red mite

[rick]

A G & T would work better - but look down the previously clean straw or hold it up to the light?
They much prefer natural materials to plastic which is likely, of course, at least one reason why the Green Frog has been mite free.

 

[Margaid]

No idea! Can't even remember where I read it. Maybe you hold the straw upright and tap it so they fall out?

 

[bigyetiman]

I have read it to, but I don't think it mentioned how you find out if they are inside the tube. If it was a bad infestation I presume you wouldn't see daylight through the end. Tap it on paper maybe

 

[dye29]

ive been to garden today and all my hens bums are red and look saw again they did look like they were healing ok ive checked all my bits of rubber and wood for mites and nothing there , my hut looks like a crack house ive fully covered hut with earth powder so im sure there are no red mites getting to hens as they are laying good again too is it worth brushing on the poultry tar it says its a anticeptic and supose to heal faster i no there not actually cuts or wounds but any ideas if not . oh and the weather here has been very very cold so id of thought that will help keep red mites at bay

 

[Marigold]

So long as the hens' bums are not bleeding, and have no scabs, and are clean, there's no need to worry. It's normal for the skin on bare bums to look red while the new feathers are growing to cover it up. If you think the skin is definitely inflamed you could spray it with Septiclens, (a soothing poultry antiseptic which is good to have in your crack house in case a hen gets injured, or is being badly bullied by the others.) It's a purple spray which does make the hens' feathers go a funny colour but it camouflages the sore place or the injury so the others are less likely to peck at it. It also kills bacteria and helps skin to heal. You could try spraying some on to a saucer and then using a small paintbrush to get it in the right place, as if you spray it straight on out of the can it'll probably stain areas you don't want it to. If you ever have to apply it to a chicken's head, always spray a little bit on a saucer and then use a cotton bud to get it where it needs to go. Alternatively, if you think the skin is sore but not infected, you could try Sudocrem, that stuff for preventing nappy rash on baby's bottoms. Or you could just leave them alone but keep an eye on it, which is what I would do.
I really think you can stop worrying about red mite now, Dye, you've cleaned up really well and now it's winter they're unlikely to breed or bother your hens until the Spring at least. In any case I don't think a small outbreak would make all their bums go red, even if they were all recovering from a moult. Just keep an eye on your redmite tester kit to see the everything is still OK.

 

[dye29]

thanks marigold im prob worrying too much just dont like to think there suffering . how long does it usually take for feathers too grow back

 

[Hen-Gen]

thanks marigold im prob worrying too much just dont like to think there suffering . how long does it usually take for feathers too grow back

In any case, how do you know what a crack house looks like? :shock:

 

[Marigold]

thanks marigold im prob worrying too much just dont like to think there suffering . how long does it usually take for feathers too grow back

You'll be able to see the feather shafts coming through like little prickles very soon after the old feather has been shed. At this stage the area will be very tender and the hens won't like being picked up and examined, so leave them alone if you can. After about a week, the new fluff which will be the feather will begin to explode from the shaft and then it'll go on growing steadily for a couple of weeks or so until they're back to full fluffiness. Unless you're absolutely sure the area is somehow infested by mites, damaged or sore, its really best to leave it alone and let the new feathers grow. If you try painting them with poultry tar you'll just make a mess of the new feathers and they'll probably never grow in properly.

 

[effingpot]

I had most success putting a ton of vaseline around the ends of the roosting poles where they slot into the walls of the coop.
Not a single red mite got through that lot and before long they were all gone!
(Did a bit of dust and spray in the nooks and crannies too but that alone didn't work until vaseline was introduced)

 

[valeriebutterley]

I'm putting my girls back on Red Stop as well as dusting and cleaning. Don't normally see many, or any, this time of year, it is this new hut seems to attract them, cost an absolute fortune, and has all the disadvantages that a wooden hut can offer, non Onduline roof, huge spaces.

In the Spring I will power wash the inside and paint with emulsion or chicken safe paint. I'd love to burn the b....y thing, wish I could afford to. In 9 years of chicken keeping never had this problem before. I'm obviously fighting the problem, hens all seem healthy and fit. Guess they built up their fitness before Humum gave them a lovely new itchy mansion!!

 

[bigjim]

Only had red mite once. For a sachet of ficam w off ebay. Five litres of solution made up and sprayed the shed. After two hours the birds can go back in. Kills everything that crawls.

 

[dye29]

hi all ive tryed something a poultry farmer told me to do , i have spare shed now and moved hens out of my old one for new ones in month or so he told me to clean shed fully then spray every where with diesel and air out a week or so im leaving a month he said kills everything even red mite so i shal see

 

[happy hen]

Has anyone tried "dergall" ? it's available as a concentrate from BHWT to mix as a spray. It's advertised as effective against northern fowl mite and scaley leg.....
For red mite you spray the house and birds after dark when the mites are active.

Dergall is a non-toxic and food-safe treatment which is applied as a spray to the chicken house and can also be sprayed onto birds without causing any harm. It works by mechanical action on the surface of where it is sprayed, creating a three dimensional structure (3D-IPNS™) which immobilises and traps the mites, destroying them. Dergall blocks their breathing apparatus, causing them to suffocate, dehydrate and die and carries on working for approximately three days after it has been applied.

Mixing and using Dergall is easy: mix into clean water at the rate of 10ml to 1 litre, a little goes a long way. Make the product up fresh to spray inside the poultry house, preferably when the birds are in darkness, or at the end of the day to maximise efficacy as mites only come out to find food when it is dark. Only use Dergall freshly mixed, so make up what you need, not the whole container.

Should you have a case of northern fowl mite cut off any debris from around the hen's rear (as this is where the northern fowl mite lays her eggs) then spray her rear and feathers with the Dergall at the same dilution, alongside the inside of the poultry house. Repeat in 5-10 days to destroy any newly-hatched mites from disturbing your birds. Destroy the feather clippings as you want to remove as many mite eggs as possible.

For cases of scaly leg mite, and to prevent it arising in your flock, you can either spray or dip the birds' legs into Dergall at the same dilution of 10ml to 1 litre of water. Repeat in one week to destroy newly-hatched mites.

 

[Shadrach]

Red mite shouldn't be too much of a problem because they live in the coop and not on the chickens.
Northern Fowl mite can be difficult to deal with as they live on the chicken. Permethrin powder or spray is what I keep here but I've only had to use it on rescue chickens so far.
I'm not keen on chucking chemical at everything and there is absolutely no scientific evidence that DE does anything apart from cause respiratory problems in humans and fowl alike.
I use a blow torch to clean the coops here. Bee keepers have been cleaning pests and propolis off bee hives with blow torches for many years. The advantage of the blow torch is it not only kills the mites, it kills the eggs as well. Not a lot survives 400 degrees centigrade.
Perch ends and construction joints are favorite hiding places for the red mite. For my coops which are sheet ply wood built the joints are minimal and I can strip everything out of the coop before treatment.

 

[Hen-Gen]

I would never recommend using Frontline for Cats because that would be an inappropriate use of this product and also against forum rules.

 

[Ellen Barry]

I once had those little pests. I gave the chickens a good dust bath with Diametacious Earth and I always keep the stuff at the bottom of the coop under the perches. No pests in sight anymore.