One of the most common problems chicken keepers encounter is mites on chickens. They can be introduced by wild birds or visiting rodents, or get picked up when your birds get into contact with other, infested, birds at places such as poultry shows, sales, or auctions. Infestations can cause a reduction in egg laying, pale combs and wattles, anemia, and in extreme cases, or with very young birds, death. Infestations also cause feather loss, usually on the back, because the chicken will usually over preen and pull out her feathers in an effort to get relief. Sometimes the chicken's skin will be irritated and red.
There are several kinds of mites that will infest your birds and here are the most common ones:
This mite has eight legs and crawls on the chickens during the night to feed on their blood. Red mites are gray until they eat, after filling up with blood they turn red. Found in tiny cracks, crevices, or nesting boxes, these can actually kill chickens. Also, check under the perches for red mites. Living up to one year without feeding on hens, take care to treat the birds multiple times. When using a broody hen, inspect the nest she will be brooding in very carefully, making sure to check every crack for these mites. Birds may not go up at night if the infestation is bad. In hot weather, the population of red mites really increases. A single female can lay up to 120,000 eggs. Check your birds at night for red mites. They will be crawling around on perches and on your birds. They can bite humans if the infestation is really bad. These horrible little bugs can carry New Castle disease, Fowl Cholera, and Fowl Pox.
Scaly leg mites are small mites that burrow under the scales on chickens' legs. They spread very slowly from bird to bird. If the legs are seriously affected, the scales will be lifted and under the scale, it will be inflamed and bleeding. If it goes unnoticed for a while, the legs will have little white encrustations (crusts) between the scales. You can remove these but only after soaking and several treatments of petroleum jelly or else they will bleed. Only really bad infestations will cripple the bird. An easy treatment is Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) on the legs. This will smother the mites.
A Northern mite is the most serious external parasite. It shows itself as damp patches on feathers, there will be many crawling around on the patches which occur in the neck feathers and vent feathers. The wings and tails affected by these birds looked like they have been chewed on. They also cause scabby skin and darkened feathers around the vent. You may also see them (in bad infestation) crawling around on eggs in nesting boxes. These mites multiply very quickly, so act fast with treatment. Take all the chickens out and put them in a different coop for a while. After a couple of weeks in an unoccupied coop, these mites will die. Clean the hen house very well, making sure to get every corner. Treat your chickens every week until the mites are gone. Killing these mites is hard but not impossible. Chickens should not be put back in the infected coop until the coop has had time to air out from all the powders/sprays. Northern fowl mites are hard to control, don’t give up.
These mites live on the feathers and eat the plumage. The damage to the base of the feather is very bad and ruins the feathers. Thankfully, they are not common in North America. Some types of feather mites cause so much irritation that the birds pull out and scratch their feathers in order to get relief.
Chigger mites are red and infest the skin of chickens as well as humans. They leave small itchy red spots where they have been feeding. These mites can be straw-colored and are very small. The immature chiggers are the ones that feed on blood. Chiggers are commonly found under the wings, on the breast, and legs. When feeding chiggers inject poisonous saliva that liquefies the skin, they then feed off of that. It then causes really itchy skin, swelling, and scabs. Young birds stop eating, drinking, and may die. I’ve been bitten by a few chiggers before and it really itches.
Preventing a mite infestation is difficult. Early detection remains the best way to control these pests. Keep the coops and bedding clean and fresh, periodically scrub the coop and nesting boxes with soap and water, dust the coop, bedding, and your flock as a preventative measure now and then, and regularly inspect your flock to catch the problem before harm is done to the chickens.
Hens, to some extent, can treat themselves by dust bathing. Dust bathing is really good for your chickens. It dislodges the parasites and also helps get dirt and oils off of them plus it keeps their feathers and skin healthy. Give them a sheltered area that keeps the rain off it so it's dry and good for all time use. You can get a simple kiddie pool, cement mixing tray, or just a dry spot on the ground, whatever your birds can fit their whole body into. When chickens dustbathe they scratch in the dirt, peck and eat some of it, and get down and shake it all over themselves getting it all between their feathers.
Mites are evil little creatures that can drain your poor flock of the will to even be active. Mites can drink chicken blood, eat feathers, and sap energy from your birds, which is why they are so harmful to your flock. Below are some articles for further reading on this topic:
Also feel free to take part in our poll: How Do You Deal With Lice & Mite Infestations in your Coop?
There are several kinds of mites that will infest your birds and here are the most common ones:
Red Mites
This mite has eight legs and crawls on the chickens during the night to feed on their blood. Red mites are gray until they eat, after filling up with blood they turn red. Found in tiny cracks, crevices, or nesting boxes, these can actually kill chickens. Also, check under the perches for red mites. Living up to one year without feeding on hens, take care to treat the birds multiple times. When using a broody hen, inspect the nest she will be brooding in very carefully, making sure to check every crack for these mites. Birds may not go up at night if the infestation is bad. In hot weather, the population of red mites really increases. A single female can lay up to 120,000 eggs. Check your birds at night for red mites. They will be crawling around on perches and on your birds. They can bite humans if the infestation is really bad. These horrible little bugs can carry New Castle disease, Fowl Cholera, and Fowl Pox.
Scaly Leg Mites
Scaly leg mites are small mites that burrow under the scales on chickens' legs. They spread very slowly from bird to bird. If the legs are seriously affected, the scales will be lifted and under the scale, it will be inflamed and bleeding. If it goes unnoticed for a while, the legs will have little white encrustations (crusts) between the scales. You can remove these but only after soaking and several treatments of petroleum jelly or else they will bleed. Only really bad infestations will cripple the bird. An easy treatment is Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline) on the legs. This will smother the mites.
Northern Fowl Mites
A Northern mite is the most serious external parasite. It shows itself as damp patches on feathers, there will be many crawling around on the patches which occur in the neck feathers and vent feathers. The wings and tails affected by these birds looked like they have been chewed on. They also cause scabby skin and darkened feathers around the vent. You may also see them (in bad infestation) crawling around on eggs in nesting boxes. These mites multiply very quickly, so act fast with treatment. Take all the chickens out and put them in a different coop for a while. After a couple of weeks in an unoccupied coop, these mites will die. Clean the hen house very well, making sure to get every corner. Treat your chickens every week until the mites are gone. Killing these mites is hard but not impossible. Chickens should not be put back in the infected coop until the coop has had time to air out from all the powders/sprays. Northern fowl mites are hard to control, don’t give up.
Feather Mites
These mites live on the feathers and eat the plumage. The damage to the base of the feather is very bad and ruins the feathers. Thankfully, they are not common in North America. Some types of feather mites cause so much irritation that the birds pull out and scratch their feathers in order to get relief.
Chigger Mites
Chigger mites are red and infest the skin of chickens as well as humans. They leave small itchy red spots where they have been feeding. These mites can be straw-colored and are very small. The immature chiggers are the ones that feed on blood. Chiggers are commonly found under the wings, on the breast, and legs. When feeding chiggers inject poisonous saliva that liquefies the skin, they then feed off of that. It then causes really itchy skin, swelling, and scabs. Young birds stop eating, drinking, and may die. I’ve been bitten by a few chiggers before and it really itches.
Prevention
Preventing a mite infestation is difficult. Early detection remains the best way to control these pests. Keep the coops and bedding clean and fresh, periodically scrub the coop and nesting boxes with soap and water, dust the coop, bedding, and your flock as a preventative measure now and then, and regularly inspect your flock to catch the problem before harm is done to the chickens.
Hens, to some extent, can treat themselves by dust bathing. Dust bathing is really good for your chickens. It dislodges the parasites and also helps get dirt and oils off of them plus it keeps their feathers and skin healthy. Give them a sheltered area that keeps the rain off it so it's dry and good for all time use. You can get a simple kiddie pool, cement mixing tray, or just a dry spot on the ground, whatever your birds can fit their whole body into. When chickens dustbathe they scratch in the dirt, peck and eat some of it, and get down and shake it all over themselves getting it all between their feathers.
Mites are evil little creatures that can drain your poor flock of the will to even be active. Mites can drink chicken blood, eat feathers, and sap energy from your birds, which is why they are so harmful to your flock. Below are some articles for further reading on this topic:
Also feel free to take part in our poll: How Do You Deal With Lice & Mite Infestations in your Coop?
