Mites

[JessMay]

Our roosters comb has been pale and he has been lethargic. Most days he separates himself from everybody else. We checked him and he definitely has mites. We put Vaseline on his legs and spread DE in between his feathers. What else can we do to get rid of the lice/mites that he has?

 

[LaFleche]

DE will not help with poultry mites. You might rather want to use some insecticide that really kills these nasty bloodsuckers immediately.

In addition you could wrap some double-sided adhesive tape around the roost right where it meets the wall. This way all mites trying to reach the roosting chickens and those leaving the chickens after their meal to hide in the crevices will stick to the tape unable to do further harm.

 

[BudgieKing15]

Our roosters comb has been pale and he has been lethargic. Most days he separates himself from everybody else. We checked him and he definitely has mites. We put Vaseline on his legs and spread DE in between his feathers. What else can we do to get rid of the lice/mites that he has?

One of my hens I used to have had dust mites and when I took her to the vet he plucked out the mite-infested feathers.

 

[BudgieKing15]

Our roosters comb has been pale and he has been lethargic. Most days he separates himself from everybody else. We checked him and he definitely has mites. We put Vaseline on his legs and spread DE in between his feathers. What else can we do to get rid of the lice/mites that he has?

The vet also prescribed some meds, but I can't remember what they were. Plus, we gave her a bath.

 

[anvia]

When you say he has mites- where are they? Are you asking about leg mites or other types such as red mite?
There are a few different types and you will need to treat them accordingly & their housing & very likely any other chickens he’s in contact with too

 

[cmom]

I have previously posted the best product to get rid of the mites in my opinion is permethrin which is very cost effective. I had some birds that were severely infested. I thought they were just molting but weren't getting their feathers back in when I discovered they were loaded with mites. The first thing I tried was DE. The birds weren't improving and still had mites. I first discovered them in only one coop but eventually found them on birds in another coop. I dusted the birds and the coops with the DE and no improvement after treating them for a couple of weeks. Next I did use some sevin dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I did some research and came up with permethrin. I'm pretty sure the wild birds brought them into their coop. I used the dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and sprayed inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the mites can hide. It's best to clean out the coop before you spray. I use pine shavings in my coops. Wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I did a weekly spraying for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes, sprayed the birds getting under the wings and worked it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. Slowly the birds began to recover and get their feathers back in. I think if I hadn't treated with the permethrin when I did I probably would have lost some birds to the mites. The birds were in bad condition. Permethrin only kill live pests, not the pests eggs. TSC carries the permethrin powder, premixed spray bottles and the concentrate. I use the concentrate. For my initial application, I mixed it a little heavy. It did not affect the birds but I did keep them out of the coops while it dried. I spray my coops as needed and when I spray I do weekly spraying for 3 or 4 weeks then stop as I don't want the pests to develop a resistance to the permethrin. Repeated weekly spraying is necessary because again, it does not kill the mite eggs and as an added benefit is there is no egg withdrawal period. The birds are beautiful again. There are other products available but much more expensive and in my opinion the permethrin works great. Good luck...