Hi I have three hens and their coop has some wooden laying boxes, and when I was cleaning them out I found these tiny little bugs, only the size of a grain of sand, all over my hand. I had a closer look on the box and they were on there too. They were brown in colour, but other than that I can't say much else! I was wondering if they were some kind of chicken lice, but I haven't seen any on my hens, or if they would destroy my coop! Thanks for any advice. H
Lice / mites are quite common on chickens, and I suspect that is what you saw. They are carried by wild birds. It can be a little tricky to see them on the chickens, as the are so small. Good places to look are around the vent and under the wings. Some types hide in the litter or wall cracks, etc. part of the time. ou ma have to look at night, with a helper and a flashlight. If left untreated, they can get the birds quite sick, even kill them eventually. Here are a couple of links.to show what to look for, as well as how to get rid of them. http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/818674/are-these-some-kind-of-egg-clusters/0_20#post_11897957
I found mites on one of my dying birds......but not until after I brought her into my home to warm her up in front of the heater (8° outside) and tried to feed and give her water and antibiotics. Huge error in judgement! Stayed up LATE taking a shower and cleaning my kitchen as best i could. Put ALL clothing and cleaning rag outside in cold, but not sure how to clean these evil mites off my clothing ? If i leave them out for a few days in the cold am I safe enough to bring them in for a wash? And is regular Tide ok ?
Despite making you itch like heck now they only live a few days off the birds as they are host specific so they will be gone after a few days even if you did nothing. They will eventually kill a bird if left untreated. We had good results with 0.25 ml of ivermectin per 1kg of body weight. Vet said apply to back of neck or taken internally. They, and our itching everytime we went in the coop was gone in about 3 days. 2 week egg withholding period and repeat after 10 days to get any mite eggs. Also Spray the coop with fido's concentrated flea and tick spray, get all timber surfaces especially roosts.
Good to know! One more question....can they change hosts, not so much to another chicken, but perhaps to my dogs? I dont know that they are itching any more than normal, but I'm sure noticing it more!
