Treating your chickens for lice and mites

Mites and lice are no fun for any type of pet. These tiny creatures even find their way into the backyard chicken coop, affecting the health of your chickens which affect the quantity and quality of eggs they produce.

Where inside my chicken coop do the mites live?

If you've got a timber chicken coop, mites can often be found living in the tiny cracks and crevices of the walls of your chicken coop. Mites can happily live within the timber walls for quite a long time, emerging mainly at night-time to feed on your chickens. These unpleasant creatures suck blood from your poor chickens as they try to perch on the roosts inside your chicken coop at night! Generally mites are black in colour but will appear to be red after a blood feeding.

Do my chickens have parasites?

If you notice sections without feathers on your chickens, you may have a parasite problem in your chicken house. Another sign of mites is the appearance of blackened feathers on your chickens which is a result of the accumulation of dried blood and excretions, often under the wings of your birds next to the soft feathers near the body. It's not a bad idea to occasionally check your chickens for these very tiny creatures.

How do I know if mites are in my chicken coop?

The simplest way to find mites that may be living within your chicken coop is to wait for night time and using a torch, go out to your chicken coop. While your chickens may not like your sudden appearance at night-time, carefully pick up one of your chickens and shine your torch close to the body of the bird, moving aside the feathers to see properly. Mites are very, very small and almost invisible without magnification, so you'll need to look close. If you see black or red little creatures on your pet, then unfortunately these are likely to be mites. The darkened feathers from blood are also a sign that you have a problem.

What is the difference between mites and lice?

If you find tiny creatures on your chickens but they're white in colour, these are likely lice rather than mites. Lice are white in colour and are larger than mites and also feed on the blood of your pets. Interestingly mites are less 'host' specific compared with lice. Mites will feed on your chickens during the evening and then go back to the cracks and crevices of your chicken coop in the daytime. In comparison, lice will stay on the same hen most of the time.

How to treat your chickens

To treat your chickens there is a range of anti-mite or anti-lice powders that you can dust your chickens with, to discourage the pests. These can usually be found at fodder stores, vets and some garden centres. Many of these are fairly toxic, so read the label carefully before applying.

How to treat your coop

If you've found mites in your chicken house, the coop itself will need to be cleaned thoroughly with a high pressure spray, to get into the small cracks in order to really overcome this problem. Ideally you should remove as much wood as possible from your chicken coop area. If you haven't already purchased or made a chicken coop, you'll have fewer problems with mites if you chose one made from steel or aluminium. While mites have been known to still appear in these coops, it's not as common and these types of coops are much easier to clean to remove these pests.

What about dust baths?

If you have enough room in your coop, your chickens will likely create a dust bath for themselves. This is where they roll around in the dust and dirt. Chickens use a dust bath to help to deal with pest problems.

Be sure to look at Royal Rooster's great range of chicken coops that are made using aluminium frames rather than timber which attract mites! Royal Rooster also make slim-line drinker and feeder sets that reduce grain wastage and keep water nice and clean.