My Chicken Has Mites Now What?

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

I was looking through my chickens feathers because I saw something moving and it turns out she has mites. How do I get rid of them?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Dust her thoroughly under her tail and under her wings with permethrin poultry dust.

Don't rely on DE as that is not effective as much as we'd all hope it to be, the science isn't there. Plus it is harmful to lungs.

You can get Poultry Dust at the farm store or even Amazon.

Repeat in 10 days to get rid of the emerging adults as the dust dust not kill the eggs.

Also clean out the coop and dust corners.

It is wise to dust all the birds because when one has it the others likely do as well.

Also give this gal a good once over. Sometimes it is the hen with a lowered immune system that has the mite build up. I've had older hens crawly with mites while the younger are not so affected.

It may be a good time to worm them as well as that can drive down the immune system.

And take heart. Mites are something that enter in with wild life and the winds. We all get them at some point.

LofMc

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

Thank you so much for the advice!

I will be sure to find some of the permethrin poultry dust and try it out.

As for dusting out the coop and everything, she hardly goes in there except to eat and at night she even sleeps on my front porch. Should I still dust it out?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes. Dust her sleeping quarters as some probably are lingering wherever she nests.

Northern Fowl Mites stay mainly on the bird. Red Roost Mites (red crawlies) live in the environment.

So if you've been seeing fast moving black pepper specks, that is likely the NFM.

Either way poultry dust will clear it. However if RRM, you need to take care of the environment as RRM live in the environment and only eat at night on the bird.

Good luck clearing her.
LofMc

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

Thanks!

 

[Molpet]

https://entomologytoday.org/2016/07/18/battling-chicken-mites-with-bags-of-brimstone/

 

[PirateGirl]

You can get liquid permetherin as well (horse or cattle aisle at the feed store), and dilute it in a spray bottle and spray everything down as well. Depending on how big your coop is, this may be more efficient. I should say IF you are in the US that is, I know it is not available in many (if any) other countries.

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

Thank you! And I am in the USA. Could I get some at Atwoods?

 

[PirateGirl]

I don't know what an Atwoods is, but if it's a ranch store, probably... the bottle looks like this. There are several brands, but the bottles all look the same. Remove all bedding, spray every nook and cranny. When the birds go to roost at night, mist the birds, get them from underneath, make sure you get the roosts, nest boxes, and corners (prime mite locations). Repeat in one week. Repeat a total of 3-4 times once a week. You should not find any more live mites after that. If you still find live ones, repeat again. It can take a few times to break the lifecycle, but you will see significant improvement after the first time and the others are more precautionary so they don't come back!

Also it is highly toxic to CATS so if you have cats be extra cautious and keep them away. Not toxic to chickens or people (same active ingredient as head lice shampoo). Good luck!

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

Thank you for telling me about the cat thing because we have 28 cats! yes 28 we have counted and they do like to go in the coop sometimes. Again thank you for warning me beforehand!