Red Mites on Horses

[suebgbr]

My chickens are on a farm with stables nearby. They are always in their coops and runs unless I am cleaning them out. They then get to play out on a grassy bit where the horse boxes are.
One of the horsey people is demanding I get rid of my chickens as she claims her horse has red mites from them.
They have never been in contact with the horses. There is a 3 foot brick wall and a 6 foot courtyard between the chickens and the horses.
Is she right or is it an excuse because of the crowing? I have 8 coops; each with a cockerel and up to 4 hens each.

 

[Blammmo]

I really don't even know if birds can spread mites to horses or not, that being said, if your chickens have mites I'd look into options in getting the mites under control for your flocks well being, not because of what my neighbor may or may not believe.
As for your neighbor telling you to get rid of your chickens, tell them that you will as soon as they get rid of their horses.
You have just as much right to raise chickens as your neighbor does to own horses...

 

[suebgbr]

Thanks for your support.
I am going to start my yearly ritual of taking each set of birds home, bathing them in tea tree shampoo and keeping them in a dog crate overnight.
Whilst the coops are empty they are jetwashed, creosoted and sprayed with permethryn (sp).
That isn't good enough for her though as it takes time. She wants them gone!

 

[suebgbr]

Does anyone else know if red mites can/will go on horses?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Hi, I saw your cross posting on the other thread (random pictures). I'm currently dealing with red mites for the first time, and so have recently been doing a lot of research. Luckily, we caught the infestation early, so it hasn't been too hard to deal with.

From what I've read, I don't think red mites can live on horses as many parasites are species specific. Wikipedia says that red mites in chickens are Dermanyssus gallinae and will also prey on other bird species. They are capable of biting other animals, such as mammals, and have been known to cause allergic reactions, but cannot live and survive on non-bird species. I suppose it is possible that red mites may have bitten a horse and caused an allergic reaction, but they will not be living on the horse.

If this horsey person has red mites making themselves at home on her horse, then it is an entirely different species and not associated with your chickens at all. They will be a type of mite or louse specific to horses. "There are two type of mites in horses, Haematopinus asini, bloodsucking and the Bovicola equi, the biting louse." This is from http://www.horsecaring5.com/mites.html. She needs to find out how to treat these horse parasites to solve her problem. When I was young, we raised Thoroughbreds and had farm chickens roaming in and out of the pastures and stalls constantly. There was never an incidence or worry about cross species transfer of parasites. In fact, most people we knew with horses also had chickens. I think we would have heard something if anyone had had problems.

Red mites don't live on the chickens. They live in cracks and crevices in the coop and crawl out at night to feed on the roosting chickens and lay eggs. If they are in your coop, they will not be on your chickens in any great numbers when the chickens are out during the day. Check the roosts and walls of the coop at night with a flashlight to see if you have the rotten creepy-crawlies. If you do, you need to treat the coop. Washing the chickens will make them clean and smelling lovely, but won't help much with red mites. A heavy red mite infestation can weaken and even kill chickens, but you will not find them on the birds except at night.

Hope this helps!

 

[suebgbr]

Thank you so much. I will show her your post and ask her to do her own research! ( in a manner of speaking).
The chickens will hopefully live to crow another day!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Tell your neighbor that your chickens don't have lice and that she should treat her horse before it infects your birds.
According to this site , yes red mites will live on horses.

http://berkscountry.readingeagle.com/for-health-reasons-keep-horses-and-chickens-apart/

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Tell your neighbor that your chickens don't have lice and that she should treat her horse before it infects your birds.
According to this site , yes red mites will live on horses.

http://berkscountry.readingeagle.com/for-health-reasons-keep-horses-and-chickens-apart/

This article backs up what I said. The mites can get on a horse (or person) and bite, but they will not live on a mammal, they will drop off and look for a bird. If the person is consistently finding large populations of mites living on her horse, then it is a species of horse mite or lice and has nothing to do with chickens. Salmonella seems to be this vet's biggest concern.

 

[Fancychooklady]

This article backs up what I said.  The mites can get on a horse (or person) and bite, but they will not live on a mammal, they will drop off and look for a bird.  If the person is consistently finding large populations of mites living on her horse, then it is a species of horse mite or lice and has nothing to do with chickens.  Salmonella seems to be this vet's biggest concern. 

Yes, but it IS a vet and she is saying that they will be on the host long enough to cause grief. I DO have plenty of horses and apart from the occasional rescue coming in with lice , have never encountered any problems with my chickens spreading lice, however one can not simply dismiss the horse owners concerns.