More questions about mites

[roz]

So I'm pretty sure mites are at the route of all my problems and the reason one of my chickens died even though I originally thought worms. Maybe worms overpowered them after they were weakened by mites? After worming, I haven't seen worms expelled in poop. So I was wondering if broken feathers and distended bellies could be a result of mites? My husband cleared a rodent nest that was on the mesh on top of our run but under the roofing. Also, I cleaned the entire coop as best I could yesterday scrubbing poop off walls and perches and spraying pirmethryn spray in all cracks. We have insulation and some of the wood covering it is bowed and I saw what looked like bunches of mite eggs. This morning there were a bunch of dead gnat looking bugs on the window ledge inside the coop. one of our hens that we nursed back to health is dropping feathers right and left though. She is acting like herself, but should I be worried about all the feathers coming out? We also have two naked necked hens that aren't supposed to be naked. They've been this way for a few weeks though. I plan to re clean and spray every 4 to 5 days, but do you think that will be enough? Anything else I can do?

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes, broken and loss of feathers is a sure sign of mites. And too many mites can weaken the chicken enough to kill it. Get some Sevin powder from the garden store and dust the birds down. You may have to have the hubby help hold them, but get under the wings and as much as you can near to the skin. If they have a favorite dust bathing place, dust the bath area so when they dust bathe it gets on them.

You can use the Sevin in the coop too, dust all around the perches, underneath, in the nest boxes and such. The say that DE is supposed to repel the mites from the coop, although I have never used it. The pirmethryn is good to spray also around perches.

 

[mysilkiebrood]

i had lost several chickens lately and i beleive some of it was caused by mites. i brought one smaller chicken into the house and bathed her in a bit of dawn dish soap , when she was wet you could really see the mites. the dawn dish soap killed some on contact. unfortunatley she died the next day. i have two coups attatched to a big closed in run. i ended up clearing out both coups, i burned all the pine shavings in there then washed both coups down walls floors sealings any perches with dawn dish soap. i let the coups air dry. when dry i sprayed the whole coup thoroughly with pymithern ( tractor supply carries it) i got a bottle of concentrate 17.00, mixed the solution in spray bottles. sprayed the coups then in the run i sprayed each chicken about 40. i grabed them buy there feet and let them dangle they automatically spread there wings which is where you need to spray and also there bottom then released them. they were greasy looking for awhile but no one was to stressed by the procedure. took me about 30 minutes to spray all of them they then were put in the coops. i got a garden rake and into the coup i went...i raked all the mulch and top layer of dirt out of the run and burned this also. i then sprayed the whole entire run floor perches . i let it dry then to be sure i dusted the ground with seven dust. and replaced the mulch with fresh mulch. in two weeks i will repeat the whole process but just spray all buildings and chickens. this way the eggs that might have hatched( 2 week incubation for mite eggs ) will be killed off as well! so far so good. some say its bad but after the mite scare i went back to using cedar shavings in my coops. it has a natural bug rpelent in it . not bothered any of my chickens. smells better too!!

 

[broodytood]

Check this out!
Diatomaceous earth (DE) works because the sharp edges of the fossilized diatoms make microscopic slices through the parasites exoskeletons. Then, because it is a desiccant, it dehydrates the them. Because it is a mechanical treatment rather than a chemical process, they do not build up immunity to DE, and it does not need to be rotated with other treatments. So, it will kill live parasites but not egg sacks so it must be reapplied to kill emerging eggs.
They can eat it with out harm and in fact, it kills internal parasites.
It can be sprinkled in the coops and put in the dust bath, but will become gummy and not work well if it gets wet.
Always wear a mask when applying.
Some have said that it is as dangerous as Sevin. I disagree on one point. Yes, they are both powders that are harmful to breath. But... DE is not a toxic chemical like Sevin. It is harmful to breath white flour but it is not a chemical so therefore while it can be harmful to breath, it is at least less toxic.
Hope this helps.

 

[roz]

Thanks for the posts. I think my gut is telling me mites, but I was just out at the coop in the dark locking the girls up for the night and I shined a flashlight on the one who is loosing lots of feathers and there was nothing. I also shined the light on dark cracks in the walls and I think I found a couple small red dots but nothing moving. Maybe it is because I washed the coop and sprayed it yesterday? I have been thinking about DE for the ground in the run. I sprinkled pirmethryn on the ground last night and tried to rake it around, but I don't know if I'm getting everyplace with this stuff. A couple of days ago I sprayed under the girls' wings, around their necks which are either naked or becoming that way, and at their vent. Maybe I should dust them tomorrow?