Tiny black bugs??

[Anonymous Chicken]

Hello,

A few days ago we noticed a lot of tiny black bugs on various surfaces in our house. Could they be coming from our chickens? Has anyone else had these? (We currently have snow on the ground.) Thanks!

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Are your chickens in the house? Because if they aren't then it's not likely they would leave their host. Do you have some fruits or produce on the counter it could have come from? Or firewood? Are you sure they weren't baby spiders?

 

[Anonymous Chicken]

Are your chickens in the house? Because if they aren't then it's not likely they would leave their host. Do you have some fruits or produce on the counter it could have come from? Or firewood? Are you sure they weren't baby spiders?

Thanks for replying! Our chickens don't live in the house. We don't have any fruit or firewood that they might have come from. Maybe they're spiders; they're so small that they're hard to see! We were wondering if they might be mites from the chickens.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I don't think mites would leave a chicken host as they are parasites. You don't have any chicken or other bird feathers in the house? I breed crickets for my frogs and they start out really tiny. Baby spiders are teeny tiny little black dots. Maybe you could stick some on some clear tape and try to magnify them to get a better look. If you don't have a magnifying glass you could take a picture and zoom in.

 

[Alaskan]

Mites live in nestboxes, perches, etc, NOT on the chicken. The mites crawl onto the chickens at night, bite them, then crawl back off.

Lice live 100% on the chickens.

Google some chicken mite photos... see if that is what you have.

 

[aart]

they're so small that they're hard to see!

Try to get some into a jar, scoop up with a piece of paper, then put jar in the freezer for a couple hours. Then get out your magnifying glass or microscope.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

Mites live in nestboxes, perches, etc, NOT on the chicken

Poultry mites do, and scaly leg mites...... but yes, roost mites do not.
But I doubt there are any kind few chicken mites in your house.
Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Ted Brown]

Mites live in nestboxes, perches, etc, NOT on the chicken. The mites crawl onto the chickens at night, bite them, then crawl back off.

The Northern Fowl Mite DOES live on the host, they will leave (or fall off?) and can survive off the host for a number of weeks (3-4?). Red mites (perhaps others?) live in cracks/crevices/etc. and come out at night to feed as you have described. I am currently going through an infestation and have done considerable research, can provide authoritative sources if anyone is interested.

I brought one of my birds inside to a brooder box while I was treating her; there was a cage inside the box and the bird preferred to sit on top. When we lifted her for treatment we saw a number of "tiny black bugs" on the box, captured a few (clear plastic tape), used a professional camera/lens then used Photoshop to enlarge in order to identify what they were (see https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/microscopic-bugs.1425540/).

The NFM will transfer easily to a human if the bird is picked up and can be transported into a home if one is not careful. I have no experience with Red mites so cannot speak about them.

I recommend you examine your birds carefully to verify that they do not have mites. If they do then you have your source and need to take steps to get rid of them (this is a process of weeks with repeated treatments).

 

[Anonymous Chicken]

Try to get some into a jar, scoop up with a piece of paper, then put jar in the freezer for a couple hours. Then get out your magnifying glass or microscope.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2453528




Poultry mites do, and scaly leg mites...... but yes, roost mites do not.
But I doubt there are any kind few chicken mites in your house.
Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

Thank you! We live in the Midwest and currently have snow on the ground.

 

[Anonymous Chicken]

Maybe you could stick some on some clear tape and try to magnify them to get a better look. If you don't have a magnifying glass you could take a picture and zoom in.

Thanks for the suggestion (and everyone else who suggested that too)! We'll give that a try.

 

[Anonymous Chicken]

Mites live in nestboxes, perches, etc, NOT on the chicken. The mites crawl onto the chickens at night, bite them, then crawl back off.

Lice live 100% on the chickens.

Google some chicken mite photos... see if that is what you have.

Thanks! We Googled it, and this is what they look like: