Mites or Lice? Please help identify and need treatment for Ducks and chickens

[cmom]

When I had my first infestation I sprayed the birds. Now I don't worry about it because since I am spraying everywhere I really don't need to spray the birds and the dust in the nest boxes I think helps. A couple of years ago I thought some birds were molting. When they weren't getting their feather back, I checked them and discovered they had mites. I originally bathed the more infested birds which did help. I sprayed the birds and the coops thoroughly for a month of weekly spraying. Eventually the birds got their feathers back in and were beautiful again. Recently I noticed some birds molting, I checked them over and found nothing. I am doing a serious cleaning of all of the coops and will do a weekly spraying for about a month because we have had warmer the usual weather and the wild birds are flying around the coops and pens. Everything will be fresh and clean and sprayed. It also keeps flies away.

 

[cmom]

Mix according to the instructions. If you know you have pests on your birds or/and in your coops, it doesn't hurt to mix it a little heavy when spraying inside of the coops. I did and it didn't seem to bother my birds. You can also buy the premixed.

 

[aart]

I would not treat unless you see bugs on the birds.
There are tons of insects out there and most won't bother poultry.
I use permethrin dust when it's cold and spray when it's warm, they both can make a mess.
You must get it on their skin, under the feathers....around vent and belly, under wings and around neck.

My Bug Check notes:
Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Folly's place]

It's also safer from a disease standpoint to have wild bird feeders where your domestic birds can't be. If possible, have those feeders away from your flocks.
Mary

 

[365username]

I don't know if I should go ahead and treat with some of this powder I have until tomorrow morning or what? Just wait and get the good stuff tomorrow morning, first thing, and then treat them and coops/house?

I suggest to wait til tomorrow morning and give them some dust/powder in case it’s mites. But just in case it is lice it might be a good idea to treat it for lice too.

 

[aart]

I suggest to wait til tomorrow morning and give them some dust/powder in case it’s mites. But just in case it is lice it might be a good idea to treat it for lice too.

Ummm...that would be the same treatment @The Life On A Farm .
...and not good to treat for bugs unless they are really there and you see them on the bird.

 

[cmom]

This is what I do, I'm sure many won't agree but it works for me. This time of year we have a lot of snowbirds here in Florida, birds that have migrated south for the winter. I see them around the coops and pens. I usually give my coops a thorough clean-out a couple times a year. It's that time of the year for the big clean. When I do the big clean, I do spray the coops after I clean them since there is no residue from the prior treatments. I spray the coops for three weekly sprayings and then stop and may not spray for some months unless I see some pest activity. I spray weekly because the treatments do not kill the pests eggs, so as they hatch out I spray. I use permethrin which kills mites and lice. Some types of mites only come out at night and feed on the birds so unless I go out to the coops at night and check them, I may not see any. I do not make a habit of regularly spraying the coops. I do put poultry dust in the nest boxes however. Whatever you do, good luck...

 

[365username]

View attachment 2035796

I’m not sure if they work, but the first picture says

Ummm...that would be the same treatment @The Life On A Farm .
...and not good to treat for bugs unless they are really there and you see them on the bird.

oh sorry I forgot

 

[cmom]

That dust will work.

 

[pozees2]

I just wanted to add my experience here, in case you haven't settled on a plan. I have had the best luck treating my birds with pour-on ivermectin, drawn up into syringes (without needles) and placing 4-8 drops per bird (depending on weight - 4 for Silkie-sized birds, 8 for large male Cochins) at the base of the neck and repeat in 7-10 days. It is my understanding this will treat mites and possibly some internal parasites, and I've seen conflicting information on whether it will treat for lice, which I've only ever had once (knock wood) and I treated with permethrin, which was the only thing I knew to use at the time and it worked great, but what a pain in the neck to spray down all the birds making sure they were wet to the skin, then repeating in a week.

If I see mites on the surfaces in the coop, and they can be hard to spot, I open up the coop, make sure the birds are outside and excluded temporarily, clean out the bedding, and spray until wet with permethrin, let dry, then re-bed and let birds back in.

I have a personal aversion to using powders, I worry about how it will affect their (and my) respiratory systems, and I know lots and lots of people have used it for years with no negative effects, it's just where my comfort level lies.