Mites?

[Avonshire]

So I got a new silkie cochin mix today. It was from a friend. My son said he saw a bug crawling on the bird and that there were bugs on him after holding her. Sure enough I had them on me too. They are very small and somewhat reddish brown. I am new to all this chicken stuff. My friend did not know about the problem and was going to go home and check her other chickens. I have tried to rub in some DE on the outside of the bird. I have dusted the outside area and brooder for the chicken. I am worried my other chicks(4 week olds) will get it too or maybe it is not such a big deal? Does it sound like mites? Are they a big problem?

 

[yo burrill]

Yes they sound like Mites... I used Livestock dust and dusted the birds and the coop and that took care of them.

 

[FirewifeJess]

You should definitely treat for mites on all the birds if they've been together and a single bird has been seen with mites. The 4 week olds could succumb to mites fairly quickly if they became infested. Get some Sevin Dust and thoroughly coat the bird everywhere, paying special attention to the vent/bottom area and under the wings. You can also buy Permethrin spray and squirt the birds in the behind If you want to go a more natural route, buy some Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and coat the bird and living quarters with that. HTH!

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Sounds like red mites and they can become a really big problem if not taken care of. If it is to the point where the bugs are visible on you after holding the chicken then DE may not be strong enough at this point. DE is great for preventing this but not so much for solving the problem once it has gotten bad.

I would dust the birds with seven powder. Wear a mask and protect the chickens eyes and mouth as best you can. Seven is nasty stuff so you do not want to breath it in if possible. Don't ever use it inside. Make sure you get around the vent and under the wings very well. Seven will kill the bugs but not the eggs, so I would dust with seven again one more time in about 7-10 days and use DE after that if you want to do one more to make sure.

It is my understanding that red mites can actually live instead your coop, in the pine, straw and wood. So I would clean out any pine and straw really well in your coop and brooder and get fresh pine mixed with DE. I would also make sure you have dust bath available for thema at all times with DE mixed it. When I got red mites I also diluted some bleach in a spray bottled and cleaned out my wooden coop just in case.

I got a new bird that had mites and did not realize it and she spread them to everyone. I now dust any new birds before they move in just in case.

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Look around on the forums because I know there are several good threads about dusting. I would read more to see if the babies can be exposed to seven or not before doing it. If not use DE on the little ones.

 

[yo burrill]

Was just on another post that said to put the powder in a garbage bag then put the bird in the garbage bag with just its head sticking out. Gather the bag around the top of the chickens neck then shake the bag around to coat the chicken really well.

 

[Avonshire]

OK well all I had was DE so I tried that. I dusted the bird pretty heavily and her night pen and her day pen. I kept her separated from the others and dusted them all too. Well I have not seen any bugs all day today. I did not see any tonight(I let her get to roost a bit and then went and checked because someone said that was a good time to look at the vent area for bugs.). Could I have gotten rid of them so easily?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

It is possible you have killed all the bugs but there could still be eggs that will hatch and the problem will be back. I would wait a week and then dust everything again even if you dont see anything just to be safe.

 

[yo burrill]

They are not hard to kill but you have to keep treating cause it doesnt usually kill all the eggs. If they have a specific spot they like to dust bath dump some de there and they will re treat themselves as they dust bath.

 

[blue and buff]

i tried d.e. but when i went out at night the mites were crawling in it i am at my wits end nothing is slowing them down some of my chooks are looking very pale. i have also tried a liquid which you mix 1 part to 10 parts but still got the little buggers mine are not all red some are gray looking i need help.