Mites, lice.... I'm still learning

[joroster]

Ok so do chickens only lay in dirt and dig if they have bugs.... how do I know what they look like I have chickens I thought were melting but idk.... I checked a couple and didn't see anything i don't think. What am I looking for ? Thanks for the help

 

[Poultrybreeder]

Chickens take sand baths to prevent lice and mites, this is what you are looking at for lice (note, this is not my photo, all credit goes to the person who took it). Lice look like those little yellow bugs, and will scamper away very quickly when they are discovered.

This is what mites look like (again, all credit goes to the photographer).
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If you see any of these on your birds, find lice and mite killers, clean out the coop and spray it thoroughly with the insecticide. Then replace the bedding with new bedding after the spray has dried. I would also recommend finding some spray that when sprayed on the chickens, will kill any lice or mites they may be carrying, just make sure it is not harmful to the chicken!

 

[joroster]

Ok can just one chicken get it bc I have one that is bare necked and I keep seeing her itching but no one else is

 

[Poultrybreeder]

It can start with one chicken, but will quickly spread. For a bald neck, it could be one of two things: the other hens are eating her neck feathers, or she has FEATHER mites, a totally different microscopic mite that eats the feather off of the quill. You would for sure have to spray those, they will get bad and on all of your chickens

 

[joroster]

Dealing with lice today cleaned out the bedding and used the powder. How much garlic should I give them. And I though chickens ate bugs

 

[Poultrybreeder]

I'm not sure on the garlic part. Chickens to eat bugs, but the live run and escape faster than the chicken can eat them