Ticks!!!!!!!!

[JakRat]

I just noticed that my little nugget has two ticks on her face! What do I do!?!?!?!?!?! I tried to get them off, but they are really in there... they are still pretty small... agh!!!

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

Try alittle alcohol on a cotton swab and rub it on the ticks butt, if that doesn't work, grasp the tick firmly and tug slow and steady to pull it out of the skin, there's prob a few other remedies out there...If its small it hasn't been there long, but there are more ticks around, try some sevin dust in the coop too,,gotta find out where they are coming from...deer maybe
Once you get the tick out, smash it on a rock then pour lighter fluid on it and set it on fire, then hammer it with a shovel = just kidding, i hate those nasty bugs.

 

[JakRat]

Thanks!!! I have never dealt with ticks before until I moved up here to PA. UGH WHAT HORRIBLE CREATURES!!!! I think it is because our grass is so long... it doesnt stop raining here long enough to get the grass dry enough to cut it...my poor baby! Now I need to go through and check them all for ticks.... I am worried about lyme disease and does it get into their eggs??

 

[flashover1969]

You can also use a veggie oil to cover the ticks bodies. This causes them to suffocate and they will back out. Pulling ticks off can be risky as you can end up leaving their nasty little head buried in the skin. I speak from personal experience

 

[klmclain1]

NASTY critters. Pull them out with a pair of tweezers. Tug slowly, don't jerk. If their legs are moving, then you got their heads. Bleck! You're going to need to dust their coop with a flea and tick dust of your choice and them too! I don't know about lyme disease and chickens....good question!

 

[JakRat]

I got the tick key thing. Hopefully that will work. I am worried about putting any liquid near her eye as I dont want that to be another issue. Yikes! I have never had ticks or fleas in the coop before. I am sure it is just from our long grass.

 

[klmclain1]

I get the willies just talking about them!

 

[stoopid]

As a miserable Lyme disease infected not quite cured tick hating person, (breath), I would pick the ticks off with my fingernails or tweezers as quickly as possible, and NOT wait for chemicals or oils or whatever to maybe smother or kill them.
The only sure way to get rid of them is to manually pull them off, as close to the skin as possible.
And check the bird over, I have found them in the cracks of the legs, on their butts, under their wings.
Deer and Lone star ticks are roughly the size of poppy seeds, and can do a world of hurt.

 

[foxypoproxy]

I posted on another tick issue thread, so i'm just going to copy and paste what i said here:

"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 likely to regurgitate while they are drinking (thats why so many people get diseases from them)."

 

[JakRat]

Thanks for the great responses. I hope that yall affected by the lyme disease get better soon. They are such horrible and worthless creatures!!!

I ended up going to pet co and got one of those tick key remover things for only $4. It worked awesome! Got the head and all, no blood or anything! This was amazing esp since the tick was on her eyelid... poor baby. They were super small so hopefully she will be ok. Blah such vile creatures. None of my other girls seem to have them, so hopefully everyone will be ok.