should i stop using wood shavings!

[sarahc511]

i have a serious problem with mites, they are in the shavings i have tried sprays and powders and did the chickens induvidually but it has made no differance! i check the hens daily and im really worried about their health! I think if i used a different bedding it might help to fix the problem. please help!

 

[joan1708]

I would get rid of all the bedding first and wash the coop out completely. What is your coop made of? If it's wood, mites supposedly breed in cracks and crevices. Heat in cracks and crevices should bring them out and kill them. I would use a blow dryer (of course you will have to have all bedding out before doing this) to see where the mites are hiding and the heat will also kill all life stages of the mite (eggs, nits, adults). Wear a mask or respirator if you do this. Wood is supposed to be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer when compared with metal or plastic but unfortunately it is also better habitat for mites. Treat your chickens. According to Gail Damerow of "Chicken Health handbook" pyrethrum dust maybe helpful, baths are helpful. Petroleum oil painted on roosts, cracks and crevices can be helpful. You will likely have to repeat whatever you do for the chickens in 5 to 7 days. She also recommends you check your chickens at night when mites are more active. Apparently it will take some sustained effort to get rid of this. I haven't personally encountered this problem yet.

Also changing out the litter completely may bring on a fly problem next. But, I don't see an alternative. I think you have to completely clean out your coop and run, change the litter every week or 10 days 2 to 3 times until the mite problem is over.

 

[sarahc511]

i was thinking i could use sand as bedding have you ever heard of this?

 

[Harley Demag]

Sand? wouldn't that attract fleas and or mites even more? I am not answering your question just curious, sand could be great for keepin it clean, easy to scoop etc... but you would want to check out the sand flea thing and possibility of mites...

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Check out this thread about using sand. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/444759/got-sand-you-should

I'm new to the chicken hobby and have only 3 housed in a chicken tractor but I'm using sand and I love it. It was the above thread that convinced me to try it. Straw in the nesting boxes with sand in the coop. You scoop the poop up with a kitty litter scoop and it goes right into the compost. Very easy to keep clean.

Another plus is that the sand seems to make the coop a bit cooler and that's a help with the extreme heat we've been having.

I guess it would depend on the size of your flock as to how well the sand would work for you but you might want to give it a try.

 

[sarahc511]

yes that is helpful, i was thinking if i used sand from the beach then not only would it be easy cleaned but the salt would stop pests like mites, i need to clean the whole house then treat the wood to kill any mites and then put down sand, do you need to use a special type of sand of would sand from the beach do ok? thank you for the help i had no idea what to do!

 

[chickenbythesea]

yes that is helpful, i was thinking if i used sand from the beach then not only would it be easy cleaned but the salt would stop pests like mites, i need to clean the whole house then treat the wood to kill any mites and then put down sand, do you need to use a special type of sand of would sand from the beach do ok? thank you for the help i had no idea what to do!

just be careful with sand from the e beach... I know around here it's illegal to tamper with the environment and remove sand from the beach. Other than that, there's no difference or safety concern b/t beach sand and store sand.

 

[sarahc511]

It would be ok to take sand from the beach here, thanks for the advice though

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Buy clean sand, sand from the beach could have large pieces of shell that can cut feet. It can also have sand fleas in it.

Oxine sprayed in the coop, spray the walls, floor, roosts everything and let it dry after you clean the coop. Then add bedding back in. Warm climates don't well with deep litter bedding that isn't changed regularly. That is more of a northern thing. Here where it is warm and humid year round we would be heavily infested with bugs if we did deep litter shavings. We also try and avoid traditional coops too so we are providing plenty of ventalation.

 

[sarahc511]

do you think if i put more ventalation in it would help stop the mites? do mites cause much harm to the hens? there are mainly brownish ones and a couple of red 1s so i suppose they suck blood! horrible things