Mite Problem

[AngieTimplus4]

We have a couple of new chicks with pasty Butt. I brought one in tonight and was giving her a bath . I noticed what looked like flees. I am assuming it might be mites. What do I do I have chicks from 1 day to one week. How do I treat this? They are silkies.

 

[paddock36]

Seven dust or poultry dust (really it's the same). You can also use diatomateous earth if you have it. Just sprinkle a little on them. I have Silkies too and it happens.

 

[AngieTimplus4]

I have DE food grade. How much do I sprinkle on there food?

 

[AngieTimplus4]

I have DE food grade. How much do I sprinkle on there food?

 

[dawg53]

I have DE food grade. How much do I sprinkle on there food?

DE sprinkled in food will not treat mites. I recommend sevin dust. Use your fingers to rub the dust on them externally, avoid their eyes and nostrils.

 

[Matt1616]

We have a couple of new chicks with pasty Butt. I brought one in tonight and was giving her a bath . I noticed what looked like flees. I am assuming it might be mites. What do I do I have chicks from 1 day to one week. How do I treat this? They are silkies.

Mites are much smaller than fleas. Are you sure it is mites? Whatever kind of critter it is you need to get any kind of bug spray with permethrin in it. DE doesn't treat anything. It is useless for chickens...JMO.

 

[AngieTimplus4]

I had her in a white wash cloth and they were in the wash cloth. Look like flees ( light redish color) I had just changed there bedding and I switched to corn cob bedding. I am not sure just don't want any kind of bug on them.

 

[BenC in QC]

I think you may have two different issues...

You can try poultry protector if you don't want to use chemicals, and VetRX is good for leg mites, but you should consider something like Ivermectin Pour-On or the like, basically a drop on the neck just like your cats and dogs, gets rid of mites immediately and you retreat in 10 days to kill their eggs.

Not sure about using bug spray on them, I imagine some of the gentler horse fly sprays could be used to some degree, but Pyranha and the like can be really nasty if you happen to shoot yourself in the face with it (stings like the dickens), so not sure how good it is for chicks. They do work really well though keeping bugs off horses.

Not sure about the red bugs either, sounds like maybe they're baby grain bugs which came in your bedding and woke up when they got warm. Grain bugs won't harm the chicks directly, but they WILL get into everything in your house like flour, cereal, etc, so be careful with them.

Instead, I'm thinking start immediate Corid to deal with the pasty butt, add probiotics too, and probably electolytes to the water to make sure they're not dehydrated. Also make sure they're not too hot. VetRX for good measure too.

And you probably want to dump their bedding immediately and switch to a bath towel or back to pine shavings, after you bleach clean their coop/container.

 

[dawg53]

Here's a link

I had her in a white wash cloth and they were in the wash cloth. Look like flees ( light redish color) I had just changed there bedding and I switched to corn cob bedding. I am not sure just don't want any kind of bug on them.

Here's a link for you with pics of the types of external parsasites that chickens get. You might need a magnifying glass to help you identify what you're dealing with. There are poultry mites that will bite humans. Good luck.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140

 

[paddock36]

Seven dust or poultry dust (really it's the same). You can also use diatomateous earth if you have it. Just sprinkle a little on them. I have Silkies too and it happens.

Not in the food. On the chicks. Seven dust is the best, but if all you had is DE you could sprinkle that on them until you can get some DE.