Mites meet new chicken mom

[thessalonchick]

Iam looking for advice when it comes to new ownership of chickens. I have polish hens as well and red layers .
Iam seeking advice on mites/ prevention and treatment.
As well as handy things to keep around the home in order to always be prepared.

 

[apryl29]

I just dealt with this and some really nice people answered a bunch of questions for me.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mites.1197698/

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! Unless your birds are indoors all the time, external parasites will turn up sometimes, from the wild birds. I look ath a few of my birds every week or so, at night when they are roosting, with a flashlight. Look at the vent area, back, and neck, under the feathers. ONE bug on one bird is reason to treat all of them!
Permethrin spray concentrate is the easiest, most cost effective product out there, and works very well. Again, at night spray the birds on the roosts, and spray the coop, including walls, roosts, and tiny nooks. It's approved for poultry, and no egg withdrawal. Don't spray the eggs!! I spray under the bedding, including in the nest boxes, when it will have plenty of time to dry out before morning
Spinosad is also effective, and approved, but is very expensive, and so far not needed, because the permethrin works so well.
In the USA, carbaryl is no longer approved, so don't use it. Many products used on pets are NOT appropriate or approved for poultry. Avoid them too!
DE gets lots of good press, but it's ineffective, dangerous for all of us to inhale, and open pit mined. Not a good product for this. Mary

 

[Gojichicken]

Iam looking for advice when it comes to new ownership of chickens. I have polish hens as well and red layers .
Iam seeking advice on mites/ prevention and treatment.
As well as handy things to keep around the home in order to always be prepared.

 

[Gojichicken]

I use diatomaceous earth in the run in the coop it's self in and around the nesting boxes an my mites disappeared. In the nesting boxes I use a very light coating but everywhere else I use it till I feel it seems right. The nice thing about the DE is that it doesn't harm my chickens. I use it in my gardens as well.
Hope this helps!