Grain mite?

[Eddie12109]

Hi,

I ran out of my regular feed and had to use an older feed, one that I probably have had for more than two months and was transferred from the bag, into an animal, predator proof, plastic feed container.
It’s been about two months and I just discovered this in it... definitely some sort of mite.... should I go buy a new feed?

@azygous @Wyorp Rock @speckledhen

 

[Eddie12109]

Well I opened the container (someone else fed them this morning) and discovered these guys....

Thankfully I got a layer feed today so they can eat that until the other feed ships in. What are these?

My chickens have eaten this feed for half the day today... is there any danger?

 

[aart]

definitely some sort of mite

No. That's some kind of beetle larvae, not grain mites.
Grain mites are tiny, like specks of white dust....that move.

My chickens have eaten this feed for half the day today... is there any danger?

They'll probably be fine, but I'd get fresh feed.

 

[Eddie12109]

So both pictures point to beetles? Even the second one?

They have fresh feed now. I left the lid to the contaminated feed open to grab something and they all started to crawl out... I threw the feed away and rinsed out the bins. Any idea if I need to do more?

 

[aart]

Even the second one?

Not sure what I'm seeing there, too much detritus.

Here's my thread of my first experience with grain mites.
There's a video in the 1st post, and a pic under a microscope in the 5th post:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/grain-mites.981212/

I threw the feed away and rinsed out the bins. Any idea if I need to do more?

That should do it.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Might be grain weevils (hard to see for sure) - not harmful to the chickens but they're compromising the feed by eating it and pooping in it.

Just wash out the bins like you would anything that's soiled, and that should get rid of the ones that were in there.

 

[azygous]

That's a common grain weevil. You'll find them in cereal, rice, flour, cake mixes, etc. They are common in chicken feed as the feed gets farther from its mill date. Aside from indicating the feed is aging and possbly losing nutrients, the weevils are perfectly harmless. To chickens and humans.

If you get grain mites, usually in your meal worm farm, boy, you will know it. They love to escape their growing medium and go walk-abouts in your house. They are also harmless, but when they are invading your house, they can be, well, off-putting. A vacuum cleaner is the remedy. To avoid them use deep bins without covers as they love dampness and humidity.

 

[Eddie12109]

Thank you all for the help!! The grain weevils should now be under control, very happy to know that it wasn’t something that is possibly dangerous.

So is there any way to prevent grain weevils or @azygous are you saying the deep bins without covers are for the grain mites?

The bins are sealed so how could the weevils could’ve gotten in and is the only reason they did because it has been there for a few months?

My feed bins are in my screened in patio so any little bug could’ve gotten into the patio... but the bins?

 

[azygous]

Weevil eggs are present in raw grains. You'd be surprised at how much of our food supply contains insects at various stages of life. Bonus protein! Therefore, if a bag of feed or bag of flour or even a box of breakfast cereal sits around long enough, the eggs hatch and you have weevils. Again, they are harmless.

Mites are the same way. Grain mite eggs also come in much of our grain based foods and if the food happens to absorb moisture from humidity in the air, mites hatch. They do not come from the air outdoors. They come in your packaged food.

Gross? Get used to it. It's a dirty little secret of our food supply no one wants to talk about. But they aren't a danger to human health or animal health.

 

[aart]

So is there any way to prevent grain weevils or @azygous are you saying the deep bins without covers are for the grain mites?

Think the deep bins @azygous referred to were about raising mealworms.