Hi, new here! ? About bugs in feed

[onaharley]

Hi I am new here. Got a question about possible mites in feed for my ducks. I keep the feed in a plastic garbage can with lid. Today I found what was dust from the chicken scratch I recently bought, is actually little clusters of bugs. Very small but large in numbers- inside and outside of the can. Here is a picture. Can anyone tell me what it is?

 

[JaeG]

Those are grain mites. Some people say don't worry about them and feed the food anyway. Some people return the food for a refund. I've had them twice so far. The first time we took the food back, the second time I couldn't (it was couriered to me so difficult to return). They are a pain and can/do deplete the nutrients in the feed.

 

[onaharley]

Thank you so much! Very helpful

 

[JaeG]

Forgot to say welcome to BYC! (Where are my manners)?! There are lots of wonderfully helpful people on here so don't hesitate to ask any questions you need to.

Whatever you decide to do just make sure you wash out the feed bin well with bleach or similar when you can, and don't have anything else grain based nearby that they can infest too. They like ground up grains (like those in pelleted food) more than whole kernels. They are a bit of a pain!

 

[onaharley]

Thank you!
Yep, I emptied the container! Thank god it was almost gone and I just happened to buy a new bag of feed today. In the morning I will wash it out with bleach and figure out a new place to put the container. I guess it didn't help that the shed is not well ventilated and the last couple of day have been hot and humid! I thought for sure I had bigger problems seeing those things!!! Again thank you! There is a lot info on here and has been really helpful. 1st time have Peking ducks too! Got to make sure my babies are in good health

 

[JaeG]

They are usually already in the food and you just don't notice them until their population explodes! I ended up with them right after I'd been battling red mites in my chicken coop and I freaked out until I did a bit of research.

Your ducks look beautiful - I originally wanted ducks but where I am you weren't allowed them at that time. Now they've changed the rules so I could have ducks, but I'd already got chickens instead. They changed the rules there too from being allowed to keep 12 to only being allowed to keep 6 chickens, so now I have too many (but the neighbours don't mind thankfully).

 

[MalMom]

If you have a big freezer, like a chest freezer, you can freeze your feed for 24 hours to kill mites. You can also do this is wood shavings if you use that for bedding.

 

[onaharley]

Thanks! I cleaned and bleached the container waited 3 days, bought a new bag and place the cleaned container in my garage-not back in the hot shed. Well, a couple of days ago I noticed there are back. I guess I didn't clean it as good as I thought! In the future I will freeze all bags!!!

 

[onaharley]

Now get this, I bought new feed again and put them in the freezer last night. Today I cleaned out the two bins with a lot of bleach! ALOT of bleach! I set them in the sun to dry. Went to check on the dryness and what do I find......grain mites still crawling around! What is it gonna take to get rid of these bastards??? New food is still in freezer, I will see what the bins look like tomorrow before I decide my next plan of action! Soooooo frustrating