Stick tight fleas?? Yarghh!

[Moochie]

I have NEVER had a tick problem before until this month of September. Mites, but no ticks. I saw ticks on my dwarf BO (no not bantam, dwarf), so I gave her a bath using Hartz Flea and Tick shampoo. Do I have to give all 9 silkies the shampoo treatment aswell?
I don't want the ticks to give my chickens lyme disease or whatever else ticks carry! I wouldn't even expect them to be out in this desert! They're only on some of the bantams, 9 young silkies, a silkie roo, and maybe on the BO. Oh! Mumsy just bought 2 fifty pound bags of food grade DE! Will that keep the mites and ticks away?

Right now I'll clean out the coops, replace the bedding, put what's left of the Sevin Dust in the larger coop, and ? We also have a Sevin Spray, should I use that on the perches?

Ugh I have babies hatching with a broody this Saturday and I do not want ticks on them! The DE was to keep ants away from Mama and her hatching eggs, but hopefully it will work for ticks and mites too? When the babies get big enough we need to move them and Mama to the nursery, and that's where the silkies are! And some ducks.

Aghh!

*It's actually fleas! Omg! Why only now?

 

[foxypoproxy]

Ticks carry ALOT of diseases.
I would know because i have been chronically sick with chronic lyme, bartonella, erlicheosis, and babesiosis for about 10 years now.
It is a very painful bunch of diseases that can slowly kill you and is very hard to treat.
It is very important to know what kind of ticks bit them.
How to remove them properly with tweezers without leaving the head in.
How long have the ticks been on them? You should be able to tell by how far they have dug and if they have swelled with blood yet.

For removing:
Take some tweezers and sterilize them (not by burning the tweezers though).
Then with the tweezers grab the very base of the tick as close as you can get to the mouth and put it out.
Be very careful while removing the tick, because if you don't pull it out and leave the head still in, it can vomit up any disease into your chickens.
When you have the ticks out dis-infect the area.
Keep an eye on the wounds for a few days and watch their behavior.
Any type of tick can carry these diseases but deer ticks are more likley to regurgitate while they are drinking (thats why so many people get diseases from them).

 

[Moochie]

Only one had ticks on it's face. She had four on her upper eyelid! Gross! They sure can jump.. I thought the breeze took them away or something. I bathed her with the shampoo and sprinkled DE on her and in the coop.

What kind of ticks are known to go on chickens? Or that are common in the desert?

 

[sourland]

If these 'bugs' can jump they are not ticks. Do a search on stick tight fleas - this may be what you are dealing with. Ticks crawl very slowly. Ivermectin is great for external as well as internal parasites.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Quote:
What time of day did you find these ticks on your bird? Poultry ticks (also called fowl ticks) are relatively common in the desert and are spread by wild birds. It might be worth a check of your coop tonight to rule them out. Here is a page with pictures and information on how to find them in your coop and how to treat for them (if that is what you find): https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=56638-poultry-ticks Good luck!

 

[foxypoproxy]

I never heard of a tick jumping...can you post pictures?

 

[Moochie]

I cannot post pictures.

They move so quickly. A little speck just hops away. More like a massive kangaroo type jump in the air.

 

[foxypoproxy]

ok well then those can't be ticks because ticks don't jump or move fast.
maybe they are flea's or mites? you should look up some pictures to compare them too

Here are a couple things they could have: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/chickens_retired/58107

 

[Moochie]

Quote:
I just looked at pics of them. They look exactly like what I see on the silkies! Where the heck did fleas come from? Of all things! I have heard of this Ivermectin. Unfortunately father refuses to buy anything online because of an incident last time, so hopefully our feed store sells it.

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
I just looked at pics of them. They look exactly like what I see on the silkies! Where the heck did fleas come from? Of all things! I have heard of this Ivermectin. Unfortunately father refuses to buy anything online because of an incident last time, so hopefully our feed store sells it.

here is the treatment for stick tight fleas: Smear a light coating of an oily substance over these insects and they suffocate very quickly. Olive oil and baby oil are useful, as they do not irritate the birds' eyes. Treat the shed floors as for mites and ticks. Like mites, all fleas will infest your home if left unchecked and will feed on any warm-blooded animals.