Mites...Maybe? First time w/chickens

[LaurasLorps]

I was cleaning out my coop today and noticed some small black bugs about the size of a pin tip along some spots of the coop walls. They had very round bodies kind of like a tic, but like I said, very small. Could these be mites? None of my girls have been scratching excessively. They dust bathe regularly and I looked around the vent of one of them and didn't see any bugs.

Could I have mites and my birds just haven't been infected yet? Is it better to treat right away like it is mites, or wait until symptoms develop? If I do treat it now, should I just dust the coop, or dust my birds too?

Thanks!

 

[WallTenters]

Yes it sounds like it could be mites. I would do a dusting of both the coops (especially the nest boxes, and roosts if they are wooden) an the birds. Check your birds around their abdomen - you might see mites, you might see some swollen red skin. No need to worry, it's a simple management problem that you can learn to overcome. Just treat them periodically and you should be fine. The permethrin dust for poultry works okay but if you ever have a bad infection of them sevin dust works very fast and kills them all.