Mites?

RoosterHuggerLiz · Feb 13, 2022

My family has been raising chickens for a while or eggs and they're all happy and healthy, they've always had a few scattered mites but they are free range and they dust bathe regularly I add DE. As far as I know mites are like fleas for birds and I've never really treated mine, my babies have been able to take care of themselves when it comes to pests mostly(I do put garlic in their water and when molting I give them warm baths with Dawn dish soap to kill off that years mites). My question is, are mites really that dangerous in small quantities?

RoosterHuggerLiz · Feb 13, 2022

I really just want to know how dangerous they are so I can figure out how serious I should be about this issue

esme13 · Feb 14, 2022

Yes, they can make them anemic , cause poor egg production due to stress. If you see a few mites, always assume there is a lot more unseen. They hide really well! In the coops and birds. DE doesn’t stop an infestation.

RoosterHuggerLiz · Feb 15, 2022

esme13 said:
Yes, they can make them anemic , cause poor egg production due to stress. If you see a few mites, always assume there is a lot more unseen. They hide really well! In the coops and birds. DE doesn’t stop an infestation.

What is a better treatment?

esme13 · Feb 15, 2022

For treatment I”m going to add a link which will take you to another post about mites. Someone listed a bunch of great mite products on there and what they look like on the bottle.

Permethrin liquid , I use for my coop and dilute into water and spray everywhere in the coop. I make it pretty concentrated when I have a really bad infestation. I also have to air it out because it does have a strong smell. Permethrin chicken dust is absolutely amazing ! I sprinkle that everywhere and even on the chickens . I’ve also used ivermectin pour on , which kills them instantly on the bird , but I do a pretty lengthy egg withdrawal when I do that .
With all the products you have to repeat treatment. A happy chicken you can tell, because their feathers will look great and production increases too.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/help-with-mites-lice.1470809/