GenBond Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forestchook Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Yes. Well I believe so anyway. Before I re-homed them I noticed one of my boys used to get them on his face. At least thats what I took them to be. He did not seem to mind, but I'd try to remove them (if he cooperated) N Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hi Yes they can. One of mine did last year / have a look at this :- http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=23498 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Hi Yes they can. One of mine did last year / have a look at this :- http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=23498 This link goes to your profile and not to a post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roselady Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Oh sorry - am rubbish at this 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 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlina Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckfest Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 The best way I have seen to remove a tick is to rub it in a circular motion to make it "dizzy". After about 30 seconds it will drop off intact, see the link below: I didn't believe it would work until I tried it, it worked like a dream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 One of our hens picked up a tick just at the base of her comb. We have a tick removing tool so we got it off with that and I took great pleasure in squishing the evil little thing afterwards We have only noticed the one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Never had them on my flock, but the dogs sometimes pick them up in the undergrowth when they are rabbiting. I always use an O'Tom hook as they remove it quickly and cleanly without squeezing the tick, which could lead to the stomach contents (+ any infections!) emptying into the host animal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
