Hi All,
I just discovered that our chickens have mites, probably the feather ones because I can see broken feathers and sores but I am not sure how to tell the difference.
I knew we had something going on but couldn't figure out what until yesterday. I saw the feathers laying around. I saw some partically bare abdomens and the girls seems too thin, to me. I suspected mites but I could never find the mites though. I've gone out after midnight with a flashlight and checked - nothing.
Tried again a couple of weeks later, nothing. Then again and nothing.
Yesterday, I discovered tiny little mites going in and out and around the vent of several hens. So now I know for sure we have mites.
It is not lice, I know the difference.
My darling husband is not going to be happy once I tell him we have mites.
It will require a lot of work in the coop which is made of old wood with holes in it.
We will have to treat the wood but my main concern is that some of the wood we will not be able to get to.
When we moved here 7 months ago, the left side wall was just wooden slats with some gaps. On the outside of that wall it is vinyl sided.
In order to help keep the cold out, he nailed a heavy duty tarp over the slats to completely cover that wall.
It works to help keep the cold draft out during the winter months but teeny tiny mites? No way.
It's 100 degrees here with high humidity right now and I know we will no be able to work outside for very long. Plus, to do all of the above would take us more than a whole weekend and we would need to keep the girls out of the coop all day while we worked and hope that things dried by the time they were coming back in for the night.
So I am not looking forward to suggesting that we have to do a major overhaul on the inside of the coop. And hubby and I aren't spring chickens anymore either. LOL
Several years ago and a different coop I was told to do the following:
1. fill and caulk all gaps or cracks in the walls and floor (in this coop it will be a nightmare)
2. paint the entire inside of the coop to seal the wood (again a nightmare)
3. treat the roosts and uprights with oil/kerosene mixture
4. dip the chickens
5. once dry put eprinex on them
6. feed a good mash to help them gain weight and build them up
It sounds like we have a horrible coop and we don't. It is an old shed that was updated some years ago with vinyl on the outside.
It has a newer concrete floor and electric lights and outlets inside. It has a window on the back side and a screen door that we put on the front side to allow flow-through air and to help to keep it cooler in the summer heat. The shed is 16 deep by 12 wide and we divided it with wooden lattice into 1/3 for the front walk-in storage area with a screen door that goes into the back 2/3rds which is the chicken side. The nest boxes are large solid plastic cubes I bought at Target. The roosts are 2x4's set on top of concrete blocks so we can lift them out and clean them every other month or so. We use food grade DE in the boxes with the wood shavings and on the floor with the wheat straw.
We keep a pretty clean coop and the girls have a nice home. They have lots of natural places outside to dust bathe in and truly they use them or dig new ones. The soil is very sandy here.
My questions: Is it necessary to do everything listed above? Honestly, I don't even know if it is possible to fill all the cracks and holes in the wood.
Is it necessary to paint the whole inside and if we do, will it really help to get rid of and keep out the mites? All the frame and beams are old wood and then the ceiling/roof inside is old wood and the walls too.
Is there another treatment for the roosts that isn't flammable?
Will the eprinex kill the mites? We use it twice a year to de-worm and the girls were all treated in early April.
The mash is no problem and I will do it because they are thin. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't figure it out.
A dear chicken friend told me to stop micro managing my flock and just enjoy them. That's back when I suspected something was wrong but couldn't ever see the mites.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks
Posey
I just discovered that our chickens have mites, probably the feather ones because I can see broken feathers and sores but I am not sure how to tell the difference.
I knew we had something going on but couldn't figure out what until yesterday. I saw the feathers laying around. I saw some partically bare abdomens and the girls seems too thin, to me. I suspected mites but I could never find the mites though. I've gone out after midnight with a flashlight and checked - nothing.
Tried again a couple of weeks later, nothing. Then again and nothing.
Yesterday, I discovered tiny little mites going in and out and around the vent of several hens. So now I know for sure we have mites.
It is not lice, I know the difference.
My darling husband is not going to be happy once I tell him we have mites.
It will require a lot of work in the coop which is made of old wood with holes in it.
We will have to treat the wood but my main concern is that some of the wood we will not be able to get to.
When we moved here 7 months ago, the left side wall was just wooden slats with some gaps. On the outside of that wall it is vinyl sided.
In order to help keep the cold out, he nailed a heavy duty tarp over the slats to completely cover that wall.
It works to help keep the cold draft out during the winter months but teeny tiny mites? No way.
It's 100 degrees here with high humidity right now and I know we will no be able to work outside for very long. Plus, to do all of the above would take us more than a whole weekend and we would need to keep the girls out of the coop all day while we worked and hope that things dried by the time they were coming back in for the night.
So I am not looking forward to suggesting that we have to do a major overhaul on the inside of the coop. And hubby and I aren't spring chickens anymore either. LOL
Several years ago and a different coop I was told to do the following:
1. fill and caulk all gaps or cracks in the walls and floor (in this coop it will be a nightmare)
2. paint the entire inside of the coop to seal the wood (again a nightmare)
3. treat the roosts and uprights with oil/kerosene mixture
4. dip the chickens
5. once dry put eprinex on them
6. feed a good mash to help them gain weight and build them up
It sounds like we have a horrible coop and we don't. It is an old shed that was updated some years ago with vinyl on the outside.
It has a newer concrete floor and electric lights and outlets inside. It has a window on the back side and a screen door that we put on the front side to allow flow-through air and to help to keep it cooler in the summer heat. The shed is 16 deep by 12 wide and we divided it with wooden lattice into 1/3 for the front walk-in storage area with a screen door that goes into the back 2/3rds which is the chicken side. The nest boxes are large solid plastic cubes I bought at Target. The roosts are 2x4's set on top of concrete blocks so we can lift them out and clean them every other month or so. We use food grade DE in the boxes with the wood shavings and on the floor with the wheat straw.
We keep a pretty clean coop and the girls have a nice home. They have lots of natural places outside to dust bathe in and truly they use them or dig new ones. The soil is very sandy here.
My questions: Is it necessary to do everything listed above? Honestly, I don't even know if it is possible to fill all the cracks and holes in the wood.
Is it necessary to paint the whole inside and if we do, will it really help to get rid of and keep out the mites? All the frame and beams are old wood and then the ceiling/roof inside is old wood and the walls too.
Is there another treatment for the roosts that isn't flammable?
Will the eprinex kill the mites? We use it twice a year to de-worm and the girls were all treated in early April.
The mash is no problem and I will do it because they are thin. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't figure it out.
A dear chicken friend told me to stop micro managing my flock and just enjoy them. That's back when I suspected something was wrong but couldn't ever see the mites.
Any suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks
Posey
