Little black things

[dopderbeck]

One of my bantam Easter egged is broody and she's been sitting the other girls' non-fertile eggs. Today we collected some eggs from under her and they had a bunch of tiny little black bugs on them. She otherwise seems fine. Here's a pic of one of the bugs. Hoping these are just random bugs and not mites.

 

[triplepurpose]

Hard to see from the pic, but if it were me, I'd put some DE in that nest, if you haven't already. Brooding hens (and hatchlings) are exceptionally vulnerable to lice and mites as they're stuck in one spot for so long. DE is cheap enough and safe so I always use it when I have hens setting just as a precaution. I just sprinkle a bit over the nest and eggs and apply some to the hen as well, rubbing it into her feathers well (ie getting it agains the skin). I'll do it at the start of the setting and then a couple days before the hatch is due (more often if I see obvious parasites).

 

[dopderbeck]

Thanks what is DE?

 

[dawg53]

Forget the DE and use sevin dust. Dust all your birds as well as inside the coop including nests. Redust your birds again in 7-10 days.

 

[dopderbeck]

So are these mites do you think? Is it because the weather here in the northeast has been so damp?

 

[triplepurpose]

Thanks what is DE?

DE is diatomaceous earth. The fossilized shells of microscopic sea creatures (diatomes). It's a fine white powder sold in bags at hardware, garden, or feed stores for use as a safe insecticide etc. Safe, because it works mechanically to kill insects by abrasion/dehydration rather than by chemical poisoning. You still don't want to inhale it though, any more than any other fine dust. Make sure what you get is "food grade" (not the kind used for pool filters or whatever)--it will say "food grade" somewhere on the bag. You can use it quite liberally, without worrying about over-use. I apply it all around the coop periodically by the handful, especially on the roosts and around the feed and water and in the nestboxes.

For some reason, lots of people seem to think that it doesn't work, but it's always worked for me and it's nice that I don't have to worry about poisoning myself or my animals with harsher stuff. Be aware however, that like many natural remedies, it doesn't necessarily work INSTANTANEOUSLY like a bolt of lightening, and if there are bad coop-wide cases of lice and mites you may have to apply it on a regular basis for a little while until it's under control--but it does work. I have always been able to use it to control lice and mites, even when there were severe epidemics in the past. I therefore recommend it to all my consultees and workshop participants too. I suspect a lot of people think it's worthless because they get some and sprinkle a bit (probably not enough) around, one time, and then conclude DE "just doesn't work" because it didn't instantly and magically kill every single louse in the coop with it's magic invisible "DE rays." And then they give up too soon without follow ups or giving it a chance to work.

Anyway, excuse my long-windedness, and good luck, whatever course you take!