Mite Dust Schedule?

[Jasper7952]

I am approaching the 1 year anniversary of having a flock of 8 (1 roo and 7 hens). I have read about a dust for mites on chickens and applying it, but I've been unable to find out if this should be done on a schedule for mite prevention, such as once or twice a year, once a month, etc. Anyone know? I really don't know what to look for as far as whether or not they have mites. Do all chickens get mites? What should I look for? They look pretty healthy, except for their mating bald patches on their backs. I want to keep them that way.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

most chickens will get mites or lice. some are affected worst than others. i had a pullet last summer fall off her night perch and she had been so stressed out a couple days before but was still acting slightly normal, just looking a little sluggish. when i brought her in and checked her over i saw them all over her. the other girls were fine in the coop but i have seen an occasional mite or louse on my other girls and they don't seem to bother them enough to stress them out in the same manner.

i would say every month you should dust for lice/mites since that is the time any of the bug's eggs could hatch. you can get stuff called garden/poultry dust , also known as Sevin dust. mixing diatomacious earth (DE) in the shavings or ground litter should help to control them down there-since that is where the birds will most likely pick them up from. also, mixing DE in the area where the birds like to take dust baths is a good idea too. i used 5% carbaryl (sp?) since that is what the feed store had and knew it was safe to use on dogs/cats and in/around the garden (stuff is the equivalent to Sevin). though, with any of these powders you need to wear long sleeves and you should have very good ventilation but not where it is windy since the powder will fly everywhere from being so lightweight.

as for looking for them you would most likely see the mites around the face as little white dots moving about. they are usually active during the later hours of the day/night. the lice are about 1/8" long and tend to 'scrub' the chicken's skin and feathers for dead skin. seems like they should be somewhat beneficial but they stress out the chicken doing that. if you got one on your skin it feel disturbing but they won't live on humans, they specifically feed on chickens, so there is no need to panic.

when i used the Carbaryl, it took my girl about an hour to get most, if not all of the mites and lice off her. i actually had gloved hands helping her groom them off while she was working on them too.

this may help with treatments of the coop and walls.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/b853/b853_11.html
i found this but i'm just a little disturbed by it (and the chicken might be too)! especially since it won't treat the mites that like to get onto the head region of the bird.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5597236_treat-lice-mites-chickens.html
this is what a poultry louse looks like close up. U-G-L-Y!
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/poultry.htm

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I dust mine routinely. I had a bad breakout of mites about a year and a half ago, and since then I do "random" mite checks and a preventative dusting about every 3 months. I have used a plastic ketchup/mustard picnic squeeze bottle with a long nozzle tip (like the kind restauraunts used to have) to apply dust. You place the tip under the feathers near the skin and squeeze a puff right where you need it. I find it a better technique than many others I have tried.

 

[Jasper7952]

Thank you both for your replies. I was at our local farm center today and they also recommended the Garden and Poultry Dust, but they were out. I'll pick it up this week. I appreciated the tips you gave also.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Quote:
Oh my word, thank you so much. This is such an easy thing to think of but i never have! Im def doing this tomorrow!