lice and mites

[dawg53]

I lived in Camden county, Ga (just south of you on the Florida border) for most my life until 3 years ago, never had a problem with mites and one case of lice. Sevin dust kills lice on contact, DE wont. No need to treat your birds unless they actually have external parasites. Simply inspect them occasionally for external parasites. Telltale signs that lice are present is that you'll observe excessive scratching, constant dust bathing, and feather/fluff loss due to scratching, excessive preening. Lice are white or off white in color and move quickly through feathers and fluff. Mites look like black or red pepper, move slowly or not at all. They suck blood causing anemia, then death. The vent area is a favorite place for external parasites due to it being warm and moist.
As far as mosquitos are concerned in our area; put screen on coop vents and entrance to coop to deter them (see pic below.)
Alot of folks around our area vaccinate their birds against fowl pox which is a virus carried by mosquitos. For reference, here's a link with pics what external parasites to look for... you'll need a magnifying glass to identify whatever parasite(s) your birds may have:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140

 

[LoveThemBirds]

Will lice from chickens get on you,as well as mites?

 

[kimthom66]

You have ro actually have a bird in contact with it.There is no prevention,until they get it.

Can you treat for it if you suspect mites or lice but haven't seen any? I've seen reduced eggs production and feather picking

 

[kimthom66]

We didn't put any treatment in with our chickens till they actually had lice. We use Seven powder and put it in the coop, along with dusting our chickens twice a year.

Do you refrain from eating eggs after treating with Sevin? And do you treat 2x a year whether you see lice and mites or not just as a preventative?

 

[harrellkd]

So lately I have been seeing lots of small red and clear round mite looking creatures on the floor of my coop. My coop is located under a pine tree. I have checked the birds multiple times, different times a day, and never seem to see the mites on them. All of the birds look and act very healthy. The mites seem to be around any damp food, veggies and fruit more than anything else (particularly tomatoes). I read somewhere about spider mites? How in the world do I determine what type of mites these are and if they are harmful to my birds?