Smart Feeder - Light sensor values

[stoice]

Sorry for the long post. Need some mite advice.

The girls have always slept outside on a perch in the WIR but their nesting area is a section of the shed accessed by a pop hole. I first spotted two mites on my hand two weeks ago. It was just after I had handled snowy but also after I'd just put a small handful of treat mixed corn in a D cup. I checked over my girls and Margot and nugget seemed fine. Snowy is being plucked though so I'm wondering if she has Luce or mites. So I got a pigeon spot on *not licenced for poultry* and treated all my girls twice now, one dose each, one week apart. Poor snowy is still bald in patches on top of her back at base of tail and on her botty but I know it'll take a while to refeather.

Anyway, last week while moving a few items on the shed bench I noticed the same mites. The adults were a grey brown colour and the tiny babies were almost white in colour. I squashed a few but no red mark was left. They were also really fast, the speed of an ant if that makes sense? I searched thoroughly in every crevice I could see, but did not see a concentration of them. I've not had red mite before, to my knowledge, but have seen it loads on pics on here. I'm just not sure they're red mite. They were out in the light shining through the shed window. Aren't red mite 'phobic' of the light?

I've done a little google and discovered blighters called grain mites. Could I have these? Some people on a forum that kept reptiles and spiders in vivariums and noticed mites transferred to their pets housing by the mealworms they give them. I have on occasion got my girls live mealworms, kept them in my shed on the counter by the treat tub. Do you think it's possible I have these? It was really hard to check my treat tub for them (kept in a recycle container) but it would explain why they were on my hand after giving the girls their corn. As my girls sleep outside I'm going to use a fogger in the shed tonight so by morning the air will be safe. I will also chuck out the treat corn.

Has anyone else had experience of this? Am I kidding myself, do I have redmite?

Thanks for reading. x

Edited July 2, 2012 by Guest

[sandyhas3chucks]

I spotted something like you describe and put one under a microscope. there is a photo on here from way back, you might find if you do a search of my posts...

I thought they were grain mites in the end as the nearest I could find was a book mite.

Well the little blighter got in my cupboards, had to bin flour allsorts amd had bery unattractive cupbpards for weeks doused with diatomous earth. opuffing it aboutnly spot the odd one now and again, so it worked, also put DE in all grain buckets...

I still see them about outside on the WIR now it is warmer and keep on poultry shilding and DE about and will be net texting when the girls are in their grass runs on the nice days to come.

[The Dogmother]

Could perhaps be grain weevils, but it's more likely to be Northern Fowl Mites from your description; did you check your hens around their vents and in the fluff feathers against the skin?

 

The preventative drops need to be used quarterly with a spray on any lice you find, this spray needs to be repeated after a week. The drops have to be dosed per weight of the chicken (your vet can advise on this, or see this article) the spray needs to be done onto the skin.

 

NFM are notoriously tenacious and will bite humans too.

[stoice]

Hmm. I wondered if it was NF Mites but they spend their whole life on the chook don't they? These blighters were on my bench in the shed. I used the fogger last night but had no time this morning to check for their corpses but will this afternoon once home from work.

 

I checked armpits, fluff and bums - pretty much everywhere on my chooks. Two are perfectly fine looking to me. Lovely clear skin. Snowy has red raw patches and stubby quils - on her botty and the top of the base of her tail, but then I have seen the other two girls plucking her. A thorough check but no sign of mites, no crusty gatherings around the feathers or anything. All three have had this *not licenced for poultry*, calculated for their weight once a week for two weeks...

I have just bought this stuff *not licenced for poultry* from Flyte so fancy though...

So may carry on with this as it is ivermectin, do you think, if Ive missed signs of NFM, this would do the trick?

I've got some dog flea shampoo, so may give Snowy a wash in that first (Will be a nice treat in this weather I should imagine)

[The Dogmother]

Carry on with that if you have it in stock, but do bear in mind that if they have NFM, that plain Ivermectin doesn't seem to have any effect, whereas the Ivomec Eprinex* does.

 

*not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

 

I hope that you get to the bottom of it and get rid of the mites, perhaps some dusting with Buz Busters will do the trick.

[stoice]

Where can i get Ivomec Eprinex* from DM?

Would a vet prescribe it without seeing my chooks?

Seems a waste of eggs to use the ivermectin* if Ivermectin* won't have an effect on NF Mite. (that's if it is NF Mite). Maybe, if I spot any of them (Hopefully their dead little bodies after the fogger) I'll take a pic for your perusal if you don't mind?

 

*not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[The Dogmother]

Ivomec Eprinex* is a cattle pour-on! and only available on prescription and prescribed off-label by poultry savvy vets. I understand that some Omleteers have bought it on the internet before but it's only sold for use on cattle. I am lucky to have a very good poultry vet who thinks this stuff is the best thing ever.

 

I've been using it for years and it works really well as a preventative when used in conjunction with a spray; I see very few critters at all now, just the odd pioneer chancing its luck!

 

*not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[stoice]

Thought I'd give you a little update:

I fumed the chicken house and treated my girls with Ivomec Eprinex* and kept an eye on snowys baldy back. No signs of of any crawlies on the girls or in the house for a whole month. Snowys feathers are starting to come back and my broody Margot is also refeathering nicely too. So I got some live mealworms from wigglys as they were on offer, to give the girls some extra protein. I have been hand feeding them to gain Margots trust again (she's still stand offish) and poured a few extra mealworms into a little metal try to give to the wild birds.

Next day I look into the dish and see the mites again. These mites are definetely from the live mealworms and look exactly like the ones I buzzed a month ago.

I've google searched them and it's quite common for mealworms (and crickets etc) to carry these mites. No way of killing the mites and keeping the mealworms alive though apparently (From a mealworm breeding point of view) as the eggs survive at 0 degrees and can last for months. I've no more live mealworms left as my girls have eaten them now but I'd just thought I'd share this find with you all that some live mealworms carry mites and you should be careful to keep them contained so they do not spread.

 

xx

 

*not licensed for use on poultry in the UK