Mange

[Chold05]

Yesterday 2 of my chickens freaked out and wouldn’t go in the coop at bed time. I thought it strange but put them to bed and moved on. Tonight the 2 did the same thing and luckily my husband decided to investigate and found a dead fox under the bridge from the coop to the run and it has mange! I bagged him up for garbage pick up tomorrow so it doesn’t spread.

I know mange is highly contagious. What do I need to do to ensure my chickens don’t get it? What can I spray around the area we found him?

 

[DonyaQuick]

I don't think the type of mange that affects foxes/dogs/cats/etc. can jump to chickens or other birds; the mite species affecting birds are different. Other mammals would be at risk though, and rodents may have already gotten to the carcass and have become a vector. So if you have dogs/cats they would be the main ones at risk.

Permethrin can be used to control most mites in an area. You can either spray a liquid or use a powder. It is toxic to cats and bees (and other insects) but also degrades fairly rapidly in the environment - so if you have cats in the equation you don't have to keep them away from the area indefinitely.

If permethrin is a no-go then about the only other option would be DE. Depending on the composition of the bag, it can have some respirtory risks associted with it if used in animal enclosures. However, since it sounds like this would be outside the chicken enclosures, it would be safe to use it there. I have used DE perimeters to help control the spread other types of mites like grain mites that have seasonal population booms in my region. DE is less effective than permethrin except in rather large amounts and it gets washed away easily by rain (although the same is true of permethrin).

Because of the rodent vector risk, if you have mammal pets or other livestock to worry about then you may also want to set up some traps or refresh existing traps in the area just in case, and then use disposable or disinfectable gloves to remove anything that gets caught. I use tunnel-style traps around my coops for chicken and pet safety.

 

[Chold05]

I don't think the type of mange that affects foxes/dogs/cats/etc. can jump to chickens or other birds; the mite species affecting birds are different. Other mammals would be at risk though, and rodents may have already gotten to the carcass and have become a vector. So if you have dogs/cats they would be the main ones at risk.

Permethrin can be used to control most mites in an area. You can either spray a liquid or use a powder. It is toxic to cats and bees (and other insects) but also degrades fairly rapidly in the environment - so if you have cats in the equation you don't have to keep them away from the area indefinitely.

If permethrin is a no-go then about the only other option would be DE. Depending on the composition of the bag, it can have some respirtory risks associted with it if used in animal enclosures. However, since it sounds like this would be outside the chicken enclosures, it would be safe to use it there. I have used DE perimeters to help control the spread other types of mites like grain mites that have seasonal population booms in my region. DE is less effective than permethrin except in rather large amounts and it gets washed away easily by rain (although the same is true of permethrin).

Because of the rodent vector risk, if you have mammal pets or other livestock to worry about then you may also want to set up some traps or refresh existing traps in the area just in case, and then use disposable or disinfectable gloves to remove anything that gets caught. I use tunnel-style traps around my coops for chicken and pet safety.

Thank you! That’s a relief!

No other livestock but we do have an apiary.

It must have died today because it hadn’t stiffened up yet when we found it, so hopefully rodents didn’t have the chance to get to it yet.

I did use a propane flame weeder around the area, the perimeter of the coop as well as the run in the meantime.

I will check into the other options you mentioned as well. Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry this must be stressful for you!

I had to do a search...
Google AI results for Poultry and Human are below.

While it does seem unlikely for the chickens to get mange, it's possible for humans or other pets to get it.

Permethrin10 which is commonly used to treat lice/mites/flies, etc., in poultry houses and on the birds themselves, would be a good choice to use to spray the area if you feel like you want to treat where the fox had been. I looked up the info for its use and it does state that it will treat mange mites, so you may want to look into that further.

I keep Permethrin10 and mix some up every couple of months or so in the warmer months and spray inside my coops just in case something like mites or whatever crawlies are trying to stake claim.

Hope this helps.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Thank you! That’s a relief!

No other livestock but we do have an apiary.

It must have died today because it hadn’t stiffened up yet when we found it, so hopefully rodents didn’t have the chance to get to it yet.

I did use a propane flame weeder around the area, the perimeter of the coop as well as the run in the meantime.

I will check into the other options you mentioned as well. Thank you!

Since other mammals aren't an issue and you have the bees to consider, then permethrin wouldn't be worth the risk to the hive - the powdered form especially. I've seen some limited evidence that bees and other flying insects can smell the liquid version from a distance and avoid it while it's still potent, but that's definitely not the case for the powder. Although I don't know anything about the effectiveness of flame treatments agaisnt mites in an environment with soil (vs applied something like a roost bar), I would still think that you're probably fine in terms of containing the issue with what you've already done, particularly since you got to the carcass so fast. If you didn't see any signs of it being chewed on and it didn't leave any yucky mess behind on the ground, then it's also unlikely to have attracted rodents in such a short time frame (they usually go after carcasses at night anyway).