Question about decreasing chance of lice & mites

[Iluveggers]

I am being proactive in trying to prevent as many problems as possible. What are some ways to set up a wood coop to reduce the chance of lice & mites? I think I will be making plastic nest boxes or putting plastic bins in the actual nest boxes, as well as painting the entire coop and putting a linoleum floor cover on the bottom over the wood. Other coop suggestions? (Coop isn’t built yet)

Also, do leg feathering, muffs, beards, & tuffs increase the likelihood of lice and mites? Will take this into account when choosing chicks in the spring. I like Ameraucauna and Marans so that info would be helpful.

Any other tips in general to help with this concern? Advice you wish you had received? Thanks so much.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Personally, I follow the "They're gonna have them" thought process. Freaking our every time you see bugs don't really help. But when I start seeing more than a few on a bird, I whip out the dust and get to work.

I personally haven't noticed more besides in my polish crests

 

[ChickenLeg]

Wetness is a big factor, so having somewhere for them to take dry dust bathes are very helpful at keeping these parasites at bay. My property holds water real bad and half my birds are in chicken tractors. They tend to catch mites when its very rainy. So I keep ivermectin pour on and talstar P on deck ready to spray down coops and treat birds. So if you can keep a dry area constantly with a nice dust bath area thats going to drastically cut down the chances of having an outbreak