Mites?

[Emilburn]

Hi, so today I noticed one of my hens was bare butted and my mind went straight to egg bound since we've had similar situations in the past. So I got her in an Epsom bath straight away. While we were sitting there I noticed bugs climbing all over her and me. Further investigation of her feathers revealed more bugs. Our geese nest mostly in hay and the girls will go in to scratch from time to time so I'm guessing they came from that. I mostly wanted a second opinion to either confirm or deny mites. We do treat both chicken and goose area with diotemacious earth regularly.

 

[aart]

We do treat both chicken and goose area with diotemacious earth regularly.

Not going to stop poultry pests from happening.

Get some permethrin.
Figure out what kind they are so you can treat the right places.

My Bug Check notes:
Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Emilburn]

Not going to stop poultry pests from happening.

Get some permethrin.
Figure out what kind they are so you can treat the right places.

My Bug Check notes:
Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

I will try that tonight, thank you for the tips!

 

[cmom]

Maybe I can help you. As @aart said, first determine what you have. I use permethrin.

I had Norther fowl mites in my coops. I used the permethrin concentrate but I have several coops and a lot of birds. At first I only noticed them in one coop and then found some in another coop so then I treated all of the coops. Here is a chart made by a BYC member for the dilution rate. I mixed mine at 0.5%.

Here is more information from a previous post that may help. Good luck...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/major-mite-infesation.359800/post-24158614

 

[benevolent_leonela]

I just got over an infestation of northern fowl mites on my hens. Super annoying! I am unsure if it is mentioned, during my research I never saw much mention of retreating for new, hatched mites but I recommend administering the permethrin at intervals. I used permethrin dust and did 3 rounds every 7 days to really make sure any new mite hatchlings were in contact with the dust. I couldn't find any information on the web if whether or not the dust killed eggs so I didn't take any chances of only dusting once. Now my lady birds are mite free, finally! Good luck

 

[aart]

I am unsure if it is mentioned, during my research I never saw much mention of retreating for new, hatched mites but I recommend administering the permethrin at intervals. I used permethrin dust and did 3 rounds every 7 days to really make sure any new mite hatchlings were in contact with the dust.

Absolutely!