Mites or Lice and how to treat?!? PLEASE Help

[KOTurkeyRanch]

I was examining my turkey and i saw yellowish/orange bugs running around on my turkey. He has crusty dried skin and the bugs like i said are like yellow/orange. What are these, mites or lice?

How do i treat these, i have heard of Sevin dust, but my dad and i want to give him a shot or spray instead of the dust, please help!

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Our chickens get feather mites every year around late spring. I use Sevin (5%?) dust, and it always gets rid of them, usually within the first dusting. I even used it on an infestation of red mites on our porch and a starling chick.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

How do you apply it? I have never seen my turkeys dusting.

Also, how do you rid of the dry skin?

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

You apply it the hard way; hold the bird down and get the dust everywhere you can under the feathers. Be careful around the vent and the head.
I'm not sure about the dry skin, but my guess would be that, when the mites go away, the skin will get better naturally.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Can this be fatal?

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Do you mean the mites? If so, then, yes, given time. Until then it just makes the bird increasingly unhealthy and uncomfortable.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

i think they are lice...not mites...they were yellow with like 6 legs

can lice be fatal?

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Oops . . . lice. Well, they all look like little bugs to me.
Lice can be fatal, too. They have the same overall effect as mites.

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

Im going to get Sevin Dust tomorrow to apply it to the turkeys and chickens and also the coop. How do you advise i add it to the coop?

 

[Praxxus]

I raise chickens, turkeys, guinneas and peafowl. I just allow them to dust bathe themselves and it kills all mites and lice they may come in contact with. The dust created by dustbathing in a dry dirt area clogs the breathing pores of the mites/lice bodies and kills them. I'm just not a fan of chemicals but that's just me. I hope your birds are going to be ok. Turkeys are so cool!