.
For this thread though, maybe the most import thing is the increased sulphur levels in terms of repelling mites?
Sorry for getting so caught up here, just excited about new ways to keep a healthy balance out there with the girls!

 

[Wilson74]

I have read that wood ash kills lice and mites as long as it stays dry. I added a bunch to some sand and DE in a plastic bin I placed under my raised coop for a dust bath. Hoping to stay ahead it before it becomes a problem. I am also looking for a solution out in my free range fenced run that they use most of the day. I sprinkle, (heavily) DE out there about every 2 weeks.

 

[casportpony]

I have read that wood ash kills lice and mites as long as it stays dry. I added a bunch to some sand and DE in a plastic bin I placed under my raised coop for a dust bath. Hoping to stay ahead it before it becomes a problem. I am also looking for a solution out in my free range fenced run that they use most of the day. I sprinkle, (heavily) DE out there about every 2 weeks.

DE didn't work for me, and someone just posted about hundreds of mites crawling all over the layer they had in their nest box.

 

[amarti23]

Quote:
Funnily enough I never use chemicals and have never had a problem with lice or mites, even when heavily overstocked for a long time. Neither do I vaccinate or give medicated crumble or feeds or use man made antibiotics. Don't believe chemicals are the only way, they're a way that must be phased out to move forwards into a future that leaves a functioning world for future generations. I don't have lice or worm problems in the first place because I always feed raw garlic and kelp. If I bring in a new bird from outside breeders with for instance scaly mites or heavy lice, I treat that bird through diet, and for messed up scales I use Stockholm Tar (multiply boiled pine sap) or other natural things like neem. I don't bother treating the perches or the other birds. They're fine because they're abhorrent to parasites due to their health and their garlic-rich diet. I never wash or dust for lice. It's all quite easy once you start with garlic and kelp, and just maintain that. I do give other herbs too, like sage, rosemary etc, which are also vermin-repelling.
Quote:
Have you heard of the deep litter composting method? I highly recommend it. It was developed by some American scientist who studied it for decades and proved its worth. It shows that the cleaner you keep the environment, the more birds you lose. Good healthy deep litter only needs occasional liming and sometimes charcoal, and clean out excess once a year or so, for your garden, but never fully clean. It isn't bone dry, but it's full of healthy microbes, fungi etc which act in such a way as to immunize your poultry and kill diseases in the litter. It basically makes a cultivating layer of healthy organisms that keep it sweet, clean, and healthy, unlike a regularly cleaned coop floor which sours up quickly and tends to stink. Once you get a healthy litter going it takes care of itself, basically.

@the threadstarter saying their chickens have black spots in their crest and wattles... That sounds like something other than lice, to me. I've seen chickens get mold on their crests and wattles, when not kept on regular garlic. Once you raise a bird on medicated feeds and vaccinate it, though, it can be pretty impossible to get it up to the standard of health comparable to a bird raised naturally; it took me a couple of natural generations before the chicks started to show all the benefits that had been put into their parents. I'm quite a newbie but I have dealt with chemicalized and non-chemicalized birds in sickness and in health and I'll never bother with one of them again... Guess which. You just can't restore full health once it's been artificially destroyed. We aren't adapted to cope with the chemicals we're using, and we confuse surviving with thriving.

How much garlic are you feeding your birds? We have 4 birds. We lost 3 out of our 4 and brought one from one farm and two from another. I checked everyone today and the one had a tiny white bug crawling in the feathers on the back of bed neck. I would prefer to treat naturally.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Ok, I've got a "mite" issue, thing is not sure what kind of mite it is. Took samples to the Dept of Ag, told it's a mite, not bird mite but unsure what kind. It's not red nor dark, it's straw colored or crumble feed. Have not found any on the chickens, nor the roosts or in the nest box, only on the ground. I have wood shavings on the clay dirt ground, my girls (4) do not free range, sprinkle DE in the shavings & girls, I ferment their feed and when I close them up at night I do scatter some feed on the ground for treat.

Last Thurs when I went in the enclosure, I saw tiny mites crawling up my legs. Freaked out, went out & got Permethrin 10, calculated the ratio wrong (15ml/gallon) & sprayed (afternoon) a whole gallon in the enclosure (8x12x7), saturated the framework & stirred up the shavings, even misted the girls. Since then I wear my black rubber boots so I can check for crawly mites, spray the boots upon exiting with Raid.

Have since sprinkled more DE & Poultry Dust in the shavings, sprayed Neem Oil (Sat) on the shavings & enclosure framework I think is working the best. Yesterday I got some Sevin, dusted the girls on my lap & never saw any mites on them nor myself. This morning didn't see any climbing up my boot, this afternoon I placed a their lettuce in a plastic dog bowl on the ground & saw a bunch of mites. Squished them, looked at my boots, nothing so maybe the Raid build up?

Someone said it's best to spray Permethrin at night, which I did this evening. Didn't see any crawling on the roost, sprayed anyway & moved the shavings around. Misted the girls too. After this I'm going to rest a week with the Permethrin & dusting.

This thread is of interest, I'd prefer "organic" instead of chemicals....How much garlic? How is it fermented, just add to the FF? Anyone know what kind of mite looks similar to bird mite but it's straw colored? Will be doing more Neem Oil cause I'm not sure what I'm dealing with. Ideas appreciated.

 

[Connie&Xiongni]

Just had my first experience with mites. Yuck! I completely emptied, sanitized the coop, I loaded the walls, noxes, roost with DE. I bathed the birds in DE. Then again later that night. Was better. Next morning I bathed only one bird because she was the worst off. She was 70% better than day before. Tonight I am bathing them down again. Every week when I clean their coop I will dust everything down again. Poor birds, I had no clue. I'll be a better mama after this.