Colberon
Songster
We have been battling mites HARD here in Northern Maine, took me a long time to figure out why our chickens were going bald when they weren't old enough and it wasn't molting season. I am DETERMINED to beat them for the sake of my poor girls, please see questions and thoughts below...
1. I have 8 week old chicks who are in a separate coop, but share a run with a dividers for "see no touch" and I'm worried they will get mites; are they too young to dust with Permethrin powder?
2. I had the bright idea today about purchasing dog flee and tick shampoo; is this actually a bright idea or it would be useless? And...if it's a good idea would it be ok to bathe the babies?
3. We have been right on top of this since we finally figured out what was going on and I check the coop each day for mites and when I see even one I spray the entire coop with Permethrin, let dry and also sprinkle roost with the dust; will this be harmful to the chickens; it is usually a couple times a week.
4. We dust the birds with Permethrin, I've read to do it once a week; is it harmful to them if I do it more if they appear to still be having an issue?
Now for my thought/?...
1. I have had chickens on and off for probably 6 or 7 years and NEVER had a problems with mites (uncharted territory for me for sure) and I've been trying to figure out how/why we have such an infestations that we can't seem to get rid of and the only thing that I can think of is we had a very harsh winter and I put the stand up warmer plates in their coop; could the warm area have brought the mites to our coop??
Just an FYI: At least once a week I have been completely stripping the coop with the infestation, including the flooring and either power washing or vacuuming it completely out. I then spread the floor with Permethrin powder and put the linoleum back in the coop. I spray the entire inside of the coop with Permethrin mixed according to directions on the bottle, including cracks and crevices. I then put a limited amount of cedar shavings on the linoleum. I leave the side window the the coop to air out before letting the chickens back in and I also treat them before allowing them back in the freshly cleaned coop.
Any advice/help would be so much appreciated, I feel horrible to my girls, one is quite bald and we need to nip this before cold whether hits!!
1. I have 8 week old chicks who are in a separate coop, but share a run with a dividers for "see no touch" and I'm worried they will get mites; are they too young to dust with Permethrin powder?
2. I had the bright idea today about purchasing dog flee and tick shampoo; is this actually a bright idea or it would be useless? And...if it's a good idea would it be ok to bathe the babies?
3. We have been right on top of this since we finally figured out what was going on and I check the coop each day for mites and when I see even one I spray the entire coop with Permethrin, let dry and also sprinkle roost with the dust; will this be harmful to the chickens; it is usually a couple times a week.
4. We dust the birds with Permethrin, I've read to do it once a week; is it harmful to them if I do it more if they appear to still be having an issue?
Now for my thought/?...
1. I have had chickens on and off for probably 6 or 7 years and NEVER had a problems with mites (uncharted territory for me for sure) and I've been trying to figure out how/why we have such an infestations that we can't seem to get rid of and the only thing that I can think of is we had a very harsh winter and I put the stand up warmer plates in their coop; could the warm area have brought the mites to our coop??
Just an FYI: At least once a week I have been completely stripping the coop with the infestation, including the flooring and either power washing or vacuuming it completely out. I then spread the floor with Permethrin powder and put the linoleum back in the coop. I spray the entire inside of the coop with Permethrin mixed according to directions on the bottle, including cracks and crevices. I then put a limited amount of cedar shavings on the linoleum. I leave the side window the the coop to air out before letting the chickens back in and I also treat them before allowing them back in the freshly cleaned coop.
Any advice/help would be so much appreciated, I feel horrible to my girls, one is quite bald and we need to nip this before cold whether hits!!