mites, mites, mites

[Grandmas Coop]

Viva... I dusted a couple of hens recently with DE...a couple more with Sevin...figured when the weather warms up I could do the rest of the flock ...clean the hen house and dust the floor and roosts.

This morning when I went out to do chores I couldnt help but notice a couple of hens had lost a tremendous amount of feathers overnight.

I put drops of ivomec on the hens... dusted their rears and dusted the roosts.

If I dont kill the lice I could certainly kill the chickens.

When you dust the DE in the hen house do you only do it when the chicken house is cleaned out? Or do your often sprinkle it over the existing litter? With the frigid temps here I didnt want to clean out the hen house today, but I also did not want to do nothing

Ya know I just mix it in the litter kind of layer it, I rake(pull) back some of the litter sprinkle hand fulls of wood stove ash, then DE push the litter forward over it , make it all level and nice and sprinkle more on the top.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

<snip>

This morning when I went out to do chores I couldnt help but notice a couple of hens had lost a tremendous amount of feathers overnight.

I put drops of ivomec on the hens... dusted their rears and dusted the roosts.

<snip>

I think my one gal has depluming mites. Her butt was skimpy in the feather dept. before molt and has been totally bare ever since. I've been checking all my girls for mites but didn't see any. Possibly you don't see them when they're the depluming type as I understand they burrow into the skin.

I've had to bring her inside with our 3 degree weather as I feared she would die from the cold given how many feathers she's lost. Not really noticeable is a large strip gone from her back and the missing rear end feathers extend to between her legs and beginning to come up her chest. She's on an unheated porch that stays around 40 degrees. Didn't want her to get too acclimated to inside house heat.

Have treated her with ivomec drops, have dusted her litter with Sevin, and have put a lanolin based cream on her terribly red and wrinkled butt. You can already see improvement in the color and condition of her skin. I can see what appears to be fluff emerging in the strip on her back, hopefully her feathers will soon begin to return.

I'm curious as to why only one bird would come down with this. That's another reason I didn't think it was mites as no one else was having a problem. Is it normal that this type mite only impact one hen and not the others? BTW, she's not lost weight, is eating like a horse, and is even laying eggs while in the cage. [which I'm tossing for a while]

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

Hi guys. Greetings from Asia Pacific!

I am having some problems with chicken mites. i just got my chickens last Month. Therr were 2 batches. The first batch were mite-free but i am not sure with the second batch. i did not see any mite in them until one day i saw 1 or 2 crawling so i immediately treated them with ivermectin.

Anyways, everytime i clean their coop, i put their poop in a sack and throw it away. then i read about planting herbs around the coop to repel insects and mice. I planted mint, lavender, rosemary, and basil. I read that chciken manure is a good fertilizer so instead of throwing away their poop, i put it in my garden. After a week, i see a lot (and it's really a lot!! i suspect there is an infestation) of mites!!! I remember i did not remove the feathers when i put the manure in my garden. I sprayed some insecticide but it did not work. I put some DE but the mites are hiding under the soil. Is DE really effective? If so, how long does it take to kill the mites? I am afraid that they get into the coop in my pad. What do you suggest?

 

[snaffle]

I buy Food grade DE, I have used it for years for our dog. I put it all around the coop and dust the hens with it.

I must have missed an earlier post where you talked about using Frontline for mites. Can you tell me about it or repost the information please?

 

[enola]

You can use Eprinex, which is produced to be used on livestock. I know a lot of people will disagree, but I do not think flea medicine for dogs should be used on poultry. Especially if there is a product made for livestock that will do the job.

 

[snaffle]

You can use Eprinex, which is produced to be used on livestock. I know a lot of people will disagree, but I do not think flea medicine for dogs should be used on poultry. Especially if there is a product made for livestock that will do the job.

enola ... I had to chuckle at your post... I dont mean any disrespect... but you have no problem using a cattle pesticide on chickens... but not dog stuff.

It is all about the amount mostly.

I plan to buy some frontline for cats and ardap because I am almost at my wits end.

 

[enola]

My thought with using cattle medicine is I know it is intended for an animal you EAT! But, then you might have dogs for a different reason than I do. . No offense intended.

 

[RobinsEggs]

I was so excited when my eprinex arrived in the mail. (I had been battling mites for months. They seemed resistant to everything.) Much to my dismay, it didn't work. =[
After trying just about everything else, the only thing that killed the suckers (the mites, not the hens) was bathing and spinosad.

 

[enola]

I was so excited when my eprinex arrived in the mail. (I had been battling mites for months. They seemed resistant to everything.) Much to my dismay, it didn't work. =[
After trying just about everything else, the only thing that killed the suckers (the mites, not the hens) was bathing and spinosad.

Did you use a follow up application after 30 days? I had a rooster that I treated and treated and treated for leg mites. His legs would look better, them flair back up, over and over. A treatment every 30 days for 3 months finally got rid of them!

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

After 2 weeks of worrying and battling with mites, i finally got rid of them! Yahooo!