Tiny white bugs in Chick Food!!!

[MandaRae]

What in the heck are these tiny white bugs all inside & outside of my Chick feed bag!?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

What in the heck are these tiny white bugs all inside & outside of my Chick feed bag!?

Yuck! It is probably some type of grain mite. I would return the bag if you just opened it.

 

[MandaRae]

Yes we literally just opened it yesterday!! I feel so creepy crawly!!
I'm worried could they infest the chicks???

 

[Fishkeeper]

Grain mites. They multiply when things are too damp, and are known to cause skin irritation in humans. They don't infest live things, though, they live in grain.
If you have absolutely nothing else, the chicks can still eat it, but you should replace it as soon as possible.
They don't multiply fast enough to have done this since yesterday. Return that bag, shower thoroughly in case some are on you, and get fresh feed. I'd see if you can insist on opening the bag in the store to check for mites.

 

[paneubert]

They eat grain, not chickens.

EDIT: @Fishkeeper beat me to it.

 

[staceyj]

Probably 100 people will hop on this thread and say
Yippee ! Extra protein!

My opinion is if I pay for fresh feed I don’t want it contaminated by grain beetles or pantry moths or anything else.

I would double bag it in plastic garbage bags to keep them from invading the rest of your stuff and take it back tomorrow. If you still have the bag it came in check to make sure what you replace it with is not from the same lot,
Or buy a different brand, *definitely one that’s NOT right next to it at the feed store.

 

[meglynnie]

Time to return that bag!

 

[MandaRae]

Grain mites. They multiply when things are too damp, and are known to cause skin irritation in humans. They don't infest live things, though, they live in grain.
If you have absolutely nothing else, the chicks can still eat it, but you should replace it as soon as possible.
They don't multiply fast enough to have done this since yesterday. Return that bag, shower thoroughly in case some are on you, and get fresh feed. I'd see if you can insist on opening the bag in the store to check for mites.

I have another small bag of a different brand of chick starter. i got from scratch n peck i can feed that instead for now.
I put the bag on The back porch!!! Ughhh

 

[Fishkeeper]

I've had experience with them showing up in my insect terrariums when I've put too much food in and it doesn't get eaten fast enough. They're present in a lot of commercial animal foods- for me, they come in on cat food. I assume they get to the factory on the grain ingredients. They don't multiply to noticeable levels unless the food stays damp, so storing your feed in a dry environment (which you should do anyway to prevent mold) will keep this from happening again. The fact that the bag is full of them means that the bag may not have been stored properly at the store, may have had a leak, or may just have been packaged with too much moisture.

Oh, and yes, don't put it anywhere near other foods.

I will say that if I had chicken feed with weevils in it, I'd probably feed it regardless. The only reason I'm hesitant about the mites is the reports of skin irritation in humans, which makes me think they have something in them that might not be great long-term. Plus, they spread, they'd probably get onto and bother the chickens. Weevils don't do that. This is one pantry pest that does NOT make a good extra protein source! They are harmless as far as anyone can tell, so don't worry too much about them. You may want to shower in case some are on you, just so you won't have that "there are bugs on me" awareness all day, but unless you're allergic to them (which is reasonably unlikely) you'll be fine.

 

[MandaRae]

Okay whew! I was mostly concerned about the chicks me second lol