Chicken Mite Problem

[MaryN]

I seen to have been having a bit of a problem with chicken mites this year. I think it has a lot to do with the weather;but my poor girls have been afflicted. I have found a solution. It is called diatomaceous earth. I know it sounds a bit odd - I wondered what assistance earth could possibly give. Anyway, it is made of ground up fossilised remains of diatoms which are a hard-shelled type of algae. Ground up it feels like talcum powder, but according to the literature it looks like little scratchy atoms. This miracle worker penetrates the skins of mites, fleas and little bugs and causes them to dehydrate. They die quickly. Poultry or animals treated do not suffer any side effects. I have shaken this powder into the nooks and cranies of my coop and into the bedding as well. I plan to shake some into the dust bathing areas just to cover all avenues. The chickens have had a quick powdering and are not showing any side effects at all. If this is an effective shakedown of the mite problem I shall be delighted. I do not feel comfortable spraying everything with chemicals.

We shall see.

[Steve]

Apparently it gets jammed between the scales on mites, forcing them apart and leaving them open to dehydration.

[Devonian]

I was speaking to a (former) commercial chicken farmer at a BBQ at the weekend and about mites and the way he used to deal with treating the hens was to get a old car tyre, lay it on the ground and then half fill the void with the mite powder. He would then form a tiny tent or TeePee around it to keep the powder dry.

The hens used to then take themselves in and use it as a dust bath and he never had a problem with mites. Plus having 6000 chickens it made his job a whole lot easier.

[MaryN]

What a great idea, Dev. I'll have to try that. I'll give OH a prod tomorrow and see what he can set up for me. Anything to make the gals more comfortable.