Help! Chicks with Fleas

[jlgoinggreen]

Hi,
I have 19 Buff Orpington Chicks that are 1 week and 4 days old. I am very worried because I brought in 2 baby Guineas today and I think they had fleas. My Chicks were fine until the Guineas arrived. Now everyone in the brooder is going crazy picking at the bedding and each other. Earlier I felt something crawling on me and it was this really tiny black thing that jumped off before I could get a good look. I was told the Guineas are 3 weeks old. Do you think they will eat all the fleas? Will my Chicks get sick from this?

These are my first Chicks and now I am so upset and worried. What should I do? Should I return the Guineas? I don't understand how they can have fleas? I thought they ate bugs?

 

[Judy]

Much more likely they are mites and/or lice, common in wild birds, than fleas. You will have to treat all the birds and the brooder or coop, and retreat at least once to kill eggs that will hatch later. You can use permethrin dust or spray, Sevin, or some other treatments. Permethrin is easy to find, as poultry dust in the feed store, or as flea spray in the dog/cat section.

Here is just one of many threads on here about them:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=228329

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
Uuuugh! Thank you so much. This is so upsetting. I really regret taking these birds. My Chicks were so healthy and beautiful.

 

[Judy]

One of those "old sayings" about chickens is, if you have chickens, you have mites and lice. I know it is upsetting that the guineas brought you such a load of them -- but you would have had to deal with them anyway, at least after they got outside. Just a wild bird flying over is all it takes.

Look on the bright side. Because the load is heavy, you saw it in plenty of time to find out what to do and get your program started. Sometimes they sneak up on folks and can actually kill some birds before it is understood what is going on.

 

[jlgoinggreen]

Quote:
This is so true! Thank you. I just read the other post and it helped a lot....not only for now, but for me to know what to look for in the future. Thank you so much!