Mites - please help

[Sierra pachie bars]

So if you powder them , you dont need to get every inch of them ? I got my girls vent really well and behind each wing. when do they start dying ?

 

[mtnhomechick]

Oh......... I don't think they will die. They will be fine. Put some in the boxes..coop floor...run.

They will be fine. They will spread it around and be better in no time.

Chickens are flighty with lots of movement. THEY know what to do.......

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

Quote:
I was with you, too, but I think that MrsSmith meant when will the mites start to die.

Thanks for the clarification. I definitely planned to treat them all. One is covered in them, the same one that is coughing a bit, and hasn't laid in a week. The others have to have some somewhere... OK, I gotta stop talking about them. I'll get the creepy crawlies before I go to bed and will never get to sleep!

 

[Judy]

Someone on BYC said, if you have chickens, you have mites.

Mine free range. I dust birds and coop with DE every few weeks. Not necessarily a good method, but one has to have some method. I have never actually seen mites on my birds.

If you are not familiar with DE, be sure to read up here and use the right kind.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you use DE, it needs to be "food grade". Try this link for DE info.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1560-Food_Grade_DE

What you have may be mites or lice. The treatment for the ones on the chicken are the same, so it does not matter that much which it is. And they are spread by wild birds so almost all chickens will be exposed.

There is a type of mite that does not live on the chicken. I can't remember the name of the mite, but the mite lives in cracks in the coop, especially on the roost, and comes out at night while the chicken is roosting. This type of infestation can get heavy and take a lot of energy and production out of the chicken. One recommendation for treatment is to oil the bottom half of the roost. This would smother the mite. Another way is to spray with a mitacide. A product containing permethrin (Spelling?) would be good. A spray with Sevin would also work. I imagine it would be hard to dust under the roost poles for these.

DE is a preventative, not a treatment. DE will help keep the numbers down and will slow them from getting infested, but it will not kill off the lice and mites once the chicken is infected.

Treat your chickens in a well-ventilated area, like outside. Wearing one of those dust masks would also be a good idea. I'm not going"organic" and I firmly believe that the right chemical properly applied is the best way to end the suffering of a chicken infested with lice or mites, but I don't want me or them to breath any more of that stuff than is necessary. And keep it out of their food and water.

I spent some time last night onthe Missisissippi State and Texas A&M web sites reading up on this. I'll put the A&M link below. One warning both sites gave is that if you dust with Sevin (not spray, but dust), do not repeat the treatment for 4 weeks. Anther warning was that if you dust with Sevin, do not slaughter the chicken for 7 days. Sprays, even Sevin sprays, did not carry this warning.

I did not see any warnings about eggs, although the A&M site said to not dust in the nest with Sevin, but I would not eat the eggs for 24 hours after treatment. I know plenty of people do and apparently suffer no ill effects, and I have seen no official warnings about this. This is just my personal preference and is easy for me as I do not need the eggs I'd get for that time period. That's just me being cautious.

http://gallus.tamu.edu/Extension publications/b-1088.pdf

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

Thanks ddawn and ridgerunner! I really appreciate all the information.

I'll be heading out soon to see whats available at my local feed stores.

 

[cms1113]

I just asked about this a few days ago and let me tell you, the sevin dust WORKS!!! I used it and then the next day i didn't see any mites what so ever! And my one hen, thats outside, was covered in mites and she even had a few lice and now she's clean! I cleaned their vents and then got them and the coop with the sevin. I was surprised at how quickly it worked. Someone had recommended the Adam's flea and tick spray so i will be alternating between the sevin and the adam's.

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

So I went to the feedstores and they did not have Sevin.
They had something else called, Hi-Yield Garden, Pet & Livestock Dust.
It refers to mites and poultry, but its active ingredient is permethrin and dimethyl. Anyone have any experience with this?

I'm heading out pretty quickly here and will start with trying to clean her back end up. The feathers are all clumped together with mud, poop, and what appears to be mite eggs (YUCK!

). Then hopefully that will go well, she'll dry off a bit and then I'll apply the powder... hoping to hear from one of you before I apply it.

Thanks again you Backyard Chickener's ROCK!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
Permethrin is good. I'm not familiar with dimethyl. I would go ahead and use it.

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

Quote:
Permethrin is good. I'm not familiar with dimethyl. I would go ahead and use it.

Thanks!
I figured everyone was out enjoying their weekend and didn't want to wait much longer.

I cleaned up her back end, dried her off, dusted all three girls, then cleaned out their coop and dusted.

We were thinking we'd dust again in 4-5 days and then do a very thorough cleaning.

Then I have the diatomaceous earth for precautionary measures for here on out.