Depluming Mites And How To Treat Hens???

[TwoCrows]

I am not sure, but I believe my hens all have depluming mites to some degree. They all have a lot of feather loss on the breast and some are getting feather loss below the vent area. The skin in these areas is red. One hen has a scab or two on her breast around all this red skin.

I have visually checked them over and I am not seeing any other symptoms but the red skin and feather loss. I have cleaned out the coop, dusted with DE, sprayed the floors, walls, roost bars and nest boxes with premethryin (sp) spray.

Everybody was wormed a few months ago.

What can I apply to the skin of my hens to kill off mites or eggs that might be in the feather shafts, help clear up the red skin and allow feathers to regrow?

This is not a feather plucking issue between them. It seems they are pulling out their own feathers to relieve the irritation.

Thanks so much!

 

[tarahharlin]

I am not sure, but I believe my hens all have depluming mites to some degree. They all have a lot of feather loss on the breast and some are getting feather loss below the vent area. The skin in these areas is red. One hen has a scab or two on her breast around all this red skin.

I have visually checked them over and I am not seeing any other symptoms but the red skin and feather loss. I have cleaned out the coop, dusted with DE, sprayed the floors, walls, roost bars and nest boxes with premethryin (sp) spray.

Everybody was wormed a few months ago.

What can I apply to the skin of my hens to kill off mites or eggs that might be in the feather shafts, help clear up the red skin and allow feathers to regrow?

This is not a feather plucking issue between them. It seems they are pulling out their own feathers to relieve the irritation.

Thanks so much!

I am dealing with this right now with my RIR. Just curious if you ever found an effective treatment?

Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: You will know you have depluming mites of you see completely stripped stalks of feather shafts, with no feather left on the stalk. Or at least partially feathered. Look closely at tail and wing feathers...you will see horizontal lines where the feather is very thin. Sometimes the feather breaks off or gets chewed off at this line. These are from depluming mites.

They live up in the shafts of the feathers and feed off newly growing feathers, hence the horizontal barring of the feather. These mites are very difficult to treat, however I found that Ivermectin Pour on for Cattle, 6 drops for a standard sized chicken, behind the neck on the skin only, once a week for 4 to 6 weeks really helped. These mites live most of their lives up in the feather, only getting on the skin to move to another follicle. So it takes many treatments to kill these things. They do not lay eggs, but bear live young up inside the feather. Sometimes you can split a feather down the middle with an exacto blade and see hollow portions inside the feather, if these mites are bad enough. They are too microscopic to see but if the infestation is bad enough, you can see their damage inside the feather.

After a month of treatments, I gave the birds a month off, used vitamins and probiotics to help with immune system repair, and then I did another round for 4 more weeks. I got most of them and my birds stopped chewing. You will never get rid of all of them. All birds have them, but learn to control them for the most part. As the bird gets older or their immune systems get weak, they let these mites over populate.

Spraying your hens around the base of the tail and under the wings with some natural oil based poultry spray (Manna Pro makes a good natural Poultry Protector) will help in the future to keep these things at bay.

Good luck!

 

[tarahharlin]

A lot of the feathers on her breast and tummy have been chewed in half and many of the other feathers almost look as if they are disintegrating. They are so thin without much left to them. I feel horrible because I had noticed red skin on her backside late this past summer, so I had thought that maybe it was lice, or the other two more common mites. I was constantly checking her over, but could never find anything, so I still dusted her and cleaned out the coop many times. It wasn't until her feathers looked like they were disappearing that I realized we were dealing with something else. It was recommended to me to try Frontline, so I did do that, but I don't think it is working. I'm assuming it isn't working because her skin is still quite red. I am going to go ahead and order the Ivermectin. Do you think since I put Frontline on her recently that it is okay to go ahead and treat right away with the Ivermectin? I just don't want to overdose her with too many chemicals.

I do have the Poultry Protector spray, so I'm going to start spraying the other girls with that. I have noticed those horizontal lines on a few of the other girls feathers, though I haven't seen too many. I will also use the vitamins and probiotics on her. I do give them probiotics now and I have just started to give my RIR with the feather mites some vitamin b12.

Did you discard all eggs while treating with the Ivermectin? Also, since she won't get new feathers until she molts again, I'm assuming that I'll know if it works if the redness goes away on her skin?

Thanks so much for your help!!

 

[TwoCrows]

A lot of the feathers on her breast and tummy have been chewed in half and many of the other feathers almost look as if they are disintegrating. They are so thin without much left to them. I feel horrible because I had noticed red skin on her backside late this past summer, so I had thought that maybe it was lice, or the other two more common mites. I was constantly checking her over, but could never find anything, so I still dusted her and cleaned out the coop many times. It wasn't until her feathers looked like they were disappearing that I realized we were dealing with something else. It was recommended to me to try Frontline, so I did do that, but I don't think it is working. I'm assuming it isn't working because her skin is still quite red. I am going to go ahead and order the Ivermectin. Do you think since I put Frontline on her recently that it is okay to go ahead and treat right away with the Ivermectin? I just don't want to overdose her with too many chemicals.

I do have the Poultry Protector spray, so I'm going to start spraying the other girls with that. I have noticed those horizontal lines on a few of the other girls feathers, though I haven't seen too many. I will also use the vitamins and probiotics on her. I do give them probiotics now and I have just started to give my RIR with the feather mites some vitamin b12.

Did you discard all eggs while treating with the Ivermectin? Also, since she won't get new feathers until she molts again, I'm assuming that I'll know if it works if the redness goes away on her skin?

Thanks so much for your help!!

The skin will stay bright red until she molts out all those chewed off feathers. Does she have complete bare spots where the feather is chewed all the way down to the skin? This is a classic sign of depluming mites. My birds butts and bodies stayed bright red and irritated until a good molt. After a molt, the skin returned back to a nice skin tone. It seemed to be the bareness of the skin that caused it to be red, not any mites. You will know you have the mites under control when she stops the incessant chewing and picking of her feathers. It is something you have to watch to see, and will happen over time and treatments.

I tried all the sprays and powders with no luck. Again, these mites rarely even get on the skin, so powders and sprays aren't powerful enough. Ivermectin soaks into the skin and blood stream and stays there a lot longer. I wasn't sure about the length of time for egg withdrawal, however since I was treating my birds once a week for a while, I didn't eat any of their eggs until 2 weeks past the last dosage.

After the following molt, I saw very little feather damage from these mites, there was a bit of it however. I still to this day treat the birds just to keep up with the mites. A couple times a year I will put drops behind the neck to keep the nasty bugs under control. I believe my mite issues comes from the wild birds we have around here. We are overflowing with wild birds.

 

[tarahharlin]

The skin will stay bright red until she molts out all those chewed off feathers. Does she have complete bare spots where the feather is chewed all the way down to the skin? This is a classic sign of depluming mites. My birds butts and bodies stayed bright red and irritated until a good molt. After a molt, the skin returned back to a nice skin tone. It seemed to be the bareness of the skin that caused it to be red, not any mites. You will know you have the mites under control when she stops the incessant chewing and picking of her feathers. It is something you have to watch to see, and will happen over time and treatments.

I tried all the sprays and powders with no luck. Again, these mites rarely even get on the skin, so powders and sprays aren't powerful enough. Ivermectin soaks into the skin and blood stream and stays there a lot longer. I wasn't sure about the length of time for egg withdrawal, however since I was treating my birds once a week for a while, I didn't eat any of their eggs until 2 weeks past the last dosage.

After the following molt, I saw very little feather damage from these mites, there was a bit of it however. I still to this day treat the birds just to keep up with the mites. A couple times a year I will put drops behind the neck to keep the nasty bugs under control. I believe my mite issues comes from the wild birds we have around here. We are overflowing with wild birds.

She does have bare spots on her backside, right next to her fluffy butt. It isn't visible unless I move her fluff around some and then there are the bare spots with red skin and no feathers. Also, the feathers on her breast and tummy are all have chewed. I can't say that I see her incessantly chewing during the day, but obviously she is at some point. Maybe she is doing a lot of it during the night, or while they are in their run while we are at work. Ugh, these sound so tough to get rid of. I found the Ivermectin at our feed supply store, so I will get that on her. I wanted to wait a short bit, since I had just recently applied the drops of Frontline.

Here is a pic of her feathers. You can see they look like they are just disappearing. Even a few on her head look like they are fading away. Poor girl. I feel so badly. We also have a lot of wild birds in our yard. I'm glad to hear you got yours under control and your birds returned to normal after their molt! Thanks for all the advice!

 

[TwoCrows]

The skin will stay bright red until she molts out all those chewed off feathers. Does she have complete bare spots where the feather is chewed all the way down to the skin? This is a classic sign of depluming mites. My birds butts and bodies stayed bright red and irritated until a good molt. After a molt, the skin returned back to a nice skin tone. It seemed to be the bareness of the skin that caused it to be red, not any mites. You will know you have the mites under control when she stops the incessant chewing and picking of her feathers. It is something you have to watch to see, and will happen over time and treatments. I tried all the sprays and powders with no luck. Again, these mites rarely even get on the skin, so powders and sprays aren't powerful enough. Ivermectin soaks into the skin and blood stream and stays there a lot longer. I wasn't sure about the length of time for egg withdrawal, however since I was treating my birds once a week for a while, I didn't eat any of their eggs until 2 weeks past the last dosage. After the following molt, I saw very little feather damage from these mites, there was a bit of it however. I still to this day treat the birds just to keep up with the mites. A couple times a year I will put drops behind the neck to keep the nasty bugs under control. I believe my mite issues comes from the wild birds we have around here. We are overflowing with wild birds.

She does have bare spots on her backside, right next to her fluffy butt. It isn't visible unless I move her fluff around some and then there are the bare spots with red skin and no feathers. Also, the feathers on her breast and tummy are all have chewed. I can't say that I see her incessantly chewing during the day, but obviously she is at some point. Maybe she is doing a lot of it during the night, or while they are in their run while we are at work. Ugh, these sound so tough to get rid of. I found the Ivermectin at our feed supply store, so I will get that on her. I wanted to wait a short bit, since I had just recently applied the drops of Frontline. Here is a pic of her feathers. You can see they look like they are just disappearing. Even a few on her head look like they are fading away. Poor girl. I feel so badly. We also have a lot of wild birds in our yard. I'm glad to hear you got yours under control and your birds returned to normal after their molt! Thanks for all the advice!

Yes this does look like the feathers are being stripped, irritated by these mites. I would give the ivermectin a try. Keep in mind these types of drugs are hard on the immune system. So offer up plenty of probiotics and vitamin supplements during and after treatments. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[tarahharlin]

Yes this does look like the feathers are being stripped, irritated by these mites. I would give the ivermectin a try. Keep in mind these types of drugs are hard on the immune system. So offer up plenty of probiotics and vitamin supplements during and after treatments. Good luck and keep us posted!

One more question. What type of vitamin supplements do you recommend giving? I do give them all probiotics now and I also just got a liquid b12. Are there any others I should give? Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: A simple supplement is Rooster Booster. It has the basic A, D, E and probiotics. Calf Manna Performance Pellets for all livestock are nice. They are loaded with all kinds of good things. Manna Pro makes a Poultry Conditioner that has all kinds of good stuff in it too. I think you can get all these at any Tractor Supply. Many feed stores as well. Even Walmart carries the Calf Manna Performance Pellets in the horse/pet section.

 

[tarahharlin]

A simple supplement is Rooster Booster. It has the basic A, D, E and probiotics. Calf Manna Performance Pellets for all livestock are nice. They are loaded with all kinds of good things. Manna Pro makes a Poultry Conditioner that has all kinds of good stuff in it too. I think you can get all these at any Tractor Supply. Many feed stores as well. Even Walmart carries the Calf Manna Performance Pellets in the horse/pet section.

Perfect! Thanks again for all the help! I will keep you posted.