Little tiny bugs on the nesting area.

[photo chick]

I was cleaning the coop today and noticed that underneath the hay for the nesting boxes were little tiny bugs...a lot of them. Yuck! I took the dirty hay out and replaced it with pine shavings instead. What the heck are these little bugs and are them harmful to the chickens? My pullets are now about 10 weeks old.

Also, I don't have anything on the floor. Should I put shavings on the floor? if so, how often do I have to replace it? We have been getting rain pretty much every day so I'm trying to think of ways to keep the coop from getting too dank.

 

[KellyHM]

It could be mites. Get some 7-dust to put in there. They like to live in the shavings and hay.

 

[LovinMyHensInNC!]

Sounds like poultry mites. Check your birds (around their vent, under wings, and around their necks). Mites are usually reddish-black and have a rounded, circular body. Chicken lice are more long (rice shaped) and have a wheat colored body, although their abdomen may be red from drawing blood from the chickens. The lice will only live on the chicken, however, mites can live off the chicken and will find homes in the nests, in cracks of wood, etc. Both can be a serious problem and you will need to treat the birds and the surrounding areas.

Good luck!!!!

 

[chickiebaby]

Please see the numerous threads elsewhere, all searchable, on Sevin, (not spelled 7, but sevin) which is a serious pesticide. Many folks here use it, and many us do not. You can make up your own mind.

Also read on up, right here on BYC, on DE, diatomaceous earth, an alternative easily available in numerous products.

It's been hard to keep dry here too (I'm in your neck of the woods) but dryness will help, as will some ordinary lime. Is your coop well ventilated, so that on a nice sunny day (today?) you can air everything out?

Do consider deep litter in your coop (read the threads, again). Just means keeping things clean and dry by adding periodic heaps of shavings and DE and letting your chickens' scratching keep it stirred up and clean.

 

[photo chick]

Ewwww! OK, thanks. Off to check the shape/size of these bugs and if they are on my girls. Suddenly I feel really itchy!

 

[KellyHM]

Quote:
Some mites live in the litter/shavings/hay during the day and only get on the chickens at night, so you may not see them on the girls during the day.

 

[photo chick]

So if I can't see them on the birds should I just assume they are there and treat them anyways? Do they have a reaction like scratching orrolling around?

 

[LovinMyHensInNC!]

If it is mites you see in their beds, guarantee they are feeding on your chickens at night. Treat the birds and their surroundings and then repeat in about 12-14 days. Also check out Poultry Protector. Great stuff.

 

[Sillystunt]

DE won't kill the mites...perytheim(spl ck) workd great! Seven dust has that in it , i believe~ You gotta treat everything and you'll be OK!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Just to clear up a little misinformation and link to sites with more detail. The Ohio State site has good photos to help you identify what you have.

There are different types of mites and the treatment for them is different depending on which you have. In North America, the most common mites are northern fowl mites and red roost mites (which are not necessarily red). If you think you are too far south for northern fowl mites, the tropical mite acts the same way in warmer climates.

The northern fowl mite lives on the chicken 24-7 and lays its eggs on the chicken. You can check your chicken any time of day for this one.

The red roost mite lives in cracks and crannies during the day and only attacks the chickens at night. If you check your chickens during the day for this mite, you will not find it. It lays its eggs in the cracks and crannies.

Ohio State – Mites and Lice
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

Mississippi State Scaly Leg mites
http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/poultry_shanks.html

The active ingredient in Sevin is Carbaryl, not Permethrin. They are two totally different chemicals. Both are effective. Permethrin is a synthetic chemical similar in chemical structure to Pyrethrim, a natural insecticide derived from the Chrysanthemum.

I don't know what the bugs in the nesting materials are. If the chickens are roosting in the nesting boxes, it could easily be red roost mites.