Small white bugs on feathers are they mites?

[PAchickenlover]

I was looking over my birds and found small white bugs on their feathers are they mites? I know I can use dimiscus earth (spelling?) but I was hopeing that I would not have to use seven dust. Are there any alternatives?

 

[jadeybaby70]

Are they bugs or lice nits at the base of the quills? If you have bundles of eggs at the base of the feathers you may have lice. If you separate the feathers to look at the skin (you have to be fast here) you can see tannish bugs with long bodies running on the skin. Sometimes you need to look in a couple different places. The tend to hang out around the vent. DE will help to smother the adult bugs on the birds but won't get rid of them completely. Sevin dust would also have to be reapplied to the birds after 7-10 days to get eggs that have hatched since the last dusting. It's really a never ending battle. I dust my birds every week with DE and keep DE in their coop for dust bathing. Bugs can be brought in by wild birds and hide out in ever little crack you can find. In my opinion the best solution, whatever the bug, would be to hit them hard with a pesticide then keep up on the DE to limit re-infestation. Keep in mind that when you use a pesticide you have an egg withdraw period where you cannot eat any eggs from the chickens. I usually give at least 2 weeks before I eat any of the eggs. Best of luck to you!

 

[PAchickenlover]

Thank you jadybaby70 for your response. Now that I look I think they are lice nits yuck!!

Well I guess the only good thing is that I only have one hen that is laying right now and she is in a seperate pen than the others. I wil check her also though. Hope she doesn't have them. Thanks again for your input!

 

[PAchickenlover]

Would Dawn dish soap help with the lice at all? If I give the ones that have it the worst right now a bath. I do not have any DE or seven that I know if right now. Going to check the lower shed soon.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

I bought a Silkie that had lice and when I gave her a bath with Dawn all the lice were dead!

heres what a poultry lice looks like.. btw this is one of the many thousands that either dropped off in the water or I picked off the poor pullet!

 

[PAchickenlover]

ok thank you