RED MITES AND WHAT ELSE?

[EDS]

My cockerel was scratching so I dusted him with mite powder a couple of weeks ago and cleaned out the coop, treated it for red mites and hoped that was OK. Today he’s scratching but the other hens aren’t. I decided to dust him again with mite powder and he’s infested. I ended up checking with my vet about a spot on treatment with invermectin that I have now ordered but until then I needed to help him. I looked on line and gave him a bath containing some mild dish soap. He enjoyed it, even went to sleep. It was a deep trug and I had to hold his head up making sure everywhere got a good soaking for at least 20 mins. When looking at his feathers pre-bath I also noticed some clumps around the base of his feathers down his spine and around his behind. I thought it was residue from the last dusting that may have got damp and clumped around the feathers but when I was trying to remove them they turned out to be spongy matts which I am now wondering were possibly some kind of egg casing? Can anyone identify it from this picture? At the moment he’s drying off after a blow dry in a cardboard box by a radiator. Once he is dry I will give him another dusting and hope that it helps until I get the invermectin drops. Incidentally, the invermectin is for birds up to 500g so if my cockerel and any of his girls are more than 500g do I alter the dosage?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I decided to dust him again with mite powder and he’s infested.

Better treat your ladies or you'll never get rid of them.

Lice nits is what those egg casings look like.. there are several types of poultry lice.. mite powder should be effective.. but probably requires multiple treatments specified days apart to completely break the life cycle from anything hatching.

Incidentally, the invermectin is for birds up to 500g so if my cockerel and any of his girls are more than 500g do I alter the dosage?

Yes., it's always by weight for ivermectin.

There are other choices than ivermectin that don't require egg withdrawal for you ladies (permethrin based product or elector psp).. Just because they are itching less or not noticeably doesn't mean they're bug free.

The permethrin is sold as horse fly spray ready to use or concentrate mix that must be diluted.. it's also usable as a perimeter spray.

Red mites.. don't live on the chicken but under the roost and only come out to feed on them. Northern fowl mites do live on the bird. Some other non chicken mites are also red.. there are thousands of varieties.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Eggcessive]

I would use permethrin garden dust or permethrin spray 15 ml over the body where the lice are. Repeat one of those in 10 days to get any newly hatched ones. Those clumps are lice eggs. They can be hard to get rid of. All bedding should be removed from nests and the coop. The coop, nests, and roosts should be sprayed with permethrin 10. It lasts about 30 days. It only takes one new bird brought in with lice and they all will soon have them. If using the concentrated permethrin 10 that is mixed with water, the most economical permethrin, mix 5 ml (1 tsp) in each quart of water, and that will treat lice or poultry mites and the coop. Martins or Gordons are both good to use, and TSC may sell Gordons:
https://www.chewy.com/martins-permethrin-10-concentrate/dp/371722?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Martin's&utm_campaign=19725169411&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7GnBhDXARIsAFLvH4mvFyeusvqcJ7rsK3KP47J8ui-7P77ztGIV7-lp-9C_EM6fahhVQvEaAn64EALw_wcB

 

[EDS]

Better treat your ladies or you'll never get rid of them.

Lice nits is what those egg casings look like.. there are several types of poultry lice.. mite powder should be effective.. but probably requires multiple treatments specified days apart to completely break the life cycle from anything hatching.


Yes., it's always by weight for ivermectin.

There are other choices than ivermectin that don't require egg withdrawal for you ladies (permethrin based product or elector psp).. Just because they are itching less or not noticeably doesn't mean they're bug free.

The permethrin is sold as horse fly spray ready to use or concentrate mix that must be diluted.. it's also usable as a perimeter spray.

Red mites.. don't live on the chicken but under the roost and only come out to feed on them. Northern fowl mites do live on the bird. Some other non chicken mites are also red.. there are thousands of varieties.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Thank you. The cockerel seems a lot better since his bath and my getting rid of those lice nit casings. I hope my order comes soon. I was tempted to dose him with Frontline spot on as I have seen other posts on the internet saying they use it but didn’t. He is separated now from the girls and when the medication arrives they will all get some. Meanwhile when the girls have gone to bed I will get them out one by one and dust them. Thanks again.