AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Is it unusual to have one or two chooks with mites and the other two not?

I treated my chooks topically with Ivomectin beginning of January and again this week.
One of my chooks has developed mites and the other two appear ok.
(I had to have one put to sleep this week - she became very sick from being egg bound - she had mites too).
The one with mites has recently been a real problem child and was attacking another chook and not letting her eat. I seperated the bad chook for a few weeks and have successfully reintroduced them again (so far). Whilst separated she started to look cruddy - some feathers missing, some weight loss, some crusty patches that looks like mite eaten skin. She was quite stressed being on her own & separated from the others, but she was being so nasty to the other chook who almost died from the stress and not eating enough. The picked on chook is now strong and healthy. She is still a bit scared of the nasty chook and runs away from her, but at least the nasty chook has stopped picking on her.

They range in approx 100 sqm and sleep in an old bird aviary. I clean it regularly but havn't sprayed it. I hate using toxic sprays. Any suggestions for something that will be safe for chooks and me but get rid of mites? Do the mites live in the dirt, ie in their yard? If so, how do I treat that?
When a bird is stressed are they more prone to mites because their health is compromised?

Any help/suggestions would be fantastic.
Thanks, Sam

During the day some external parasites live in nooks and crannies in the chicken pen, so the bottom line is you need to treat the environment as well as the chickens. You probably need to empty everything out of the aviary and do a total cleanout. Parasites tend to be spread from bird to bird in over crowed situations in some cases too.

If you don't treat the environment, they just come back unfortunately.
If you don't treat the birds their health will be affected and it can lead eventually to death. Some external parasites suck blook and can lead to anaemia. Others transmit disease.

Things to keep in mind:
1. Use the correct insecticide and follow the manufacturer's directions (including any follow up treatments).

2. Birds can be sprayed, dusted or dipped. Dusting is more convenient if there are only a few birds thoug (Pestene is great for this). Whatever method you use, ensure the bird is completely covered with insecticide. The vent and underwings are often missed -these are favourite areas for parasites!

3. If you dip them, make sure they are completely dry before nightfall if temperatures get low.

4. It's not enough to treat just the birds since some parasites spend a significant part of their life cycle off the bird. The roof and walls of the shed should be treated, as well as roosts, perches, nesting boxes and litter. Make sure all cracks and crevices are well penetrated with insecticide. Eggs can be laid on feathers so clean up litter in the nest boxes and shed too.

5. As insecticides have no effect on parasite eggs, follow-up treatments are required. The timing of these will depend on the life cycle of the parasite - make sure you follow the directions carefully.

6. Wild birds can be a source of parasites, if they're constantly coming in to the chicken pen you might need to look at keeping them out.

7. When using insecticides always wear protective clothing. Avoid skin contact and inhalation of the chemical.

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Regarding aggression from your head chook, this can be pretty normal when they are maintaining their postion in the pecking order, but, if their behaviour is constantly aggressive and they are making every other hen in the flock stressed you need to think abut whether it's worth keeping her. Not every 'head' chook is so aggressive and sometimes its just not worth the angst to everyone to keep a hen like that. You can always have more than one area for food and water so everyone can access it safely in the meanwhile.

What breed of chooks do you have and are they all the same age? It sounds like things are settling down now, hopefully you get it all back on track soon...

thanks Roova,

I am not sure what breed they are. I inherited from a friend who could no longer keep them.
I had 4, now 3 this week ;-(
They are about 2yrs old.

When I clean their cage I pull everything out and clean it all thoroughly. It takes me hours!! But I reckon I am not doing a good enough job.

There are a lot of wild pigeons around. I havn't seen them in the cage, just in the garden.

I have three feeding stations and 2 water for them, and spread scraps etc around so not in the one place so the girls can have space.


How do I know the life cycle of the parasite?

I just gave them topical Ivomec the other day. Would it be safe to dust too? I don't want to poison them with too much chemicals ......