What To Do If Your Chickens & Coop Are Infested with Parasites
Signs, symptoms, and treatment for poultry mice and lice. Poultry lice and mites like to hide in the wood during the day and feast on your chickens flesh and feathers at night, regularly cleaning and disinfecting your hen house/coop and run and moving it every six to eight weeks to fresh ground will aid in the prevention of mite, lice and rodent infestations but if your chickens and coop are already infested you will need to get ready because there is no quick fix to get rid of severe parasite infestations. Each bird will need to be bathed and treated and placed in a different area until finished cleaning, disinfecting and moving the coop.
Signs & Symptoms-How to tell if your chickens have mites or lice
Symptoms
Keep an eye out on your chickens daily for the following signs and symptoms that could indicate they have mites or lice. You should physically pick up and inspect your chickens biweekly during warm months or monthly during colder months for possible parasite infestations.
Feather loss
Pale comb and wattles
Dirty or crusty vent area
Listless
Dull droopy feathers/bald spots/evidence of feather pulling/broken feathers
Change in appetite/weight loss
Reddish skin or red spots on skin underneath the feathers
Loss in egg production
Seeing insects during inspection
You can also use a white absorbent cloth or paper towel and wipe the underside of your chicken or their roost. If you see signs of blood your chickens have mites or lice and should be treated right away.
If you suspect your chickens and coop are infested with parasites you will need to clean, disinfect, and treat all areas that your chickens have contact with. Everything must be cleaned, disinfected and treated. You can treat everything in the coop (including walls, floors, and ceiling by spraying permethrin (Note: Permethrin is highly toxic to cats). The safest way to get rid of mites, lice and other parasites can be accomplished by using Food grade DE after removing old bedding, scrubbing all surfaces, and disinfecting the coop. All of your chickens will need to be bathed and you will need to trim the vent feathers on your chickens if there are any signs of mites or lice and treat your birds with the Food grade DE as well. Scroll down to see treatments and best buys on treatments for chicken parasites.
Treatments for heavy parasite infestations:
Painting wood surfaces with Non toxic paint
Keeping wood surfaces painted with non toxic paint will deter mites and lice from embedding themselves into the wood. Be sure that the paint you use is non toxic and water based. The bad part about painting your coop inside is that the birds may peck at the paint. If possible you could put tin sheeting on the inside walls behind the roosts.
Prevention is the key to parasite control. Keep your coop, run, roosts, nestboxes clean by wiping them down daily, change bedding when it is soiled, remove eggs from nest boxes daily and do not leave eggs overnight, this will attract mice, rats, skunks, snakes and other predators and most of these predators carry mites and lice. Make sure runs are large and covered with tin or other suitable roof and sides with poultry netting or wire, or hardware cloth to prevent wild birds from accessing the your chickens food and water. Wild birds carry mites and lice and diseases that your chickens can catch from them. Powerwash with hot water, a steamer or very hot soapy water and disinfect it once a month or as needed. See more about parasite treatments below.
Keep an eye out on your chickens daily for the following signs and symptoms that could indicate they have mites or lice. You should physically pick up and inspect your chickens biweekly during warm months or monthly during colder months for possible parasite infestations.
Feather loss
Pale comb and wattles
Dirty or crusty vent area
Listless
Dull droopy feathers/bald spots/evidence of feather pulling/broken feathers
Change in appetite/weight loss
Reddish skin or red spots on skin underneath the feathers
Loss in egg production
Seeing insects during inspection
You can also use a white absorbent cloth or paper towel and wipe the underside of your chicken or their roost. If you see signs of blood your chickens have mites or lice and should be treated right away.
If you suspect your chickens and coop are infested with parasites you will need to clean, disinfect, and treat all areas that your chickens have contact with. Everything must be cleaned, disinfected and treated. You can treat everything in the coop (including walls, floors, and ceiling by spraying permethrin (Note: Permethrin is highly toxic to cats). The safest way to get rid of mites, lice and other parasites can be accomplished by using Food grade DE after removing old bedding, scrubbing all surfaces, and disinfecting the coop. All of your chickens will need to be bathed and you will need to trim the vent feathers on your chickens if there are any signs of mites or lice and treat your birds with the Food grade DE as well. Scroll down to see treatments and best buys on treatments for chicken parasites.
Treatments for heavy parasite infestations:
- Remove birds from the coop and run
- If possible trim each bird's vent feathers and bath each bird with Dawn original dish soap. Do not return them to the hen house, coop or run until after it has been cleaned, disinfected, and moved if possible.
- Treat each bird with a mite and lice treatment (Read the directions before applying to birds). I have used Ivermectin and it works very well.
- Clean all bedding out of coop and nest boxes.
- Spray permethrin in all cracks and crevices and on all surfaces and floors in and around coop and run and let dry for at least 24 to 72 hours. Keep all cats and other pets away from the area as permethrin is toxic to cats and other small animals.
- Powerwash the coop, nestboxes, roosts, and run and let dry completely.
- Move the coop and run to a different area on fresh ground then spray the area where the coop was previously with Permethrin
- If you use bedding on your coop floor you can sprinkle Food grade DE on the floor before putting the bedding down.
- Put fresh bedding or nesting pads in nest boxes.
Painting wood surfaces with Non toxic paint
Keeping wood surfaces painted with non toxic paint will deter mites and lice from embedding themselves into the wood. Be sure that the paint you use is non toxic and water based. The bad part about painting your coop inside is that the birds may peck at the paint. If possible you could put tin sheeting on the inside walls behind the roosts.
Prevention is the key to parasite control. Keep your coop, run, roosts, nestboxes clean by wiping them down daily, change bedding when it is soiled, remove eggs from nest boxes daily and do not leave eggs overnight, this will attract mice, rats, skunks, snakes and other predators and most of these predators carry mites and lice. Make sure runs are large and covered with tin or other suitable roof and sides with poultry netting or wire, or hardware cloth to prevent wild birds from accessing the your chickens food and water. Wild birds carry mites and lice and diseases that your chickens can catch from them. Powerwash with hot water, a steamer or very hot soapy water and disinfect it once a month or as needed. See more about parasite treatments below.
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More About Getting Rid of Parasites in Coop and On Chickens |
Common Types of Mites and Lice Found on Poultry
Complete list of mites and lice found on poultry
- http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf