how big are red mites?

[janeyo]

I thought they were tiny things, but just found 4 red things the size of my little finger nail in the coop whilst cleaning.

Have dusted the coop with red mite powder as I always do and going to try and dust the birds after dark.
Been lucky so far not had any probs with the birds in over 18 months of having them.

But don't want to dust them if they are not the dreaded mites!

Thanks

[Bramble-Poultry]

not redmite - red mite are teeny weeny - couple of mm at the most!! no idea what they could be!

[di]

Nope...don't sound like them to me neither!...not little garden spider mites???
Giving your girls a dust down won't do them any harm though....tis better to prevent a problem as opposed to struggling to get rid of one!

[beulah59]

red bugs that big may be lily beetle?

[pdblake]

Could they be ticks or somesuch?

[ginger ninger]

Red mites are about as big as those little black corn midge's that get everywhere in summer.

[janeyo]

Thanks guys, they are defo way bigger than those little midge things. They were at least 5mm long.

They did look like some kind of tick though, that sort of shape. I squished them and no blood came out either. I would have thought they would have had some in?

Making me all itchy just remembering them now
ewwwwwwwwww

Will keep doing what I have been doing and ddust girls later.

Any tips on how to do it?

[Bramble-Poultry]

might have been lice or another sort of mite - treat them anyways - better safe than sorry

you can dust them straight onto the skin or they way we do it as an interim treatment is to get any container large enough to hold a chicken but shallow enogh to get into - surprisingly a roasting tin is just perfect! put some silver sand in it and a really good amount of powder all mixed up chuck it in the run and they dust bath in it and therefore dust themselves! obvioulsy keep it dry

[di]

We've always done it together...Andi holds the chook & I rub the powder everywhere,but last time,by chance,one of the girls escaped from him & I actually found it easier to do on my own with the chicken stood facing away from me.(with Andi crouched in front of her to stop her getting away.)

[janeyo]

might have been lice or another sort of mite - treat them anyways - better safe than sorry

you can dust them straight onto the skin or they way we do it as an interim treatment is to get any container large enough to hold a chicken but shallow enogh to get into - surprisingly a roasting tin is just perfect! put some silver sand in it and a really good amount of powder all mixed up chuck it in the run and they dust bath in it and therefore dust themselves! obvioulsy keep it dry

Nice idea but whenever I give them play sand to bathe in they just eat it all! PMSL

[janeyo]

pic of the bug

I have a pic of the bug, making me feel all itchy again.

[Eco-Chic]

Janey,

I can't see the detail of your bug clearly but this link shows what lily beetle look like Red Lily Beetle

[janeyo]

Hi I don't think it's one of those as they have hard shells when you squish them! These are squishier. Yuk.
Thanks

[Bramble-Poultry]

normal red garden mite! Garden pests - squish it

[janeyo]

Thanks, I wanted to be 100% sure that they can't hurt my birds.