? red mite

[marcusopp]

Hi,
I fear I might have red mite starting in my coop. 5/6 hens all huddled together over to one side with the last one alone in the nest box. Any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[Tookie]

Hi,
I fear I might have red mite starting in my coop. 5/6 hens all huddled together over to one side with the last one alone in the nest box. Any suggestions?
Thanks

Do you see mites in the coop?

 

[nuthatched]

Run your hands under the roosts, studs and boxes, if they coop back red, you have red mites.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you checked their skin for signs of mites? Some (the red roost mites) only come on them at night in the dark, returning to the cracks and crevices of the coop in daytime. Northern fowl mites stay on them 24/7. Permethrin spray or dust is a good treatment for mites in the US.

Have you had an issue before with mites? How old are your chickens? Are they laying eggs? Is one acting more off than the others? What are you feeding? Are crops emptying overnight. What is your general location? Here is some good info on what to look for:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

 

[marcusopp]

Do you see mites in the coop?

Not as yet. I regularly spread desidust around and also rub it into the hens once a month, so taking the precautions. Found it weird that there was ample space in the sleeping area, nice and warm, lots of straw (poo cleaned out daily) and the chicken was sleeping alone in the nest box

 

[Tookie]

Not as yet. I regularly spread desidust around and also rub it into the hens once a month, so taking the precautions. Found it weird that there was ample space in the sleeping area, nice and warm, lots of straw (poo cleaned out daily) and the chicken was sleeping alone in the nest box

Tonight I would look around the coop for mites.

 

[marcusopp]

Tonight I would look around the coop for mites.

I had a nose around, trying not to disturb the hens. They were more spread out last night, although one was still in the nest box alone. It's the 'leader' who is sleeping alone. She's normally the first to bed. Weird. Less fearful of mites now though

 

[dawg53]

You're going to have to personally pick up one or all your hens and inspect each one at a time closely for mites or lice, especially around the vent area.
Mites are red or black in color and have 8 legs. Lice are white/off white or straw in color and have 6 legs.
Mites suck blood and cause anemia, then death. Red mites can infect chickens with spirochetes. Lice are irritants and left untreated can take a chicken down.
Dont be lackadaisical when it comes to external parasites on chickens. They can take a chicken(s) down in no time. You have to hit them hard and fast.
Closely inspect feather shafts for lice or mite eggs. You can remove them using coconut oil.
Inspecting birds at night is best whether they're sleeping or not. Dont forget your flashlight.

I recommend using Permethrin powder to dust birds. You also have to clean out the coop and get rid of the bedding and dispose of it far away from the coop or incinerate it, same for nesting material in nesting boxes.
Once you've thoroughly cleaned out the coop, you can dust inside the coop including roosts and nest boxes or use Permethrin liquid concentrate to spray inside the coop. The liquid concentrate has a 28 day residual effect.
Once it dries, put new bedding inside the coop (if that's what you use) and dust lightly dust the bedding with the Permethrin powder and pat it down with your hands.
Then you can let your birds back inside the coop.
Ten days later, repeat dusting your birds to kill mites/lice hatched from eggs that may have been missed.