- Jun 19, 2008
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I've read several posts on how to treat the buggers. But i have a few other questions/concerns. Lengthy post.
A sketchy deal at an auction, I bought two roos, both with severe scaley leg mite (and I found lice earlier this morning).
The 'helpers' threw the two infected roos in with three healthy silky (older) chicks.
They rode together for 30 minutes. Mom threw the three chicks and the white roo in with my original chickens. I caught her before she threw in the red roo..and found the mite issue.
I took both roos and moved them into a pen far away from my flock. The chicks on the otherhand ran in with my other black silky chicks. Figuring out which were the auction birds and the home birds in the dark, impossible.
So I'm gathering my whole flock has mite issues now right?
The carrier I brought them home in, will spraying it with bug spray kill any mites?
I have the roos in a wire cage across the yard. I sprayed the roos feet with wd-40, dusted them with sevin, and wormed them with the piperazine (sp?) stuff. Some scales came off, the skin looks relatively healthy underneath. Some minor bleeding.
Are the scales infective?
How much so?
I know some are going to fall through the bottom of the wire cage. I rotate the cages through the yard. How likely is this to cause problems?
My fear is my free range flock. They're trying to investigate the roos now, climbing the cage and making themselves nuisances.
I do believe they're the reason I haven't been able to completely eradicate the louse infestation I have. So a mite infestation is a nightmare. Catching all of the free spirits has proven to be impossible as some just disappear before dusk and refuse to be lured to the coops. Is there something I can put in the water to kill these? I can limit their water during dry spells?
Is there something I can put on the wire of the infected roos cage bars to keep them from climbing up and onto my curious birds?
The Ivermectin you put on the backs of their necks, is that like Advantage for chickens? XD sounds like it from what I read. If I put it on them, do I have to continue worrying about the birds or can I focus on eradicating the pests in their run/coop?
A little info about my coops. Two are dog kennels. They're almost completely metal.
One six foot high, with a large dog igloo. It's where my crippled roo lives, hens go in to lay. Also where my catchable free-range roost at night. This is permanent in where it's at. The mixture of clay/gravel/maybe a bit of cement has cemented it into the ground.
I'm planning on getting a top this late fall and locking all the catchable free range in there, taking out the igloo and cleaning/pesticiding it to heck. Forcing them to dust in there.
Second one we are able to move around. It's a four foot tall dog kennel. Fencing welded to the bottom to keep out diggers, the top has heavy partition fencing on the top.
Their shelter is wood ontop of the partition fencing, a large, plastic run-in dog box, and a chicken laying box (wood). All but the silkies prefer the perches to the box/house. Perches are wood. Flooring is the fence/dirt.
Third one is a wood framed/chicken wire pen. Partition on bottom, fencing on top. Dirt floor. Covered with heavy-duty canvas tarp. Shelter is a small igloo (it has my littler chicks in it).
I'm going to assume the dirt floors are going to hinder my getting rid of the mites/lice?
I figure I can insecticide the plastic dog boxes easily enough. But the wood box and the wood frame of the third cage, what is the best way to treat those?
Can I take the wood box out to the woods, douse in insecticide, wait a week or two for the pests to die out there without worrying about the birds?
We made two more wood boxes for this winter...I'm thinking of waiting to see if I can nip this in the bud before putting them in with the chickens. Am I right in thinking this?
Is it easier to treat them in cold weather?
Sorry for the length, I'm frazzled and sick.
A sketchy deal at an auction, I bought two roos, both with severe scaley leg mite (and I found lice earlier this morning).
The 'helpers' threw the two infected roos in with three healthy silky (older) chicks.
They rode together for 30 minutes. Mom threw the three chicks and the white roo in with my original chickens. I caught her before she threw in the red roo..and found the mite issue.
I took both roos and moved them into a pen far away from my flock. The chicks on the otherhand ran in with my other black silky chicks. Figuring out which were the auction birds and the home birds in the dark, impossible.
So I'm gathering my whole flock has mite issues now right?
The carrier I brought them home in, will spraying it with bug spray kill any mites?
I have the roos in a wire cage across the yard. I sprayed the roos feet with wd-40, dusted them with sevin, and wormed them with the piperazine (sp?) stuff. Some scales came off, the skin looks relatively healthy underneath. Some minor bleeding.
Are the scales infective?
How much so?
I know some are going to fall through the bottom of the wire cage. I rotate the cages through the yard. How likely is this to cause problems?
My fear is my free range flock. They're trying to investigate the roos now, climbing the cage and making themselves nuisances.
I do believe they're the reason I haven't been able to completely eradicate the louse infestation I have. So a mite infestation is a nightmare. Catching all of the free spirits has proven to be impossible as some just disappear before dusk and refuse to be lured to the coops. Is there something I can put in the water to kill these? I can limit their water during dry spells?
Is there something I can put on the wire of the infected roos cage bars to keep them from climbing up and onto my curious birds?
The Ivermectin you put on the backs of their necks, is that like Advantage for chickens? XD sounds like it from what I read. If I put it on them, do I have to continue worrying about the birds or can I focus on eradicating the pests in their run/coop?
A little info about my coops. Two are dog kennels. They're almost completely metal.
One six foot high, with a large dog igloo. It's where my crippled roo lives, hens go in to lay. Also where my catchable free-range roost at night. This is permanent in where it's at. The mixture of clay/gravel/maybe a bit of cement has cemented it into the ground.
I'm planning on getting a top this late fall and locking all the catchable free range in there, taking out the igloo and cleaning/pesticiding it to heck. Forcing them to dust in there.
Second one we are able to move around. It's a four foot tall dog kennel. Fencing welded to the bottom to keep out diggers, the top has heavy partition fencing on the top.
Their shelter is wood ontop of the partition fencing, a large, plastic run-in dog box, and a chicken laying box (wood). All but the silkies prefer the perches to the box/house. Perches are wood. Flooring is the fence/dirt.
Third one is a wood framed/chicken wire pen. Partition on bottom, fencing on top. Dirt floor. Covered with heavy-duty canvas tarp. Shelter is a small igloo (it has my littler chicks in it).
I'm going to assume the dirt floors are going to hinder my getting rid of the mites/lice?
I figure I can insecticide the plastic dog boxes easily enough. But the wood box and the wood frame of the third cage, what is the best way to treat those?
Can I take the wood box out to the woods, douse in insecticide, wait a week or two for the pests to die out there without worrying about the birds?
We made two more wood boxes for this winter...I'm thinking of waiting to see if I can nip this in the bud before putting them in with the chickens. Am I right in thinking this?
Is it easier to treat them in cold weather?
Sorry for the length, I'm frazzled and sick.