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Mites are common external parasites that often infest backyard chickens, so it’s important that you know the signs and symptoms of these pests so that you can keep your birds healthy.We’ve compiled this list of the most common signs of a mite infestation so that you can quickly determine whether you have a problem on your hands.
Common Signs of a Chicken Mite Infestation
It can be easy to identify mites when you know what you’re looking for. Some signs may be obvious, such as visible mites or eggs, but others may be less so, like a chicken’s hesitation to head to the coop.
Review these common symptoms to find out whether you’re dealing with a mite problem so you can take steps to get rid of them.
Dirty Vent Feathers
Because the vent area of a bird has a rich blood supply, many varieties of mites take up residence here. As they live and eat, they’ll produce brown and black droppings and debris, which may be most obvious on a light-colored bird’s feathers.
Listlessness and Reduced Activity
Severe mite infestations can cause your hens to develop anemia due to blood loss. A sign of this dangerous condition can be listlessness and reduced activity as the bird’s energy levels wane.
Pale Comb and Wattle
Another sign of mite-induced anemia can be a light-colored comb and wattle. These fleshy growths are generally bright red in healthy chickens due to a strong blood supply.
Decreased Egg Laying
A decrease in production in egg-laying hens can signal a severe mite problem. This is because the chicken’s body is using all its energy to keep the bird alive, which leaves less or none for making eggs.
Loss of Appetite and Weight Loss
When poultry are stressed from the itching, irritation, and pain that comes from having mites, they may stop eating, which will lead to weight loss. Losing weight leads to less energy and can contribute to the development of anemia.
Feather Loss and Balding
As mites cause intense itching, a chicken may tear out its own feathers in an attempt to find relief. When enough of the chickens’ feathers are lost, you’ll notice bald spots.
Visible Chicken Mites or Mite Eggs
Mites are incredibly tiny, but during a heavy mite infestation, you may be able to be able to see concrete evidence of them.You may notice thousands of eggs laid on feather shafts and possibly even the mites themselves. There’s even a possibility you’ll the mites crawling over the chicken’s eggs.
Redness, Blood Spots, and Scabs
As mites consume your chickens’ blood, they’ll cause irritation and redness. This inflammation can cause your bird to pick at and scratch the affected area, which will lead to blood spots and later scabs.
Hesitation to Roost
Mites are typically more active at night, so your hens may be reluctant to head to the coop to roost as they associate that area with the irritation and pain of the parasites.If you notice that members of your flock don’t want to head in at night, you need to investigate why.
The Most Common Poultry Mites
While there are dozens of external parasites that can infest birds, you’re most likely to encounter the northern fowl mite or these other varieties.
Northern Fowl Mites
The northern fowl mite is the most common chicken mite in the United States. They typically live their entire lives on birds, where their blood sucking can lead to anemia, and in extreme cases, death. When they do fall of the bird, they can survive without a meal in nesting boxes and underneath roosts for up to three weeks.
Red Roost Mites
Red mites get their name from the fact that they appear reddish after feeding on blood. These external parasites are difficult to eradicate because they live in the cracks and crevices of the chicken coop and come out to feed at night.
Scaly Leg Mites
The scaly leg mite isn’t especially dangerous, but it can cause your birds distress and pain due to the way that they burrow under the scales of your chickens’ legs. Check for these mites if your fowl are picking at their legs, displaying lameness, or having difficulty roosting.
Tropical Fowl Mites
The tropical fowl mite can be a problem for both birds and their keepers as they can spread to and bite humans too. Most often transmitted by wild birds, these parasites cause feather loss due to extreme itching.
FAQs
Chicken mites most commonly arrive via wild birds. The mites infest your livestock when your poultry graze in the the same areas in which infected birds eat or nest. Mites can also hitch a ride on your clothing and shoes when you visit fellow poultry keepers who are dealing with their own infestation.
Depending on the type of mite, you may be able to see them or their eggs as the infestation worsens. Red mites, for example, are typically grey and nearly invisible, but they turn red as they feed on blood.
Some of the most common symptoms of chicken mites include:
- Decrease in egg production in laying hens
- Dirty or ragged feathers
- Loss of feathers
- Listlessness
- Skin irritation and scabs
- Weight loss
To eradicate mites, your need to treat your chickens and their entire coop. Treating birds can involve commercial insecticides or natural methods, such as dusting chickens with food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) or adding wood ash to their dust baths.
When cleaning the coop, you need to remove all nesting materials and other debris, including molted or lost feathers that may contain a mite’s hatching eggs. You’ll then spray the coop with an insecticide or dust with DE, taking care to cover all areas, including nest boxes and roosts.
One of the best ways to prevent infestations is vigilance — be sure to conduct frequent flock inspections. When you check chickens regularly (at least once per month) for signs of mites, you’ll be able to keep a minor problem from turning into a big one.
Other sufficient preventative measures include:
- Regularly cleaning the coop and using natural preventatives like diatomaceous earth
- Giving birds dust bath areas so they can clean their bodies and feathers naturally
- Quarantining new chickens before introducing them to the existing flock
