How I'm treating a lice and mite outbreak (pics tomorrow)

[suburbanminifarm]

Ugh -- I've had the worst time with mites this year..... the silkies get them the worst by far, and especially white silkies!
I used to just give a bit of ivomectrin horse wormer in the beak, and then dust with D.E.
But this isn't enough for a really bad problem. I had to cave in and buy poultry dust (permetherin) for both the birds and the coops.
Seriously, the mites were so bad I was finding them IN THE HOUSE - -I assume hitchhiking in on our clothes or on the house serama when she comes in to roost at night.
AND-- get this---- the mites were actually biting US!!!!
Has anyone ever heard of this???? Ever???? The kids and I had many very itchy bites that last a long time, untill I got SERIOUS with the problem and poisoned the little bastards.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Do not use tea tree oil on birds. It is toxic to them.

Are you sure they were mites and not fleas or chiggers? Some poultry mites and lice will taste mammals, but most are not interested in continuing to feed on us...we taste nasty to them (

thank goodness). If the bites lasted a long time, I think you probably had chiggers, which will bite most critters. (Ouch, scratch, scratch, ouch, scratch , scratch!)

 

[suburbanminifarm]

They were definitely mites! We don't have chiggers here in So-Cal, and I got plenty of very close looks at them. They were on the birds, in the straw, and on our arms and clothing if we went to gather eggs or whatnot. They bit us for like 3 days. Perhaps they bit out of a sort of desperation for a meal after I dusted the birds? I researched it and I know they are a species- specific parasite, I know they eventually die if not on a bird; however I am positive about what I observed. It's disgusting and creepy, I know. I have cleaned the entire house and washed EVERYTHING! I had nightmares about this too... I'll always be more proactive about mites from now on obviously.....

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

The Chicken Health Handbook by Gail Damerov has a diagnostic section about expernal parasites to enable you to closely identify the exact critter that is biting your bird (and you).

 

[suburbanminifarm]

below is a cut and paste about fowl mites....
I should add that one of my seramas insists upon sleeping 50 feet up on a tree with some goldfinches; that may be where the problem originated i don't know for sure....:

""Mites that normally infest birds also bite people. The northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) and chicken mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) primarily infest chickens, but also pigeons, starlings and sparrows. The northern fowl mite cannot survive for more than a month off its host, while the chicken mite hides in cracks and crevices near bird nests during the day and feeds by night. Cheyletiella mites infest both birds and mammals. They may prey on other mites and insects living on the host’s skin. They can cause a mange-like condition in pets, and itching in people who handle infested pets. They do not stay long on humans""