Mites!! Possibly Red mites! HELP!

[Sassy-ChikN Mom]

Hi all!
This afternoon I was giving one of my polish chickens some love… while looking her over I noticed little tiny reddish bugs crawling around under her tail feathers near her vent. I can only assume they are mites!

move read about various treatments and I am wondering what is the best and most effective? I have chickens of all ages/sizes. I’ve also got 2 broody hens (silkie & GL Wyandotte) sitting on eggs that should hatch around oct 9/10.

What is safe for them? Should I move them before lockdown period?

are the mites transferable to us humans?? Thanks!

 

[dawg53]

Buy Permethrin dust and dust all your birds one at a time. It would be best to dust the broodies before the eggs hatch.
Red mites can infect humans. They are also vectors for spirochetes.
You'll have to dust inside all your coops and nest boxes. It would be best to burn bedding and nesting material.
You'll have repeat dusting in 10-14 days to kill nits hatched from eggs missed by the initial dusting.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG140

 

[Banana01]

If you think the nests have mites, you should move the nests and eggs. I lose many babies to mites and haven't found any solution yet where I live other than moving the nests away from where I know the mites are at. I can't buy the powder that @dawg mentioned.

The mites on a baby are generally fatal where I live, even when I try to save them. However my adult chickens have ample places to bathe in sand and dirt. The adults know how to care for themselves, given the space to bathe. The babies cannot be forced to sleep near mites, or you may lose some or all.