I noticed the signs of Scaly Leg mites on our Roo so we began treating them all yesterday evening. While working on our Dominic I noticed she had a little piece of poo stuck to her bottom so wanted to clean that as well. As I separated the feathers well below her vent I noticed little red things running around. I then check her vent area and didn't notice anything there. Totally grossed me out and felt SO bad for her. Cleaned her up and put a little DE on her and am doing a thorough cleaning of coop and run today. We keep our coop and run very clean. The coop has dropping boards so there is no poo collection. This is scraped in the morning and the board is washed and bleached once a week. Not very much chips on floor in summer and they don't seem to poop in the coop much in summer as they spend most of their time outside. I have read so many different approaches on getting rid of what I suspect to be "mites". I didn't see any on the other chickens but know they will spread so I'm going at this treatment fast as I want my chickens to be parasite free always. I guess this proves no matter how clean you keep your coop and run you are still susceptible to these pests. So some folks are saying sevin, others are saying use poultry spray and other say DE. We have a DE dusting box, with DE mixed with a little dirt and sand. Then I read you shouldn't use DE in a dusting box as it's hard on their respiratory system. I know that everyone has their opinions but I would appreciate some sound advice on how to rid my coop and run of these creatures and get my chickens free from these pests as well. Is Poultry Protector something you can use to rid them of these pests or is that something you use frequently as a preventative? I just cleaned the coop 2 weeks ago - but out of strip it out and bleach and DE and/or Sevin on floor and cracks again today. Please pass on your success stories and what is the best approach. Also I should add that these little mites? I saw on my Dominic seem to be localized an inch or more below her vent in the soft feather area. I looked under her wings and didn't see anything running around? very odd.
