Mosquitoes and sunburn questions

[LedgeWoods]

All 41 of my 12-week-old chicks are alive and well yet (much to my surprise with the early threat of the foxes & hawks nearby...which are turning out to be a non-problem so far.) They are all out free-ranging from about 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m daily...and absolutely loving their freedom. It's amazing to watch their "personalities" come out!

Do chickens eat mosquitoes or do mosquitoes bite chickens?? Also, I swear some of the hens get sunburn occasionally - by evening their faces look redder. Is that possible??

 

[noodleroo]

Mine will eat mosquitos, but I have to squish them for them! When they get hot they get a little 'flushed' look on their faces but it goes back to normal color when they cool off...

 

[Lifetime chicken lover]

I also wonder if the mosquitoes bite them. I know a few of my hens are quite proficient at catching mosquitoes mid-flight.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Mosquitos WILL bite the birds, and can spread a number of ilnesses, some fatal to the birds. Fowl pox is probably the most common mosquito spread illness, and while it is usually not life-threatening, it can be if the virus settles in the mucus membranes. Therw are also several forms of encephalitis that mosquitos spread and that chickens are susceptible to.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Quote:
You beat me to the punch!

Yes a mosquito will bite chickens and can transmit diseases. And yes a chicken will eat a mosquito if it catches it. Perhaps growing some citronella near the coop and run (but out of reach of your chickens; since I don't know if it is toxic to them) would help deter mosquitoes some?

 

[LedgeWoods]

...my big concern living in Wisconsin is West Nile virus. So far this season there are no reports of birds or people with it in the state, but the mosquitoes are out in full force with the rain, heat and humidity we've experienced lately. If a chicken should die mysteriously with no apparent trama, would you think the DNR would accept it to be tested for West Nile??

 

[sophee]

I was hoping the answer was no.... but of course mosquitoes bite chickens... my problem is that nothing deters them... not citronella plants, not lemon grass or any other things I've read to help... I really don't want to spray... but... with all our rain...even damp earth... any one having real success with organics for these hungry pests?

 

[shmccarthy]

I didn't think mosquitoes would bite chickens at first because of their feathers, but I was holding one of my red sex link pullets, and a mosquito landed on her head and tried to bite her. I squished it and she ate it. Mine will chase around mosquitoes but usually don't get any unless I catch and squish them for the chickens. As far as keeping them away, I'm not sure exactly what to do. I live next to the woods with a large pond in it so we have bad mosquitoes. The only way I know of keeping their numbers down naturally is making sure you don't have any long standing water. Also there are probably mosquito traps you can hang. I bought a fly trap that was just a little plastic thing that held water and this mixture and had a hole in it that they could easily fly in, but usually couldn't figure out how to get out and eventually would drown. I hung this high in the run and ended up killing 200 flies in just a couple weeks! I'm sure there's something similar for mosquitos as well.