Mites

[paintedhouston]

Ok I'm almost positive I have red mites in my coup I have lost 2 chickens in 4 days and I don't want to lose anymore. The ones that died got really lethargic and just laid down and died. One was 2 years old and the other only 1 year old. One if them had white feathers and I saw tons of really tiny red and black specks moving around mostly under the wing and around the beak. So I went and bought a insecticide that my local co-op suggested to kill the little critters. It is called pen and poultry chicken and roost insecticide spray by Martin's. My question is is this going to work? Can I still eat the eggs? If I can't eat them how long should I wait? I'm going to try this Friday when it Will be warm enough(I live in minnesota) to kick my chickens outside to let the coup air out but will that be long enough. It said not to get it on your skin and to wash your cloths after use. Then it says to spray on chickens directly is that a good idea? Any info would help greatly. I just want to deal with this in the right most effective way before I lose Any more chickens.

 

[LittlePip21]

Hi! I'm sorry to hear that! I've heard red mites come in at night on the roosts, maybe you could rub it into the roosts? Also, you can use an old ketchup squirt bottle or somthing like it to have more control when dusting. Sorry I couldn't be more help! I've never had red mites before.

 

[LittlePip21]

There could be a withdrawal period, depending on the insectiside

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. The mites could be a contributing factor, but they may not be the cause of death. I would refrigerate the body of any dead chicken, and send it to your state vet for a necropsy to look for a cause of death. Lice can look like little red fast moving bugs that leave white clumps of eggs at the base of feather, while mites are slower moving. The Martins spray is 5% permethrin which is excellent to use. I would spray each chicken with about 1/2 an ounce right away on the area where you see the bugs. Then clean out your coop bedding, spray the walls, nests, and roost, and replace with clean bedding. Look them over at 7 day intervals to see if the spray should be repeated. I don't think many use an egg withdrawal time with permethrin. It does have a strong scent, but I would keep good overhead air circulation to air out the coop.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry for your loss.

A necropsy is recommended if at all possible.

Permethrin is a good product. I think the one I use (called horse fly spray) is about 9-10%. Here is a link to a thread with a little info as well as some success stories....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1134783/permethrin-spray

Good luck!

 

[casportpony]

@paintedhouston , welcome to BYC, and sorry for your losses. Here is a thread I started that has pictures and info about pesticides approved for use in poultry. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1151513/pesticides-approved-for-poultry

As the others have already said, permethrin would be the best way to treat your infestation.

 

[paintedhouston]

Thank you all for the support and great advise I'm cleaning the coup for sure and going to spray my flock right away. Thanks again

 

[casportpony]

Thank you all for the support and great advise I'm cleaning the coup for sure and going to spray my flock right away. Thanks again

If it's cold where you are, you might want to buy permethrin dust for the birds, and permethrin spray for the coop.

 

[paintedhouston]

It's really cold like below zero everyday this time of year

 

[casportpony]

It's really cold like below zero everyday this time of year

Then dust for birds, spray for coop, nesting boxes, roosts, etc.