Red mite

[stephen k]

Hello me an my gf hav quite a few hens and we haven't had an egg in months!we think there mite b a red mite infestation and we were wondering how it works!we seen a red mite bomb but we are unsure if u let it off wen the hens are in the coop or outside the coop?

 

[lazy gardener]

You'll need to clean out the coop, and nest boxes, and dispose of or burn all of the litter. Wash down the coop. You'll need to do this at least twice about a week apart b/c the first cleaning will not kill any of the eggs that are yet to hatch. if you use the bomb, be sure to use it when they are OUT of the coop. Read several threads about treatment for red mites. Have you checked your birds? Have you seen red mites? The red mites live in the cracks and crevasses in the coop, and even in the litter, coming out at night to feed on the chickens. You won't see them on the chickens unless you check after dark. The first thing you need to do is a daylight inspection of your chickens to be sure they don't have lice or feather mites. Check under wings, back of neck, around the vent. Then do an inspection of the coop to see if you can find any red mites. The nymphal stage is extremely tiny, and you might need a magnifying glass to see them. Try wrapping a piece of white cloth around the roost, and check it in the morning for red mites or blood stains. An other indication is that you will hear the chickens stomping their feet on the roost at night. Red mites love to hang out in the nest box. You might even find some crawling on the eggs. Find out what you're dealing first, then deal with it accordingly. What is in this bomb? You'll want to choose the least toxic treatment that will still solve the problem.

 

[enola]

Worming them with Safeguard or Valbazen is probably a good idea also. Repeat the worming in 10 days.What type of feed are they getting? Do they have water available 24/7? Cold weather makes this difficult.... Do you feed a lot of treats? Do you have artificial lights to make up for short day light hours?

 

[stephen k]

They get layers pellets an they are allowed to scavenge round the garden aswel as some fruit and vegetables!there is good light from the morn to evening now but we just haven't had an egg in months!im goin to inspect then all this weekend before applying anything!thabks for ur help

 

[lazy gardener]

I wouldn't treat them for mites/lice unless I saw a reason to treat them. You should be sure they have access to a good dry dust bath all the time. You can add wood ash and DE as a good preventative. With a proper dust bath, some chickens never have buggies.

 

[enola]

If you find out your chickens have mites or lice don't waste your money on DE. Please buy a topical treatment or poultry dust to get the job done right.

 

[lazy gardener]

Agree with Enola. If you see one bug, there are thousands more. Treating quickly and with a product that will get the job done is imperative, however, you will still benefit from preventative measures after treatment if you do have issues, and always, even if you never see a problem.

 

[stephen k]

What would you guys use for a dust bath?would wood shavings do?they have dug at the back of our hedge and I seen them rolling around in it!could it be that they are trying to scratch themselves or just having fun?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You must constantly treat chickens to prevent mite infections. A good preventive treatment for each bird every 90 to 180 days will not control all mites but this will control almost all outbreaks of mites.

Dust baths and dust baths only are useless for controlling the red or the common chicken mite. The reason this mite is called the "red" mite is because its translation body looks bright red after the common chicken mite has feasted on your chicken's blood. You need an insecticide to control red or common chicken mites because they live off the chicken and only go to the chicken at night to feed. To control red mites treat all cracks, crannies, wood joints, crevasses etc. where this mite can hide and sleep during the daylight hours. Sevin 5% powder in the dust bath helps some but it can't get into the cracks and joints of a coop like Permeation mixed with motor oil or diesel fuel and sprayed on the wood joints, roost poles and coop corners can.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

There is a version of the "can you pinch an inch?" test that you can do on your hens. The idea is to help the chicken keeper control his or her hens' weight. Chickens carry their fat around inside them and it is hard to tell a fat hen from a skinny hen without hefting her or maybe even weighing her. It is possible for a hen who has learned to stand by the back door and beg for treats to be so fat that there is literally not enough room inside her to hold an egg.