Mites! How do I get rid of them?

[BarbHicken17]

I few weeks ago one of my roosters got mites and passed away a few days ago because of them. I just found out that the other roosters and some of my hens have them too. Is there any spray i could get to kill them? I don't want any more of my chickens to die. And they can't dust bathe any more because the ground is frozen. If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate it!

-Alayna

 

[Engine823]

Absolutely! Get 5% Seven Dust for gardens. Dust them down in it! Also clean out their coop and dust it down as well then put back clean bedding. That will take care of the mites and is perfectly save for your chickens.

 

[BarbHicken17]

Absolutely! Get 5% Seven Dust for gardens. Dust them down in it! Also clean out their coop and dust it down as well then put back clean bedding. That will take care of the mites and is perfectly save for your chickens.

Thank you so much!

 

[lazy gardener]

In addition to above post, be sure you dust the insecticide into all of the cracks around the roost, and dust the roosts as well. The bedding must be removed completely from your property or burned. Don't forget to treat the nest boxes. Mites will live up to 10 months in old bedding, and can live 10 months between feedings. Seven is no longer approved for use on poultry, though plenty of folks still use it. Permethrin Poultry and Garden Dust is what I use.

While, this time of the year, a single application might solve the problem, it's recommended to do a second treatment of coop and birds 7 - 10 days later to kill any new mites that have hatched.

your infestation must be severe in order to have caused the death of your roo.

 

[BarbHicken17]

In addition to above post, be sure you dust the insecticide into all of the cracks around the roost, and dust the roosts as well. The bedding must be removed completely from your property or burned. Don't forget to treat the nest boxes. Mites will live up to 10 months in old bedding, and can live 10 months between feedings. Seven is no longer approved for use on poultry, though plenty of folks still use it. Permethrin Poultry and Garden Dust is what I use.

While, this time of the year, a single application might solve the problem, it's recommended to do a second treatment of coop and birds 7 - 10 days later to kill any new mites that have hatched.

your infestation must be severe in order to have caused the death of your roo.

Yeah, they are getting everywhere. He wasn't a big rooster though he was a small bantam roo. But one of my bigger hens is acting just like my rooster was before he died. I really hope she doesn't die too. I will try to buy that stuff today and clean out everything.

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree with Lazy Gardener about using permethrin. You can get permethrin 10% spray as well in a concentrate that makes many gallons mixed with water. It is safe on chickens as well as spraying the coop and nests. the dust may be better for the chickens in cold weather. I would repeat the treatment on the chickens in 7 days to get newly hatched eggs, then examine them again in another 7 days for any evidence of mites.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi.

Sorry for your loss.

Why do you believe mites is that killed your "rooster" and how old was he? I highly doubt that's what it was. Hard to know for sure without a necropsy if the mites contributed to the death. Depluming mites are often deadly by the time those are caught but they are invisible to the naked eye. Seems to me like there was more going on than meets the eye. And when I spot mites on my birds NEVER worry about it causing death to occur. They are a common parasite found on many birds.

Permethrin spray is very safe, affordable, effective and easy to use. Though in freezing weather would consider using dust even though I absolutely don't like dusting as it poofs every time they shake out.

If you experience another death, necropsy is highly recommended. Link to achieve that...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

I would ask more questions to really get at the root of what happened.. How old is the rooster, how many birds total in how much space, what is fed including treats and supplements, any new birds recently added... how was stool and appetite? What symptoms presented before death?

 

[BarbHicken17]

Hi.

Sorry for your loss.

Why do you believe mites is that killed your "rooster" and how old was he? I highly doubt that's what it was. Hard to know for sure without a necropsy if the mites contributed to the death. Depluming mites are often deadly by the time those are caught but they are invisible to the naked eye. Seems to me like there was more going on than meets the eye. And when I spot mites on my birds NEVER worry about it causing death to occur. They are a common parasite found on many birds.

Permethrin spray is very safe, affordable, effective and easy to use. Though in freezing weather would consider using dust even though I absolutely don't like dusting as it poofs every time they shake out.

If you experience another death, necropsy is highly recommended. Link to achieve that...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures.799747/

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

I would ask more questions to really get at the root of what happened.. How old is the rooster, how many birds total in how much space, what is fed including treats and supplements, any new birds recently added... how was stool and appetite? What symptoms presented before death?

I don't know how old he was. He was for sure this year's rooster.
Can mites be brought by pine shavings? Can they be brought by deer? It started a few weeks ago when my brother shot a deer it also could've happened because we got new pine shavings from some people at our church. We have a small barn and a coop I have no idea how we can dust a whole barn. My rooster had a very pale comb and was very wobbly. He also Didn't want to move much and seemed "depressed"
In the coop we have at least 17 hens
And in the barn we have a lot of little bantam chicks, and all the roosters live in the barn.
We also have at least 20 ducks in the barn too.
We added 6 new roosters in the beginning of fall and 2 roosters have died.
Anything else you want to know?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I don't know how old he was. He was for sure this year's rooster.
Can mites be brought by pine shavings? Can they be brought by deer? It started a few weeks ago when my brother shot a deer it also could've happened because we got new pine shavings from some people at our church. We have a small barn and a coop I have no idea how we can dust a whole barn. My rooster had a very pale comb and was very wobbly. He also Didn't want to move much and seemed "depressed"
In the coop we have at least 17 hens
And in the barn we have a lot of little bantam chicks, and all the roosters live in the barn.
We also have at least 20 ducks in the barn too.
We added 6 new roosters in the beginning of fall and 2 roosters have died.
Anything else you want to know?

No, mites should not be on any new shavings. Mites are supposed to be species specific. And so might travel on a deer but maybe not live there. Also, red roost mites as well live in cracks of the wood and only come out to feed on the chickens at night and so will NOT be seen on the bird during the day time.

But they are on rats and any other bird that visits your yard. In addition to there are at least 3 types of bird lice, and they can get ticks and stick tight flees. Some parasites are more prevalent during certain seasons. My vet says winter here is the time for lice. Which again are species specific and not the same as human lice.

Did the birds feed on the deer carcass? Worms is a possibility.

But you describe wobbly and depressed... could be a lot of things from Marek's to cocci, worms, poor nutrition, or even respiratory infection, depending on what were all the symptoms that presented. BUT not all symptoms will present in every bird the same way even if it is the same illness. Things will take down those who are compromised first and faster than the rest of the flock. And some symptoms take a while to appear which is why it is recommended that you ALWAYS quarantine ANY new birds for AT LEAST 30 days, 100 yards from your original flock. I don't have that ability so it will never happen here. A bird may have caught something that isn't showing yet and their owner may not be trying to hide anything but stuff happens.

As far as I'm concerned... if you treat 1 bird for parasites, they should ALL be treated. I would recommend

 

[BarbHicken17]

No, mites should not be on any new shavings. Mites are supposed to be species specific. And so might travel on a deer but maybe not live there. Also, red roost mites as well live in cracks of the wood and only come out to feed on the chickens at night and so will NOT be seen on the bird during the day time.

But they are on rats and any other bird that visits your yard. In addition to there are at least 3 types of bird lice, and they can get ticks and stick tight flees. Some parasites are more prevalent during certain seasons. My vet says winter here is the time for lice. Which again are species specific and not the same as human lice.

Did the birds feed on the deer carcass? Worms is a possibility.

But you describe wobbly and depressed... could be a lot of things from Marek's to cocci, worms, poor nutrition, or even respiratory infection, depending on what were all the symptoms that presented. BUT not all symptoms will present in every bird the same way even if it is the same illness. Things will take down those who are compromised first and faster than the rest of the flock. And some symptoms take a while to appear which is why it is recommended that you ALWAYS quarantine ANY new birds for AT LEAST 30 days, 100 yards from your original flock. I don't have that ability so it will never happen here. A bird may have caught something that isn't showing yet and their owner may not be trying to hide anything but stuff happens.

As far as I'm concerned... if you treat 1 bird for parasites, they should ALL be treated. I would recommend

Okay. Well, they are defiantly on the birds right now and it's morning/afternoon here.

They only ate little scraps that fell off the deer. But the hide of the deer was on the ground, so they could've walked on it?

You're, right. It could be any of those things, but he didn't have them until after the deer got brought back here. And now one of my hens is acting the same way right after he died?

Yeah, we are going to treat ALL of them.