Mites(?) on pheasant chicks or...?

[Tabbyhusky]

I hatched out 15 lovely baby Reeves Pheasants on June 9th. They actually hatched under momma pheasant, but I am raising them in a brooder so I can handle them and have them be at least somewhat tamer. They are thrifty, active little guys and I am aware of the fact they can be prone to beak/vent picking and generally rambunctious. No pecking occurring, I keep a very close eye on them (brooder is in the house) but I have lost two of them now. Both chicks that died seemed to gradually decline and become lethargic, though they both continued to eat and drink. They are on a 30% protein gamebird starter. The first one that passed had drooping wings in it's last hours, but the second did not, and no one else has that symptom. The remaining chicks appear very healthy and active.

I HAVE noticed an increase in preening and a bit of scratching at their heads. Now maybe this is just because their feathers are starting to come in and that is itchy, but I'm paranoid they may have mites or lice. I inspected a handful of them closely and didn't see anything, but perhaps the bugs are too small for me to see? Or they are like the mites in chickens that you can only see on them when it is dark out?

Would love to hear from some of you folks that are more experienced with pheasants.

 

[dc3085]

This info is for chickens but poultry lice and mites are all the same AFAIK. Even if you don't see the bugs themselves you should still see skin lesions and the like. The links have a lot of pics that show what infestations looks like. You can use sevin dust for treating them with adult birds but I'm not sure about doing it with chicks.

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

 

[Tabbyhusky]

Thanks for the links! I have luckily never had to deal with lice or mites in my flock yet (knock on wood). I don't see any skin lesions or nit eggs in the feathers of the chicks, so maybe I am just being paranoid.

Does anyone know if the Sevin dust is safe to use on chicks this young?

 

[Tabbyhusky]

Just wanted to update this -- it turned out not to be mites or any kind of parasite, they really were just being fidgety about new feathers growing in. I DID talk to someone though who had used Sevin dust on three day old chicks and it caused no harm, so wanted to share that info in case anyone comes across this thread looking for the same thing.