Help! My americauna has feather mites!

[Mo'sMenagerie]

I've been noticing the tail feathers looking pretty ragged on my americauna for quite a while, but being new to this game, I didn't know it was indicative of anything serious. Today, upon further inspection, I see that nearly all her feather (she's a very light colored bird so it was hard to see without getting close) are chewed up. They all looked frayed and ragged. Her oil gland looks scaly and weird too. I am certain she has feather mites (reading Damerow's book on Chicken Health..). I'm about to bite the bullett and purchase Elector PSP after reading that it is great for fowl mites, but it doesn't say it treats the Knemidocoptes gallinae specifically. It's an expensive purchase, and i just want to be sure it will do the trick. Please, any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I've used Elector PSP successfully several times. My own birds and on other peoples. (I even sprayed a wild bird nest on my porch that I could see was crawling)
It's expensive but a little goes a long way. It never expires so you can use it for years to come as long as you store it properly and mix what you need as it's needed.
It stinks to high hell. Rotten potatoes. The smell doesn't last on the birds or in the coop but oh man while you work with it...

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I've been noticing the tail feathers looking pretty ragged on my americauna for quite a while, but being new to this game, I didn't know it was indicative of anything serious. Today, upon further inspection, I see that nearly all her feather (she's a very light colored bird so it was hard to see without getting close) are chewed up. They all looked frayed and ragged. Her oil gland looks scaly and weird too. I am certain she has feather mites (reading Damerow's book on Chicken Health..). I'm about to bite the bullett and purchase Elector PSP after reading that it is great for fowl mites, but it doesn't say it treats the Knemidocoptes gallinae specifically. It's an expensive purchase, and i just want to be sure it will do the trick. Please, any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Knemidocoptes are scaly leg mites.
Elector is a premise spray, are you planning to apply it to your chickens directly?

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

I know for sure that it is the feather mites, and my book, "The Chicken Health Handbook" by Damerow, says that feather mites are Knemidocoptes gallinae . I plan to apply the elector to all of them directly since I'm worried the feather mites could have spread from the one I know has it. I haven't seen sign on the others yet, but I'm guessing I should treat them all right?

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

I've used Elector PSP successfully several times. My own birds and on other peoples. (I even sprayed a wild bird nest on my porch that I could see was crawling)
It's expensive but a little goes a long way. It never expires so you can use it for years to come as long as you store it properly and mix what you need as it's needed.
It stinks to high hell. Rotten potatoes. The smell doesn't last on the birds or in the coop but oh man while you work with it...

Oh wow. That's good to know And have you treated feather mites specifically with the elector?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Oh wow. That's good to know And have you treated feather mites specifically with the elector?

I’ve used it for red mites and poultry lice.

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

I’ve used it for red mites and poultry lice.

Thanks so much!

...Hoping someone can chime in on a success story of using it for feather mites... Bueller?

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I plan to apply the elector to all of them directly since I'm worried the feather mites could have spread from the one I know has it. I haven't seen sign on the others yet, but I'm guessing I should treat them all right?

Good to know about Elector, I like the idea of using this for mites should we need to.
I’d treat them all, and if it takes care of red mites, it should work with other mites that aren’t on the label.

My mistake about the species, K. Gallinae and K. Mutans are found on different regions.

Good luck, I hope you post an update!

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

To clarify I used it on red feather mites. Northern Fowl Mites. And Poultry Lice.
I will say I’ve never had scaly leg mites. If that’s from the Elector PSP I don’t know.
I treat each bird; vent, wing pits, around the neck. I do around the neck because I have a giant Buff Orp rooster that had them on his neck and not on his vent. So it’s an added precaution for everyone now.
Then I spray nooks and crannies and all along the roosts and any other common hang out area.

 

[Mo'sMenagerie]

I will be sure to post an update. The elector should be in the mail Monday. BTW, you think it's ok to treat my 6 week olds with it? I have 3 adult hens (1 who is broody with 3, 4-day old chicks, and have been separate from the flock until just recently when she started coming out to introduce her babies!), and 4 pullets flfingers crossed they are all pullets, lol).