Chicken Mites ~ Signs and Treatment Options

The dreaded chicken mites. Yes, our chickens have mites. Once a month (or so) I try to do a chicken check-up. I was a little lax while the girls were molting and I just sorta monitored them when I was outside. You can tell a lot in just a few minutes. 

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I try not to handle the girls too much when molting. The pin feathers are tender and painful when coming in. 

This week the Bearded Rooster went to collect eggs and noticed these tiny bugs crawling all over the nest box. He even felt like they were on him and in his beard. My first thought was roost mites. Roost mites will hide in the nest box, roost or in the nooks and crannies of any wooden surface.

I sprayed with poultry spray and they scattered but I checked an hour later and they were back. Hmmm. Then we checked the girls. They had mites in their vent area. So now I’m thinking it’s the Northern Fowl Mite, which is the most common chicken mite. 

The Northern Fowl Mite has a life cycle of 5-7 days and the roost mite is 2 weeks.

How to prevent mites:

Dust bath – bathing in dirt or dust smothers the mites or lice and helps keep your bird’s feathers healthy by removing excess oil. We’ve had so much rain that the dust bath area was a muddy pit. I emptied and moved it under the coop and the girls are enjoying it. 

Limit birds and rodents – this is hard to do. I love the sparrows, red and bluebirds that visit our yard and we’ve had a mice problem with the new construction in our area. I pick up the feed each night but we all know the chickens get that everywhere. 

Herbs – A few herbs are thought to deter mites like lavender, lemongrass, and sage. Now that Spring is here, I’ll be planting all of those. Some will sprinkle around the coop and other people will make a bouquet. Other plants like mint and marigolds are believed to have the same properties. 

Clean coop – I have a pretty rigid routine for cleaning the coop but in the winter I’m not as vigilant. 

Signs of Chicken Mites 

How do you know if your chicken has mites? 

Poopy bottom – Some healthy birds tend to have poopy bottoms anyways but it’s always a good thing to check. With mites, the feathers around the vent area can become broken and cause the poop to stick to the area.

Mites like the vent area because it’s moist and warm. They will congregate here or under their wings and feed on the feathers. This damages the feather’s shaft. Your chickens may peck or preen that area more often causing irritation and the feathers to break. 

Pale comb – An adult chicken’s comb should be bright in color. Most chickens are red but different breeds can have different colors. The comb is part of the circulatory system and if pale could be anemia or something else just as serious. Mites feed on your chicken’s blood.

Drop in egg production. All of our girls lay a different color or sized egg so it’s easy to determine if someone hasn’t laid an egg. However, if you have the same breed, it may be harder to notice. But if you normally get 4-5 eggs a day and are now getting two, check your birds. If your birds are fighting an illness or the effects of mites, their egg production will drop as their bodies focus on healing. 

Lethargy – if your bird is weak or has no energy, you need to isolate and act quickly. Mites and lice can kill your chickens. 

All the girls were acting normal and their combs looked great so I knew we weren’t in big trouble but with signs of mites, we acted fast. 

Treatments

There are several options on the market. 

DE (Diatomaceous Earth)– some people swear by this. We use it as a preventative in the dust bath. It smoothers the mites and also dries them out by cutting their outer shell. If you choose DE you need to apply frequently. It’s not as effective in humid weather if the DE becomes moist. 

Pyrethrin  – naturally found in the chrysanthemum or “mum”. It targets the nervous system of insects causing paralysis and death. This treatment is not recommended if you have outdoor fish or honey bees. It’s also highly toxic to cats. 

Ivermectin – You may see this recommended in some of the chicken groups on Facebook. It’s found in Heartguard for dogs but it is not labeled for use with chickens but many people use it. There is a recommendation for ornamental or “caged” birds. If you decide to go this route it’s recommended to discard any eggs for 7 days and if you process for meat, wait 21 days. 

Permetherin – synthetic version of Pyrethrin I started using this last year when Hazel had flystrike. Now that’s an awful thing to deal with. It’s also effective with mites. I sprayed the roost bars and the nest box. We also used it in a powder form and applied directly to the birds, on their vent, under their wings, and on their chest.

Since it’s highly toxic to cats, I sprayed first thing in the morning and locked the cat in the house, then I don’t let him out for a few days. When we do let him out, he usually doesn’t pay any attention to the chickens so I feel pretty comfortable using it. So far we haven’t had any issues. The powder we use has .25% active ingredient and the spray is 10%.

Since I could see them on the girls and in the nest box, we went with the Permetherin powder and spray. 

Wild birds and rodents will carry mites and lice. You may even carry it yourself on your shoes or clothing if you spend much time outside or from visiting other farms or homesteads.

Darn!! You can do everything right and your chickens can still get mites and lice. The best thing is to identify the problem early. 

The girls are doing well and a week later we repeated the permethrin treatment. I’ll do it one more time just to be sure. And now that the weather is better and molting is over, I’ll be more vigilant about their chicken check up!