Jump to content
GenBond

Can chickens pick up ticks?

Recommended Posts

Hi, hoping someone can advise.

 

This evening i noticed what looked like little grey ticks on one of my chickens ( on her fleshy ear lobes). They do Free range part of the day, and in the past our cat got ticks from time to time, mostly in the better weather!

 

We have deer and sometimes foxes nearby. Can chickens pick up ticks?

 

Thanks for a really informative forum, I have found this forum so helpful, don't know what I'd do with out all the great snippets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh sorry - am rubbish at this :oops:

 

Well, last year we returned from a fortnight hol and I noticed a strange grey lump on one of the girls ears. Took pics and emailed them to the vets who confirmed it was a tick. It was large and bloated and by the time she arrived at the practice so they could show me how to deal with it, it had dropped off!

 

I can only assume it had come from a wild bird as we live in a surburban area and did not have a dog at the time . Hope this helps ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've not seen a tick on my hens, but I ran an animal rescue charity for awhile, and I'm confident that anything warm blooded (including humans) can pick one or more up

Our animals came from a town centre type area in the main and since then my cats picked the odd one up when I lived in a city centre - so I don't think the area has much effect.

 

I always used a lit cigarette to shift them. My grandfather, who kept sheep but didn't smoke, kept some cigarettes especially for the purpose and passed that trick on. I since discovered that a nice coating of nail varnish makes them drop off (and animals seem to mind this less than singed fur!)

I know they advise a twist and pull removal these days, but I always worried about leaving mouthparts behind, and never got an infection from my less orthodox methods

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




×
×
  • Create New...