Red mite

[Mim130359]

After battling with red mite in my coop for over a year I've decided to buy a plastic coop. I've been spraying the old coop every month but the mites always return .
My worry is that the mites will be on the chickens and be transferred into the new coop . How do I rid chickens of mites successfully?
I'm grateful for any advice .
Claire
Kent UK

 

[nuthatched]

Have you tried painting the inside of your coop? I wouldn't reccomend a plastic coop since they're nothing but trouble.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Have you tried painting the inside of your coop? I wouldn't reccomend a plastic coop since they're nothing but trouble.

Not necessarily true. I have a Nestera coop. I had to be careful where to place it in the pen, add tarp cover to the run, etc., but after what I’ve read over the last several summer months, it’s doing a lot better than other non-plastics.

(Southeastern US in the mountains)

 

[Mother of Chaos]

After battling with red mite in my coop for over a year I've decided to buy a plastic coop. I've been spraying the old coop every month but the mites always return .
My worry is that the mites will be on the chickens and be transferred into the new coop . How do I rid chickens of mites successfully?
I'm grateful for any advice .
Claire
Kent UK

@Perris

 

[Perris]

If it is red mites, they live on the coop not on the chicken, so they won't migrate via the birds to the new coop.

I have 4 Nestera coops, having added more since 2017 as the flock has grown. They are less trouble than any other type of coop known to me, and they make dealing with parasites of all types trivial.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

If it is red mites, they live on the coop not on the chicken, so they won't migrate via the birds to the new coop.

I have 4 Nestera coops, having added more since 2017 as the flock has grown. They are less trouble than any other type of coop known to me, and they make dealing with parasites of all types trivial.

Ahh, I didn’t know that they didn’t live on the birds! Useful to know.

 

[Mim130359]

If it is red mites, they live on the coop not on the chicken, so they won't migrate via the birds to the new coop.

I have 4 Nestera coops, having added more since 2017 as the flock has grown. They are less trouble than any other type of coop known to me, and they make dealing with parasites of all types trivial.

Thank you for your answer .
I've noticed that if I pick one of my chickens up in the morning , I get a few mites on me . This makes me think that there are mites still in their feathers .
Is there anything that I can put on them or into a dust bath that might get rid of these last " clinging on " mites ?

 

[Perris]

Thank you for your answer .
I've noticed that if I pick one of my chickens up in the morning , I get a few mites on me . This makes me think that there are mites still in their feathers .
Is there anything that I can put on them or into a dust bath that might get rid of these last " clinging on " mites ?

that sounds like lice; have a look at this and see if it fits
https://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/lice-on-chickens-and-poultry/

If it does, as recommended on the page, a couple of drops of Ivermectin (sold for pigeons, it's off label use on chickens) on the back of the neck skin (part the feathers to apply) will kill anything that sucks the birds' blood, assuming that thing hasn't developed resistance from misuse and overuse of Ivermectin in your area.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Good point. Is it red mites, lice, or something else. They have different life cycles and habits so they need to be treated differently. That's often the hardest part, determining what yuour actual problem is.

Good luck!

 

[Climbingalbatross]

I wish that wooden coops came with a warning. My outdoor wooden coop and indoor rabbit hutch (used for broody hens) ended up with red mites. Three pullets from the outdoor coop are now dead, and I am having an impossible time clearing the mites out. I'm using permethrin spray on the sides and top, permethrin powder on the bottom, and neem oil on the lip. So far only the neem oil seems to be decreasing their numbers. Is it possible they developed a tolerance to permethrin?! All chickens are in a separate plastic Omlet coop with permethrin powder in their laying area under towels. The chicks I placed in plastic tubs with mom. I am mainly concerned about the chicks because I don't know if mom might be carrying any from the rabbit hutch. I don't see any on them. I am wondering if I should place permethrin powder on mom. I don't want to harm the chicks.