Beamerz
Songster
Hello!.. I'm dealing with my first mite/lice whatever infestation and believe I have that underway using neem oil and DE... ( came to this conclusion after much ado about the bugs)... I have read that some people reported having parasite problems after buying products like straw, from a ( Chain Store - unnammed but assumed by me to maybe be TS).. I had bought some straw for nesting boxes and noticed when I brought it home the hens would push it out of the boxes that still had coms coco coir in them.. ) ( they are pretty smart birds they are.. ) but I was less smart.. Then secondly I'd been impressed with the Carolina Coops stratgey of deep bedding so I had ordered several bales of the industrial hemp which I began to use for deep bedding..( liked how it seemed to remove smells almost immediately.. ) Ok.. fast fwd..
A week or so ago I discovered we had unwanted guests on the birds so I've been reading and reading and began treatment after much moderation. I'm struggling but feel confident I can manage with persisting and keeping up treatments.. I went into my coop at night 3 hrs after dark looking for any mites but didn't see any movement. ( I read some kinds you can't see) We had just finished insulating the coop the day before I noticed the birds had bugs. ( lucky me if I insulated over a problem) but for now I"m assuming otherwise. We also have a large population of Wild Black Turkeys that hang out in the yard in the same environs that my sometimes free ranging guys and gals use. I've found a turkey or two in the coop on occasion and I"m most suspicious that they may have become the vector of my mite/ or whatever it is problem. I gave up trying to figure out what it is at this time as none of the pictures or discussions I read seem like what I see., and from what I read its all treated the same way. I can see small tiny brownish or dark "beings" scurrying on the skin when I part feathers that are almost invisible to nake eye ( assuming mites)... I also saw feathers that looked as one person described as "Q-tips" on some birds.. some of my birds .. some of my birds seem to have almost none.
I'm just paddling along.. I've done a lot in my long life.. but this is an education I was not prepared for but somehow I enjoy these birds so much, and they never cease to amaze me with how smart they are. I respect chickens. I thank them every night for their eggs before I leave after singing them a song. I think they like me too.
I can't tell you how rewarding it was to wash my white roo who was the most infected in a hot soak of neem oil, dish soap and a few essential oils. He became like spagetti and seeme do enjoy and appreciate it so much. Now I"m off to treat 15 more birds... Any feedback on any of this is greatly appreciated as much as my Roo enjoyed his bath
. I also followed up with DE dusting after drying and spraying Poultry Protector on coop and birds ( back of neck, under wings, and tail/vent areas).
I was going to try to do the Ivermec but pulled back after reading about symptoms humans have experienced after taking it that birds can't speak too. Just because something works doesn't mean it's the best choice. I think it would have been faster for sure but if I can't make time for them, I realize I should not have them. They are a responsibility I did not understand the depth of but I really feel like you get back what you give in this world.. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
A week or so ago I discovered we had unwanted guests on the birds so I've been reading and reading and began treatment after much moderation. I'm struggling but feel confident I can manage with persisting and keeping up treatments.. I went into my coop at night 3 hrs after dark looking for any mites but didn't see any movement. ( I read some kinds you can't see) We had just finished insulating the coop the day before I noticed the birds had bugs. ( lucky me if I insulated over a problem) but for now I"m assuming otherwise. We also have a large population of Wild Black Turkeys that hang out in the yard in the same environs that my sometimes free ranging guys and gals use. I've found a turkey or two in the coop on occasion and I"m most suspicious that they may have become the vector of my mite/ or whatever it is problem. I gave up trying to figure out what it is at this time as none of the pictures or discussions I read seem like what I see., and from what I read its all treated the same way. I can see small tiny brownish or dark "beings" scurrying on the skin when I part feathers that are almost invisible to nake eye ( assuming mites)... I also saw feathers that looked as one person described as "Q-tips" on some birds.. some of my birds .. some of my birds seem to have almost none.
I'm just paddling along.. I've done a lot in my long life.. but this is an education I was not prepared for but somehow I enjoy these birds so much, and they never cease to amaze me with how smart they are. I respect chickens. I thank them every night for their eggs before I leave after singing them a song. I think they like me too.
I can't tell you how rewarding it was to wash my white roo who was the most infected in a hot soak of neem oil, dish soap and a few essential oils. He became like spagetti and seeme do enjoy and appreciate it so much. Now I"m off to treat 15 more birds... Any feedback on any of this is greatly appreciated as much as my Roo enjoyed his bath
. I also followed up with DE dusting after drying and spraying Poultry Protector on coop and birds ( back of neck, under wings, and tail/vent areas).I was going to try to do the Ivermec but pulled back after reading about symptoms humans have experienced after taking it that birds can't speak too. Just because something works doesn't mean it's the best choice. I think it would have been faster for sure but if I can't make time for them, I realize I should not have them. They are a responsibility I did not understand the depth of but I really feel like you get back what you give in this world.. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
