What Actually Causes Mites And Maggots?

[chickie<3]

So as I read the posts in the Emergencies/disease section here...HORRIFIED BY WAY....I hope I never have to deal with some of the stuff u guys r dealing with..I feel for you guys..BUT...what causes maggots and mites? I have 5 20 week old pullets...I don't live on a farm or anything..I have a lil coop in my backyard...Is there anything I can do to prevent this from ever happening... I don't know if I can handle it...I truley feel for the poor woman dealing with maggot infestation in her chicken's butt..I can't even deal.

 

[Imp]

Here's some info about lice & mites. They are parasites that can live on and around birds, kind of like fleas. They get on your chickens by coming into your yard when you get new chickens or by wild birds.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

Maggots are the larvae of flies. Some kinds of flies will lay eggs in wounds (where it wet) and then the eggs hatch.

Yeah, kind of yucky, but there are many worse things.

Imp

 

[Rozzie]

And, at least one kind of maggots is a GOOD thing to have around:

The Black Soldier Fly larvae (maggots) are AWESOME additions to the compost pile. You WANT them around.

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smithfield_projects/soldier fly/soldier_fly.htm
http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-07-26/home-and-garden/17171947_1_compost-pile-food-scraps-maggots

(Maggots are the larvae stage of flies.)

Regular house fly maggots are not so desirable!

 

[Rozzie]

Adding to my last post -- I've also read that having Black Soldier Fly larvae around will cause the House flies to go somewhere else. Apparently, there is something about the Black Soldier Flies that the houseflies dislike. Another reason to encourage black soldier flies...

I was happy to see this morning that my new trash can compost bin was just WRITHING with black soldier fly maggots. The whole thing was wiggling this morning. I "seeded" it from my other compost pile where they "magically" appeared all on their own this spring.