Red mites vs. the sawtooth grain beetle

[Sunshine Flock]

I just had an interesting experience. This is my first year raising chickens, and I'm learning all kinds of fun things.

The 50 pound bag of organic feed I just bought has lots of teeny reddish insects coming out of the folds in the packaging. The feed is probably infested. I assumed they're red mites because I don't know better, and I know mites are a royal pain in the keister for chickens.

But the feed store guy said they're sawtooth beetles. They're common and almost unavoidable. They flair up in the spring and summer and die down during winter.

He's ordering a replacement bag for me, and for the sake of furthering my chicken education I'll contact the company. I was thrilled to find a decently local company that specializes in organic feed.

Are you familiar with sawtooth beetles? How do I know for sure that's what they are, other than confirmation from the feed store and their decades of expertise? What's the difference between them and red mites?

He said in all honesty chickens love beetles. Ultimately they're not at all harmful. Do you agree?

 

[sourland]

Just googled 'Sawtooth grain beetles' - they look nothing like red mites. Bodies are elongated rather than round, they are larger, beetles are insects and have 6 legs. Mites have 8 legs. How many legs do these critters have. Bottom line is that bug infested feed is generally outdated and should not be sold/and or used.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I feel like insects are crawling all over my skin.

I found this discussion:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-and-mites-prevention-and-treatments.1140730/

Red mites are teeny tiny dots, right? I'm pretty sure these things were elongated. The feed store just got in a new supply of the organic pellets, so I'm going to go grab a bag. I'll make sure I inspect it for anything creepy crawly.

With my vision I doubt I'd be able to count legs on the beetles. They were small enough that I don't recall being able to see clear distinctions between the segments.

The infested feed was dated October 9. That's the date they filled the bag and sealed it for resale. Whenever I'm ready for a new bag, I'll order one fresh just to be safe.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... The infested feed was dated October 9. That's the date they filled the bag and sealed it for resale. Whenever I'm ready for a new bag, I'll order one fresh just to be safe.

The feed was more than likely infested BEFORE it was milled. What you are likely seeing now is just the current generation of creepy crawlies.

 

[aart]

With my vision I doubt I'd be able to count legs on the beetles

Magnifying glass
Course I'm a bit buggy about bugs...have always captured insects to observe and ID them. Even got a grain mite on a microscope slide:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/grain-mites.981212/

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I've done some reading about beetles these past few years. Interesting creatures. We found some glowworms on our property, which are actually beetles. I'd like mites better if they glowed!