Medicine for mites in poultry. Chicken mite: treatment, prevention

Chicken mites are capable of annoying the inhabitants of the chicken coop much more than other blood-sucking mites. At the slightest suspicion of their presence in the poultry farmers, the poultry farmer should carry out a diagnosis and get rid of the annoying parasites as quickly as possible. How to do this is described in the article.

Chicken mite divided into several varieties that differ from each other appearance, size and habitat on the bird’s body.

Very small arthropods that cannot be seen with the naked eye. These include: Knemidocoptes, Epidermoptes, Cytodites. They feed on skin flakes and various animal secretions. They cause leg and body scabies and live in the trachea and lungs of birds.
Larger representatives of the species. The size of lice and fleas. These are ixodid ticks, Persian ticks and red chicken ticks. Representatives attack chickens only for the purpose of biting and feeding on blood. The rest of the time the arthropods spend on the walls, perches, and floor of the chicken coop.

It is not so easy to spot small mites in feathers, so owners often rely on signs of damage.

Attention! Chicken mites can drink the blood of people caring for poultry. Frequent bites lead to allergies and dermatitis.
Having settled in, the red tick causes significant trouble to its inhabitants. Regularly feeling bites, adults reduce egg production, and young animals grow poorly. If arthropods take up residence in the nests, the chickens will stop visiting them. Constant, albeit small, blood loss leads to anemia, which is easily determined by the pallor of the earrings and combs.
Attention! Too many red bloodsuckers lead to the death of birds.
The fact that a red chicken mite has appeared in the chicken coop can be suspected by the following signs:
If such signs appear, each bird should be carefully examined. If it is a red mite, then small black and red specks are visible on the body and feathers. A red tick looks like this:
Oval body 0.6-0.7 mm long.
The arthropod has 4 pairs of legs of different lengths.
The color of the body is red. After the tick has eaten blood, it turns dark purple.

Advice. The tick is clearly visible on white paper. In order to detect the blood-sucking insect, the leaf is passed along the walls and perches. Maximum accumulation in litter.

Chickens affected by mites and the chicken coop premises are treated insecticide. It is recommended to burn walls and perches indoors blowtorch. On the walking area, containers with sand and ash are installed, where the birds can “swim”. For prevention, aromatic herbs are scattered on the floor: wormwood, chamomile, tansy.
Diseases and treatments
Attention! If ticks are found, you should contact your veterinarian. The specialist will select the necessary medications and prescribe treatment.

The female red chicken mite lays up to 20 eggs. Active reproduction of insects occurs from May to October. During the warm season, ticks are most active. During the cold period, insects do not die, since they are able to live up to six months without food, being in a state of suspended animation.

Chicken mites live on the chicken coop litter and in bird's nests, can hide in cracks in the floor and walls. They feel best in a damp, dirty, poorly ventilated area.

Mites disrupt the normal life of chickens. Due to constant bites and itching, the bird is in a state of stress, trying to get rid of the discomfort. As mites multiply and spread throughout the bird’s body, they actively drink blood, and the chicken suffers from anemia. Abruptly, due to deterioration in the health of the chicken.

Additional harm to the chicken mite - the risk of infection from it infectious diseases. Ticks carry typhus, tuberculosis, borreliosis, Lyme disease, etc.

Tick bites are especially dangerous for chickens and young animals in poor health. Mite attacks lead to the death of more than 50% of hatched chicks. If you purchased expensive breeds (for example,) there is a risk of losing the money invested and not raising a single adult individual.

The chicken mite is active on the bird’s body mainly at night, so the owner may not immediately notice that the birds are infected with it. At the same time, chickens are in no hurry to go into the chicken coop in the evening, knowing that ticks will bother them at night. This circumstance should alert the owner.

The mite causes severe discomfort to birds. It penetrates into the subcutaneous space of chickens through microscopic wounds, and begins to make passages in the tissues. The chickens begin to itch and become restless.

Infected chickens are itchy and scratch constantly.

Reproducing at high speed, mites even enter the nasal and oral cavities, causing real suffering to the bird. The chicken begins to wheeze, cough, and breathing becomes heavy. If a tick penetrates the ears, the chicken vigorously shakes its head, and with its paws tries to reach the bite sites and scratch them.

If you notice signs of a mite infection in the behavior of a chicken, you need to carefully examine it. Special attention you need to pay attention to places under the wings, on the neck and under the tail. The skin in these places is especially delicate, so mites are located there.

The discovery of a dangerous bloodsucker in the chicken coop is a signal for immediate action for the owner. You need to start by treating the room.

If the chickens begin to itch and become restless, it is necessary to treat the chicken coop for mites.

All surfaces inside the chicken coop and the space in the aviary for walking the birds are treated. You need to thoroughly clean out all the droppings and dirt, and then treat everything with boiling water or steam.

Important. The most effective treatment is a blowtorch or gas lamp. From high temperatures The tick will surely die.

The chickens themselves are relieved of ticks using insecticidal preparations:

Pyrethrum. The advantages of this insecticide are safety for humans and birds combined with a destructive effect on mites.
Sevin. Powder for treating chicken feathers. Dosage – 15 grams per bird.
Extrasol M. Aerosol for spraying chicken feathers. The drug is applied twice with an interval of 10 days.
Cyperil. Liquid for spraying on the body of the bird and treating the chicken coop. Before use, prepare the working fluid at a ratio of 1:3.
Ectomin. Emulsion for dilution with water. Chickens are bathed in the solution for 1 minute. Twice treatment is required with an interval of 14 days.
Ecofleece. An oily liquid used to spray poultry. Birds are treated twice with an interval of 10 days.

Tsiperil is a liquid for spraying on the body of the bird and treating the chicken coop.

Folk remedies for chicken mites

Plants and wood ash have been used for centuries in the fight against chicken mites.

To bathe the birds, containers filled with a sand-ash mixture are placed in the aviary and inside the chicken coop. It is important to ensure that the bathing mixture is always dry. If contaminated, the mixture must be replaced.

Most effective folk remedy from chicken mites - ash.

Plants against ticks

Sagebrush. Bunches of fresh grass are added to the coop bedding and hung on the walls and perches. The grass is changed periodically so that the smell repels ticks.
Garlic. Prepare a spray of garlic juice and water. Take 30 ml of garlic per 300 ml of water and add a teaspoon of a mixture of oils to the solution. bay leaf, coriander, cloves, lavender, mint. The product is sprayed onto the feather of the bird. Garlic infusion capable of killing ticks in 24 hours.
Potato or tomato tops. Lays out on the floor of the chicken coop to repel insects.

Chickens are carriers of several types of mites:

Microscopic: Knemidocoptes, Epidermocoptes, Cytodites. They cannot be seen with the naked eye, so other external signs indicate their presence on the chicken’s body.
Medium size. These ticks are similar in size to fleas and lice: ixodid ticks, Persian ticks, red ticks.

Chicken mites are divided into two types: microscopic and medium.

One of the most common are ticks, affecting the legs and chicken feathers.

Reference. The black tick is a member of the Ixodid family. They live on mammals and humans, so they do not pose a danger to chickens. In rare cases, the female may attack the chicken and bite into the skin. But, after being saturated with blood, it disappears, so the chicken does not require treatment for black mites.

The photo shows the paws of a chicken infected with a mite.

If any type of chicken mite is detected on the body of a bird, it is necessary to immediately treat the bird with acaricidal preparations and carry out sanitary measures in the chicken coop.

Treating surfaces with diesel fuel or waste from machine oil will help prevent the proliferation of chicken mites in the chicken coop. Such sanitary treatment is carried out two to three times during the summer.

An important point is the timely removal of cobwebs, since ticks will probably settle in it and then get onto the bird’s body. The chickens' area should be dry. To protect from precipitation, a canopy is placed on the enclosure. A container with sand and ash must be installed in the enclosure.

Prevention involves keeping the chicken coop clean.

Important. By purchasing new bird, before putting it into a common chicken coop, it is necessary to inspect it for the presence of ticks on its body. For prevention purposes, the bird is treated with a special insecticide.

Tick prevention for people

The red chicken mite, like some other types of mites, is dangerous to humans. If the owner comes into contact with an infected bird, the tick can successfully migrate to a person and become a source of an infectious disease.

The chicken mite on the human body looks like a lump of dirt, which is not immediately noticed. Tick bites can cause dermatitis or eczema.

Therefore, when working in a chicken coop or in contact with poultry, you must carefully observe the following precautions:

Caring for chickens should be done in special protective clothing that prevents ticks from penetrating the body.
Be sure to use rubber gloves with high sockets that stretch over the sleeves of clothing.
When cleaning the chicken coop, wear high rubber boots with your trousers tucked into them.
After contact with chickens, inspect the body for ticks or take a shower.

We offer you to watch a video in which a farmer shows chicken mites and shares his experience of getting rid of them.

What diseases cause: how to remove them and how to treat them

Did you know?First domestic chicken originally from Ethiopia. Thus, the history of domestic breeding of this bird goes back about three thousand years!

Treatment consists of applying acaricidal drugs to the affected areas:

a bath made of forty-degree birch tar: the chickens’ legs are immersed in it up to the hock joint; 300 g of tar is enough for a dozen birds;
half percent nicochlorane emulsion;
birch tar mixed with kerosene;
Azuntol emulsion 0.3%;
1% solution of trichlorometaphos.

The procedure is carried out three times, maintaining an interval of a week.

Body scabies

The causative agent of body knemidocoptosis is the same as in the previous case. This tick differs from its fellow tick only in its light yellow color. It lives mainly in feather pouches, in the folds of chicken skin, forming nodes in the skin. In nodes it contains its offspring.

Important!If most of the chicken's body is affected, only a third can be lubricated. skin at one time.

Skin beetle scabies

Another name - epidermoptosis. The causative agent is the yellowish epidermoptes micromite, which settles in the feather follicles, under the upper layer of skin.

The likelihood of infection increases many times during the warm season. Foci of the disease can be seen first on the bird's chest, then on the neck, and later the disease spreads to the head, touching the comb and earrings. If you start treatment, the spread will go further, to the back and upper legs. Flaky, red skin with crusts of dried ichor is the main sign of epidermoptosis. The skin in particularly sensitive areas becomes so inflamed that it can die, giving off a rotten smell. Most often there is no itching.

An effective treatment would be to treat inflamed areas of the skin with ointments or acaricidal solutions:

tar ointment in a ratio of 1:5;
creolin ointment, 1:10;
a solution of tar in half with alcohol;
soap emulsion K (5%).

If the entire chicken flock or most of it is severely affected, you can spray the livestock with a half-percent solution of chlorophos.

Important! Modern science debunked the myth that only late spring and at the beginning of summer ticks are dangerous, but the rest of the time you don’t have to think about them. The chicken mite is active 6 months a year, so inspections of the poultry house must be carried out regularly.

Red chicken mite

Red chicken mite is resistant to low temperatures, can starve for a whole year, and even its adult larvae suck blood. It is extremely dangerous because it is a carrier of many infectious diseases, including those common to chickens and humans.

VIDEO: RED CHICKEN MITE IN CHICKS Symptoms include itching and inflammation of the affected area in the part where the tick has entered: larynx, trachea, nose, ear canal. Chickens die en masse from exhaustion and blood loss. Chickens practically lose egg production.

Did you know?Chickens do not distinguish their eggs from others, and if the bird’s eggs are quietly replaced, she will hatch them as if they were her own.

Treatment will be to treat the sick bird with Sevin dust (at a concentration of 7.5%). Depending on the severity of the lesion, one chicken needs from 5 to 15 g of dust.

Treatment consists of treatment with 7.5% dust, as in the situation with red mites.

Cavity mite

It’s also called cytodiasis, it’s also known as lung mite. The causative agent is cytodites, which settles in the lungs or bronchi of the bird. This is extremely dangerous disease, sometimes the mortality rate is up to half of the sick chickens.

The bird has difficulty breathing; it stretches its neck and throws back its head in an attempt to get more air. Mucus discharge appears from the nose gray. If you press on the trachea during this period, the chicken will begin to cough. Affected individuals not only lose appetite and weight, but may also fall into a coma.

Although some measures are being taken to save sick birds (for example, injecting camphor oil into the abdominal cavity), treatment is considered ineffective and there is very little hope for recovery. Sick birds are slaughtered, the remaining ones are disinfected by spraying acaricides. The best option will be the replacement of a sick herd with a healthy one.

Important!Be sure to thoroughly disinfect the house before adding new chickens!

Ixodid tick

Are chicken mites dangerous for humans?

The most important harm to humans from chicken mites is, of course, financial losses. Affected birds that die, disinfection of the poultry house, decreased productivity in the remaining individuals - all this takes a heavy toll on the poultry farmer’s wallet, given that the mite primarily affects young animals and laying hens.
The European Union even keeps statistics on the following issues: the losses of poultry farms from chicken mites there sometimes amount to about 130 million euros per year.

If your chickens suddenly become reluctant to come into the coop in the evening, or stop using nesting sites, this is a sure sign that they have mites.

If your chickens have mites, you will probably notice that they are preening their feathers more often and picking at the feathers under the wings and around the anus. Upon closer inspection, you may be able to see tiny red or black specks near the anus, and when inspecting the coop, you may notice red streaks of blood or black flecks on the roost that you can feel when you run your hand across the surface.

Ways to combat ticks

There are several on the market chemical solutions and drugs to combat mites, but most of them have not been tested on chickens, so experienced owners do not recommend immediately resorting to their use. Better try first complex treatment natural means.

Spray the coop and roosts with the mixture for several days in a row. next line-up: 2 glasses of water, 1 glass vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. This mixture will help kill ticks. Shake the product well before use so it separates. The chicken coop should be treated at least 1-2 times a week for several weeks in parallel with the treatment of the chickens. This 100% natural spray homemade Helps get rid of mites in the chicken coop

You can spray a layer of diatomaceous earth on the floor of the coop and nesting area, and rub the mixture into the surface of the perches. The treatment is repeated as necessary.

Wormwood (artemisia) is another effective natural remedy fight against ticks. Tie bunches of mugwort to perches, place sachets in nesting areas, or hang cuttings throughout the coop. This is an excellent product that can be used regularly to repel ticks.

Garlic juice in combination with vegetable essential oils is a proven remedy for fighting ticks

To treat your chickens, spray them with a garlic juice spray. Poultry scientists in the UK have found that this product can kill 100% of all mites in 24 hours. It can be used to treat birds and as a prophylactic.

To prepare this natural spray, you will need:

300 ml water
30 ml garlic juice
1 teaspoon (total amount) of any combination of these essential oils– bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, lavender, mint and/or cumin.

Mix all the ingredients well in a spray bottle and spray the chickens with this product twice a week for prevention, or every other day for 2-3 weeks in case of mite infestation. Pay special attention to the areas around the anus and under the wings. After spraying, it is also recommended to treat the chickens with diatomaceous earth, rubbing the powder into the skin and plumage. At the same time, be careful - try not to get dust into their (or you) eyes and lungs. Simultaneous treatment of chickens and treatment of the chicken coop will help completely get rid of mites.

If a chicken has mites on its feet, the scales will not be smooth, but raised upward

If you notice such signs, spray the chickens' feet with a solution of garlic juice, and then lubricate them with natural petroleum jelly (or its analogues with natural additives). This treatment will help not only repel, but also destroy ticks - they will die from suffocation.