Gonna have to dust my coop and birds....annnnnnddddd??????

[pollitohenhouse]

As a new chicken herder...I am slowly learning the do's and dont's of raising back yard chickens. I live in Maine, and in the middle of this harsh winter, 1 rooster has had frostbite, a couple other roosters are bobing their heads in discomfort and scratching. I know my coop is too cold and yet some how dampish and very dusty. I have chosing to not use heat lamps in the coop ( from advice). Possible mites?? even in winter???? SOOOO...is a winter bird and coop dusting in order?? And as that goes..i did hours of research on dusting my birds (BYC,google<youtube,ect,ect) and all I've run into is controversy on the subject!!!!!! Do I use D.E. food grade? Do I use sevin dust 5%? Do I use wood ash? A mixture of the 3? HEEELLLP ME PLEASE

 

[justplainbatty]

As a new chicken herder...I am slowly learning the do's and dont's of raising back yard chickens. I live in Maine, and in the middle of this harsh winter, 1 rooster has had frostbite, a couple other roosters are bobing their heads in discomfort and scratching. I know my coop is too cold and yet some how dampish and very dusty. I have chosing to not use heat lamps in the coop ( from advice). Possible mites?? even in winter???? SOOOO...is a winter bird and coop dusting in order?? And as that goes..i did hours of research on dusting my birds (BYC,google<youtube,ect,ect) and all I've run into is controversy on the subject!!!!!! Do I use D.E. food grade? Do I use sevin dust 5%? Do I use wood ash? A mixture of the 3? HEEELLLP ME PLEASE

Of the three, sevin is the only one that will work for infested birds. The other two are only somewhat of a preventative measure.

Welcome to our flock!

 

[FoxHead]

I live in Michigan and I feel your pain!!!! I am learning a lot about proper ventilation in my coop, even for winter months. I found this helpful link on BYC...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

This winter, one of my roosters has frost bite on his comb and wattles. Once I saw it coming on, I would caught him, and GENTLY applied antibiotic ointment for three days. It got a little worse before it got better. The fourth day it appeared less angry so on the fifth/sixth day I used Vaseline. Since then it looks to be drying up and it is quite scabby, but it is not getting worse. However, next year, I will apply Vaseline to all combs and wattles once the temps dip below 40 degrees. And between now and then, I plan to work on majorly improve the ventilation in the coop.

As for the possible infestation...personally, I use DE for dusting inside my coop, but I rarely use much of it because I am still learning more. From what I remember, it does kill lice/mites, and help break down fecal matter. Sorry I don't have more to offer on that, but BYC will help.

Best of luck!

 

[Wisher1000]

Check the vents and under the wings for crawling mites, or signs of mites. If you find any, use 5% Sevin dust, in a sock, as a powder puff and put it all over the birds, one at a time. Then you can spray liquid Sevin on the wood (roosts, walls, nest boxes, etc.) This will do a great job of getting rid of them. The others will likely make no difference at all. You can also use other products, but Sevin is easy, safe, and effective.

Good luck!