mosquitos' in the chicken coop...????

[AN]

When i did the coop count tonight i noticed alot of mesquitos in the coop. I have seen a few before but there were A LOT of them tonight. Will they hurt the chickens?

 

[Judy]

They annoy them as badly as they do us. I try to keep them at reasonable levels with a fan on the birds.

Mosquitoes carry avian pox. There is a vaccination for it that the feed store should carry. If they get it, it will just run its course and then they will be immune for life, or so I have read. It causes black lesions on their combs and wattles. It is viral and there is no treatment for it.

I didn't know about the vaccination in time, so wound up treating the lesions with some Betadine or Neosporin to prevent a secondary infection. After a few weeks, the lesions simply disappeared.

Occasionally, it can cause lesions inside the mouth and respiratory tract, and this can be serious or fatal ("wet pox.")

 

[redhen]

I also have them in my coop. I noticed it today. Its been so rainy here and we live by water. And their coop is in a shady area..IS there anything i can spray or use to keep them off the birds?

 

[jerseygirl1]

My barred rock hens try and eat them...............

 

[citrusdreams]

If you guys have water in your coops, I'd move them out to the pen area. Mosquitos like to hang around by water, which is why there's so many more of them with all this rain.

You can use dairy spray in your coops. Make sure you read the label and see if the formula you get covers mosquitos.

 

[Uppity Peon]

Bug zappers are pretty effective on mosquitos.