Unsure if Lice or Mites

[marissajaynee]

View attachment 2958511

This is one example of what the little guys that crawl on them look like. This is what they usually look like/how big they are. They are very small so I can’t get good images with my phone.

I might be able to get them under a handheld microscope but I’m not sure I could photo them there.

Hey there! Just noticed these same bugs on my roo. I picked him up and then they were all over me as well. What did you find to work the best?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello! I’m having a similar issue with my girls. What did you find worked the best? I think my roo has it the worst. Increasingly itchy and now noticing it through the rest of the flock.

Hey there! Just noticed these same bugs on my roo. I picked him up and then they were all over me as well. What did you find to work the best?

Welcome To BYC

This thread is about a year old and the OP has not been on in several months, so they may not see your questions.
As previously posted in the first few pages of the thread, Permethrin poultry dust or spray has been found to be an effective treatment for bugs that you may find on your chickens and their housing. Treatment needs to be repeated in 5-7 days intervals to ensure you break the lifecycle of the bugs you are trying to treat.

Below is a couple of key posts from this thread on application and usage.
I've included photos of products you may see in your feed store.
Hope this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/unsure-if-lice-or-mites.1507579/post-25293038
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/unsure-if-lice-or-mites.1507579/post-25302290

 

[marissajaynee]

Welcome To BYC

This thread is about a year old and the OP has not been on in several months, so they may not see your questions.
As previously posted in the first few pages of the thread, Permethrin poultry dust or spray has been found to be an effective treatment for bugs that you may find on your chickens and their housing. Treatment needs to be repeated in 5-7 days intervals to ensure you break the lifecycle of the bugs you are trying to treat.

Below is a couple of key posts from this thread on application and usage.
I've included photos of products you may see in your feed store.
Hope this helps.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/unsure-if-lice-or-mites.1507579/post-25293038
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/unsure-if-lice-or-mites.1507579/post-25302290

Awesome! So dust everyone and then coat the coop? How often? Thank you for always being so responsive and helpful!

Not sure why it posted my questions so many times. Was having issues with cookies on the website and it kept making me redo it

 

[marissajaynee]

Awesome! So dust everyone and then coat the coop? How often? Thank you for always being so responsive and helpful!

Not sure why it posted my questions so many times. Was having issues with cookies on the website and it kept making me redo it

Sorry. Just saw the rest of it that you said 5-7. Does this include changing the bedding out as well?

 

[Kanekoded]

I forgot to update this thread. I eventually stopped all treatments after not being able to detect mites for several weeks. As of April I have not seen any mites. I will see how things are this winter but I suspect the mites have been eradicated.

I've found that pure food-grade clove oil is very effective at killing mites. I also like to add ground clove to my chicken's dust bath concoction as a preventative. Perhaps, something you might consider adding to your arsenal of things to try if you ever encounter the problem again.

 

[marissajaynee]

Hello! Update-

Everyone appears less “itchy” after week 1 of tx with permethrin. Re-dusted everyone last night. Also suspecting scaly leg mites so started tx for that using Vaseline. Has anyone ever had any luck with adding VetRx as well? Also, is it likely that everyone’s combs are pale due to this underlying mite problem? How long does it take to see improvement? Feeling guilty I didn’t catch this sooner and it’s the underlying reason my roo is seemingly “too chill” at times- he’s been suffering, along with the others to some extent. however I am sure I am not alone in this and what matters is getting it under control now..

@Kanekoded @Wyorp Rock

 

[darkstar57]

Hi y'all. I currently have a lice/mite infestation but I'm having a really hard time deciphering what critters I actually have. It is winter here.

Two weeks ago, I discovered some small brown to black things crawling on my chickens' vent areas (they had just arrived since I check their vents often). At first, I thought they were mites, but a few days later I found adult lice bodies & the little guys I saw earlier under the thing they sleep on. The adult bodies were segmented, brown and straw colored. So then I thought they had lice. I promptly killed the lice I discovered. A week or so later I found a smaller collection of these bugs under there which I hadn't seen before. The hens' condition ebbed and flowed - some hens' infestations improved, others got worse. As time went on, I saw some really tiny guys, and other bigger ones. None were as big as the adult lice though.

The little guys are bigger now (though still smaller than the lice), and they are black-colored. Sometimes they are red in the last few days - I presume they are red due to blood covering them. Sometimes they eat the hens' skin away in sections, causing a super light bleed on the surface. I'm not 100% sure what the color is from. If you squish a red one, you see a red streak. No streaks with the other colors. These wounds scab and heal up.

The critters suffocate easily, and are soft-bodied. You coat the bugs in anything, and they remain motionless. Wall Sprays? Check. Cooking Oils? Check. A hen even shot a watery poop onto the windowsill, and some of the critters got hit with the poop and slammed onto the windowsill. They're dead.

I wanted to get a second opinion since I'm not 100% sure of what we have. Will post photos later. Thanks for your time in this matter.

i spread about a tablespoon of diatomaceous earth where they sleep... never had a lice problem.

 

[marissajaynee]

i spread about a tablespoon of diatomaceous earth where they sleep... never had a lice problem.

Got some of that too! Sprinkled it in the run and some in the coop. I think this all started by us putting hay down in the run when it would rain and get gross in there. Wish we would’ve never gone that route because I’m pretty sure that’s where these little buggers came from!

 

[Kanekoded]

Hello! Update-

Everyone appears less “itchy” after week 1 of tx with permethrin. Re-dusted everyone last night. Also suspecting scaly leg mites so started tx for that using Vaseline. Has anyone ever had any luck with adding VetRx as well? Also, is it likely that everyone’s combs are pale due to this underlying mite problem? How long does it take to see improvement? Feeling guilty I didn’t catch this sooner and it’s the underlying reason my roo is seemingly “too chill” at times- he’s been suffering, along with the others to some extent. however I am sure I am not alone in this and what matters is getting it under control now..

@Kanekoded @Wyorp Rock

Glad to hear you're getting things under control and seeing some improvement - mites of any kind are a regular pain in the butt. Your chicken's combs are pale probably from anemia which, comes with a mite infestation. Feeding animal protein (canned tuna, scrambled eggs and/or cooked chicken) will help to remedy that.

 

[marissajaynee]

Glad to hear you're getting things under control and seeing some improvement - mites of any kind are a regular pain in the butt. Your chicken's combs are pale probably from anemia which, comes with a mite infestation. Feeding animal protein (canned tuna, scrambled eggs and/or cooked chicken) will help to remedy that.

Do you know how often I should be applying the Vaseline? I did one round on everyone last night. Then re-applied to my roo mid day since he looks the worse and then got everyone again tonight.. I assume that should be good for a few days?