Red mite eggs coating feather shafts -need advice

[azygous]

Yuuuuk! This is a first for me! I'm sure it's occurred before, but I neglected to notice. Probably the reason I noticed my birds are infested now is because I can see the red mites now following recent cataract surgery.

I dusted the flock yesterday with a poultry dust containing pemethrin, and it made the bugs run for their lives. But now the chickens are left with a cement-like coating of red mite eggs on their feather shafts. How do I get rid of this crud? How long before the eggs hatch and will this "cement" slough off?

 

[Poultry parent]

you could cut the feathers but only if it's really bad. wait a few days and dust again. you could also smother the eggs with some vasaline but just be aware that dirt will stick to the feathers

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Yuuuuk! This is a first for me! I'm sure it's occurred before, but I neglected to notice. Probably the reason I noticed my birds are infested now is because I can see the red mites now following recent cataract surgery.

I dusted the flock yesterday with a poultry dust containing pemethrin, and it made the bugs run for their lives. But now the chickens are left with a cement-like coating of red mite eggs on their feather shafts. How do I get rid of this crud? How long before the eggs hatch and will this "cement" slough off?

That sounds to me like lice eggs. Red mites don't reproduce on the chicken, they live and breed in cracks etc.

 

[Poultry parent]

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html

 

[azygous]

Lice. Hmmm. Makes sense. It may be why I've never been able to detect any of these varmints in the coop, even at night.

The base of the feathers are lined with obvious eggs, cemented to the feather shafts like hard cement. In trying to clean them off the feathers, the feather comes out.

But the color of lice has me perplexed. These bugs on my chickens are reddish, not tan.

I suppose all I can do is dust the flock each week for the next month and hope to rid them all finally of these pests, whatever they are.

 

[Poultry parent]

are they northern fowl mites?

 

[azygous]

I am pretty sure I'm seeing lice eggs on the feathers of my chickens, not mites. I hope it's not mites.

 

[CluckerCottage]

lice turn reddish brown after a blood meal.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Folks I know swear by wood ash in their dust bath. The ash is supposed to smother the critters better than just regular dirt.

 

[CluckerCottage]

Folks I know swear by wood ash in their dust bath. The ash is supposed to smother the critters better than just regular dirt.

I use clean wood ash mixed with DE.
Been good for our flock.
I had a bad case if lice and mites on some rescue hens-- tried everything but in the end, the only thing that got rid of the bugs was Ivermectin pour-on for cattle.