Please Help!!! My chickens are dying from tropical mites!!!

[LoveMyBiscuit]

My ladies are dying from either tropical or northern fowl mites. We have brought them to see the vet and they diagnosed them with red chicken mites. The vet must be wrong because these mites feed all day not just at night. They appear to be living on the chicken. The mite infestation is so bad in only ONE week and now we are getting bite. My chickens feathers are falling out and they are almost not eating. They are still drinking water for now. We have used poultry protector from the local hatchery. We have spread Diatomaceous Earth all over the yard, the chickens, the house. I am worried they won't live another day. Has anyone dealt with this before??

 

[keesmom]

Could they be lice instead of mites? Either way earlier this fall I had 2 males that could just not rid themselves of lice/mites. I think they do not dust bathe as well as the hens, resulting in their predicament. Anyway, what I did was to fill a 5 gallon bucket with warm water and Dawn dish soap. I soaked them in the water and rubbed under the feathers to make sure they were wet to the skin. I rinsed and checked for bugs again. If I found some I repeated the soaking and rinsing. I let them dry in the house in a crate. That took care of the problem. I do not know if you have the same bug or not - these concentrated around the base of the tail and near the vent, leaving a brown residue along the feathers.

Permethrin poultry dust may be helpful. I know many here use Sevin with good results. I do not use it because I have honey bees.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some of the best links I know of that have pictures of mites for identification. Sevin dust and permethrin dust, plus Permectrin II liquid spray are the things to use. Mites have to be treated every 7 days until they are gone because of the egg hatching every 4-7 days. Coop and nest boxes have to be emptied, and floor, nests, and roosts should be sprayed. DE probably won't help. Here are links:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/laura_e_john/
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

 

[LoveMyBiscuit]

Thank you soooo much. I will try all of that immediately!!!

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Here are some of the best links I know of that have pictures of mites for identification. Sevin dust and permethrin dust, plus Permectrin II liquid spray are the things to use. Mites have to be treated every 7 days until they are gone because of the egg hatching every 4-7 days. Coop and nest boxes have to be emptied, and floor, nests, and roosts should be sprayed. DE probably won't help. Here are links:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140
http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/laura_e_john/
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

X2 on the Sevin and everything else!

 

[dawg53]

My ladies are dying from either tropical or northern fowl mites. We have brought them to see the vet and they diagnosed them with red chicken mites. The vet must be wrong because these mites feed all day not just at night. They appear to be living on the chicken. The mite infestation is so bad in only ONE week and now we are getting bite. My chickens feathers are falling out and they are almost not eating. They are still drinking water for now. We have used poultry protector from the local hatchery. We have spread Diatomaceous Earth all over the yard, the chickens, the house. I am worried they won't live another day. Has anyone dealt with this before??

FYI: Poultry lice are irritants, mites are killers. Mites can cause anemia, then death. The Red chicken mites can infect your birds with spirochetes which are difficult to treat. It is imperative that you rid your birds of these parasites as well as in your chicken coops. Use a magnifying glass to help you identify what type of mites you're dealing with. The first reference in Eggcessive's link (edis.ifas) will help you ID the mite. I suggest you read up on both the Northern fowl mite and Red chicken mite in that link.

 

[mg15]

Hi,
I have been fighting the mites for a year. They will kill the chickens. I am now bringing each chicken, first Dawn bath to rid the chicken of mites. There will be big scabs of mite debris and chicken skin that comes off. It is crustiness on the chicken skin. Remove everybit of crust and make sure the skin is clean. I then shampoo the chicken in Flea and Tick shampoo product called Sentry. I don't rinse completely off. Keep in the house overnite with a red warming lite on them to dry. If they are skinny I keep in the house to put some weight on them. I have also blown in the Sevin dusting powder into the coop and let it settle in their.
At this point if this does not get rid of them I am going to the Ivermectin drop on their skin. I will wait to see of the Sentry shampoo will keep the buggers off.
mg