Tick invasionof my run~ HELP!

[Leavingegypt]

So this is my first year with chickens, everything has gone well. Until this afternoon, that is. First I come home to find my 8 weeks old chicks panting in their run. Somebody thought it made a good roost and dumped it over. I replaced the water, got them calmed down and let them out for playtime. It was then that I noticed TICKS! They are all over the wood supports of the run and on the ground surrounding the run. Tiny, nasty buggers- hundreds.
I don't know if I should treat the run, if so with what. Do I treat me beautiful feathered babies? If so, with what?
We no longer have a dog, so have they just found their next candidate to suck the ever-livin' blood out of? Tell me it ain't so!

 

[Lollipop]

Well, obviously it is so, or you wouldn't be freaking out. Best treatment I can recommend is Adams Flea and Tick Dip. Mix it up as directed and dip every bird in it up to their "chin". Then use the rest of it in a garden sprayer and spray everything, run, coop, nests, roost, walls, anywhwere the ticks could be. Adams is great stuff and will work wonders on any insect, including lice/mites, fleas and ticks. It's made for dogs and one of the main ingredients is Permethrin. You can still smell it after a month, so there's no need to re-treat. Better kill those little vamps before they get entrenched. Good luck........Pop

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

That sounds like you might have poultry ticks. They're not your average ticks, they specialize on birds. Do you live in a warm climate? Look at the link in my sig. line and compare the pics there to yours. If they are poultry ticks, you'll need to deal with them inside the coop as well, especially around the roosts.

 

[Leavingegypt]

They don't look like the pictures. These have more pronounced legs, different legs. Perhaps because they have not fed... We live in NW Ga and yes it is warm, the warmest winter and spring in a long time. We also live on a heavily wooded lot. This has literally happened overnight. Interestingly enough they are pretty much confined to the outside of the supports. The inside has only a few. Not sure if the chicks have been eatting those or they just haven't traveled that far.
We have been using the run as temp housing as the coop is not quite finished. I guess that's good news, since it won't be invested. Is there a preventative? Anything other than dipping my birds?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

It's good to hear that you don't think they look like the pics in the link. The dang things are hard to exterminate. I'd want to know for sure though because how you approach treatment will depend on what kind of ticks you have. One way to rule out poultry ticks is to examine the roosts carefully within the first 30 minutes or so following sunset. If you don't find any on the roosts and crawling onto the chickens, then you are lucky and they most likely aren't poultry ticks. In that case, follow Lolipop's advice for treatment. If they are poultry ticks, they will very likely follow the chickens to their new coop and you'll have to take extra measures to rid them. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Lollipop]

Nasty looking little vamps. Never had a problem with them here in the south east. Hope they're confined to the south west, no offense intended. The ticks her are mostly the typical deer ticks and I would think the absense of the dog has encouraged the infestation of ticks, same as fleas in a house, when the dog leaves. I had a tick problem here in mid western GA when I moved in about 7 years ago. For the last 3 years I've had guineas and I seldom see a tick now. Not the same scenario as Leaving has. Interresting reading, though. What exactly is the treatment for them, other than rebuilding your coop?............Pop

 

[Leavingegypt]

So this is what the creepy crawlies look like. Regular deer ticks, I'm thinking. The funny thing is, they are pretty much confined to the outside door area. The only time the chicks are near there is to go out. Hence they miss the snack 'cause it's RECESS time~ Have not seen any on the chick-a-doodles and the ones on the run just appeared since yesterday. Weird how they are concentrated under the wire.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Good for you they're not poultry ticks! You're right, that is weird how they're concentrated there.

 

[JoePa]

I would expect your chickens eat the ticks that go into the run that's why you only see them on the outside - I would spray the wood with Sevin - that should kill them - I've hear it said that Guinea hens eat ticks around the yard and if you have these hens you won't have any ticks - then I heard that this isn't true - anyone have any experience with Guineas -

 

[Lollipop]

I would expect your chickens eat the ticks that go into the run that's why you only see them on the outside - I would spray the wood with Sevin - that should kill them - I've hear it said that Guinea hens eat ticks around the yard and if you have these hens you won't have any ticks - then I heard that this isn't true - anyone have any experience with Guineas -

That's true, chickens eat ticks, but guineas are the champs. I was overwhelmed with deer ticks and scorpions when I moved here in '05. Three years ago I got 20 keets. The first year I lost all except 3 to predators. Now, I seldom see a tick or scorpion and there is a marked decrease in moths and grasshoppers and wasps. Aside from that, they are the most entertaining critter ever. The downside is the racket they make untill they mature, then they are great, only chattering when somethin is amiss. I also had 3 in FL before I moved here. I noticed a huge decrease in flies and mosquitoes, a problem I don't have here. Guineas are great.......Pop