Mites!!! Yuck! Question.....

[JensChickies]

Needless to say I found mites last night. I found them only on one chicken, but I figured if one has the creepy crawlies, then they all do. I automatically dusted them with permethrin dust last night...all 5 of them at 10 o clock last night. It grossed me out, can you tell? Lol
So today I....
1. Removed all bedding/sand from coop
2. Vacuumed with shop vac to get everything out
3. Washed the coop out with water, sprayed down with vinegar ( it's all I had at the time)
4. Let dry, then went to the store to buy poultry protector and sprayed the coop top to bottom.....took a long time. :/
5. Replace all bedding. I use hay in nesting boxes and sand on floor. BUT I dusted with permethrin dust before I layed down the new bedding
6. Sprayed all 5 hens with poultry protector.

WHEW!!! What a Sunday.

Do I need to do anything else? Do I need to dust again in 10 days?? I have never dealt with mites before. I want them gone!

 

[JensChickies]

Anybody???

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I would help to know the species of mites so that you can craft a solution that best solves the problem.

 

[JensChickies]

I would help to know the species of mites so that you can craft a solution that best solves the problem. 

I'm thinking maybe red....they were small and red crawling around her vent.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Try spaying this all over the coop and run. I found this recipe today and is really rather amazing

2 Oz water
2 Oz white vinegar
15 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops peppermint essential oil
10 drops tea tree essential oil

Good luck and let us know if it works out.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I'm thinking maybe red....they were small and red crawling around her vent.

Go out to the coop in the middle of the night. Take a small amount of Charmin (white only) and rub or whip it on the roost and any poop boards. Observe the toilet tissue for little red stains. The stains represent red mites that had already fed and the red color comes from your birds blood that the mites have fed on. Never treat just one chicken, treat them all. Mites are not evidence of poor housekeeping, they are only proof of chickens living on the premises.

 

[JensChickies]

Go out to the coop in the middle of the night.  Take a small amount of Charmin (white only) and rub or whip it on the roost and any poop boards.  Observe the toilet tissue for little red stains.  The stains represent red mites that had already fed and the red color comes from your birds blood that the mites have fed on.  Never treat just one chicken, treat them all.  Mites are not evidence of poor housekeeping, they are only proof of chickens living on the premises. 

Thank you, I will try that. I am obsessed now, so I have looked almost every night and haven't found any crawling on their vents. Not even the one I found them on initially. I will do the charmin test and see if it works tonight. When I first got my coop I sealed the wood so hopefully the little boogers arnt too far down in the wood. I recently bought two Easter eggers about 2 months ago. I quarantined them and while I did that I dusted them just in case even though I didn't see any mites on them.. I didn't know to dust them 10 days later, so they might have been where they came from. I keep the coop really clean, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Thank you again.

 

[lynnehd]

Go out to the coop in the middle of the night. Take a small amount of Charmin (white only) and rub or whip it on the roost and any poop boards. Observe the toilet tissue for little red stains. The stains represent red mites that had already fed and the red color comes from your birds blood that the mites have fed on. Never treat just one chicken, treat them all. Mites are not evidence of poor housekeeping, they are only proof of chickens living on the premises.

Might be a dumb question, but can it be any brand of white toilet paper?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Might be a dumb question, but can it be any brand of white toilet paper?

Yes you can use any brand, but since I forgot how you spell toilet paper but I had an almost full roll of Charmin in my hand while I was composing my previous post I just copied Charmin off of the wrapper.....

 

[lynnehd]

Yes you can use any brand, but since I forgot how you spell toilet paper but I had an almost full roll of Charmin in my hand while I was composing my previous post I just copied Charmin off of the wrapper.....

LOLOL. That made my day.