- Mar 5, 2012
- 22
- 2
- 22
Can anyone tell me if you will still see mites for a day or two after cleaning the coop and treating the birds?
I've had my chickens for a little over a year. They had some sort of mite briefly over the winter which seemed larger than what I found on them this week. I believe I successfully treated that round of them with DE and hardwood ashes from the wood stove.
I didn't see any sign of mites for months and the affected birds regained their feathers and seemed very happy.
Earlier this week I found very very little fast crawling dots on them when I examined them at night. I'm guessing mites not avian lice by the size and color. Yesterday I removed ALL the bedding and sprayed the inside of the coop with Poultry Protector and then spread wood ash and DE inside the coop before replacing the bedding. Then I removed the top few inches of sand in the pen and spread wood ash and DE in there and sprayed the framing of the pen with diluted bleach.
Next I gave each bird a dust bath in wood ashes followed by an apology of fresh strawberry tops (from the store not the garden...no bugs on them in other words.
Today on inspection there are fewer mites than before and I know I have to follow up in a week and two weeks with thorough cleanings but the fact that I am still seeing some the day after all this work is kind of bumbing me out. I just bought some permathin (sp?) powder to treat the birds again as well as sprinkle in and around the coop. I was hoping not to use anything that strong but I don't want to get this any more out of hand!
Thanks in advance for any input!
I've had my chickens for a little over a year. They had some sort of mite briefly over the winter which seemed larger than what I found on them this week. I believe I successfully treated that round of them with DE and hardwood ashes from the wood stove.
I didn't see any sign of mites for months and the affected birds regained their feathers and seemed very happy.
Earlier this week I found very very little fast crawling dots on them when I examined them at night. I'm guessing mites not avian lice by the size and color. Yesterday I removed ALL the bedding and sprayed the inside of the coop with Poultry Protector and then spread wood ash and DE inside the coop before replacing the bedding. Then I removed the top few inches of sand in the pen and spread wood ash and DE in there and sprayed the framing of the pen with diluted bleach.
Next I gave each bird a dust bath in wood ashes followed by an apology of fresh strawberry tops (from the store not the garden...no bugs on them in other words.
Today on inspection there are fewer mites than before and I know I have to follow up in a week and two weeks with thorough cleanings but the fact that I am still seeing some the day after all this work is kind of bumbing me out. I just bought some permathin (sp?) powder to treat the birds again as well as sprinkle in and around the coop. I was hoping not to use anything that strong but I don't want to get this any more out of hand!
Thanks in advance for any input!
