Chicken bald back

[Adams Egg]

Having found some red mite in the cube, following a drop in egg number I spent 4 hours stripping and cleaning the cube with TMK only to find they came back overnight.

To my horror they were also happily living on the branches in the run ( saw them in the torch light running away from a roosting hen) I have restripped the cube and found little colonies inside the holes from the injection moulding process and the unused holes where the run fixes on. All have been sealed with a hot glue gun. Looks like they live in the joints of the WIR too.

I think they came in on some leaves I put in the run, the leaves came off the elderberry where the pigeons roost.

 

I decided to research the life cycle and found a very helpful scientific paper on the subject, once you get through the technical details its surprising what behaviour and other things can be attributed to red mite.

Here is the link

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/afrd/assets/documents/website-mite-background.pdf

Hope it helps

Edited August 24, 2013 by Guest

[The Dogmother]

I know the article well.

 

You will need to keep up the treatment with TMK and Buz Busters powder to break the hatching cycle - it will work. Putting a bit of garlic powder in their feed, and diatom in the dustbath helps too, as does treating your birds quarterly with a spot-on preventative.

 

I visited a lovely couple yesterday, who had possibly the worst case I'd ever seen of red mites in their coop the birds were all looking anaemic and hadn't sufficient nutrients left to grow new feathers - they have a new regime sorted now and hopefully it'll work for them. It's been a bad year for mites and lice.

[CheekyPekins]

 

Putting a bit of garlic powder in their feed, and diatom in the dustbath helps too, as does treating your birds quarterly with a spot-on preventative.

 

I've been looking for a spot-on preventative - can anyone recommend one please? Thanks very much

[The Dogmother]

You'll need to speak to a chicken-savvy vet as none of them are licensed for use on poultry yet. There are various products mentioned in threads on this forum though.

[gavclojak]

Hi there, I use eprinomectic, 7 drops on the back of the next with a two week egg withdrawal period, I took two of my girls to the vet and once she had seen then gave me the said potion. All in all cost £10.00. Happy days x it isn't licenced for use on poultry but I was happy to use it. I had to find a vet who is chicken savvy as the dogmother said, she isn't the same on I use for my dogs but its worth it.

[The Dogmother]

Most farm vets will happily recommend it.

[CheekyPekins]

Thanks

My vet isn't particularly chicken savvy so the search is on!

[good_egg]

I use invermectin for parrots. I bought it on FSF website.

 

http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Ivermectin_Drops.html

[The Dogmother]

Please be aware that these products are not licensed fro use on egg-laying (or meat) poultry in the UK, and as such can only be recommended for use by a vet.

 

Plain Ivermectin isn't as effective on poultry; most farm vets recommend the use of Ivomec Eprinex, which is marketed as a cattle pour-on. Some non-farm vets suggest using a cat spot-on.