Mites in poo???

[di]

Sorry,wasn't sure whether to put this in the mite thread or start anew....am feeling baffled
Four of nine girls in the teen coop have had pretty mucky bums for a couple of weeks...I was hoping after their routine worming the problem would go away without the need to wash but sadly it didn't,so we spent a lovely hour cleaning them up.
Anyway,I didn't notice until I got to Dandelion(she was the last)but she had mites inside the poo that had dried around her vent feathers....please tell me this isn't 'Northern Fowl Mite'
They looked just like the ones we had last year,although until today there's been no signs of them in either coops or on birds.(I only last week gave both coops a good spray with Poultry Shield and dusted both coops and girls with mite powder as a preventative.)...we were going to dust them down again post bath this evening but DD decided an evening at A&E was a better idea

[HayleyB]

ooooer, leaving this to the pros methinks...

[Suechooks]

You could try Frontline if you agree with using it.
As far as I've read "ordinary" lice lay their eggs around the vent feathers so its not necessarily NFM
Incidentally I discussed the use of Frontline with our newly chicken-enthused vet and she says I can buy it from them for use on chooks if I sign a form saying I know its not licensed for poultry. She also recommended Metacam as a good pick-me-up with the same conditions.

[Bramble-Poultry]

NFM creates a horrible sticky dark mess around the bird, ordinary lice dont, they just lay eggs around the vent and on the feather shafts. Look at some of the feathers on the bird - can you see lines "eaten" through the webs of the feathers? this would indicate ordinary mites.

I have attached pictures ( that i found on the net ) the first two are of Northern Fowl Mite, the last is of normal lice eggs

The reason normal lice eggs are light and NFM are dark is that the normal lice feed on feathers not the bird, whereas NFM feed on bllod and the dark matter is the dried blood and mite poo.

[Nicos]

When I was over in the UK , I called in at my old vets and asked if I could buy some spray Frontline for my chooks. He'd never been asked for it before- took down a book off his shelf- looked it up and said yup-the ingredient ( whatever it is) is used on chooks( birds) .Presumably he looked up the generic name?

No problem at all- just passed it over to me ( Says it's for cats and dogs) saying to spray a little onto a wad of cotton wool and wipe it under each wing.

No signing - no probs.

Out of interest- if the lice are only round the tail- wouldn't you have to wipe that area instead/aswell??? ( I've no probs at the moment- touch wood) just asking incase!

[di]

Thanks everyone.
BP those pics have really put my mind at ease,it's definately not that(Thank God)...the only one I'd found of NFM looked more like poo stuck to the feathers.I did read last night though that they aren't visible to the naked eye and we definately saw the nasty little things.
Phewww,that it's not(sounds like a really hard one to eradicate)
Apparently poo that's dried onto the floor of the coop is oft used as a hidey place for normal mites so I guess these ones just found it more convenient to stay on their food source.
At least I know the problem is in hand,'ll keep up with the coop spraying and dusting the girls(Oh how the Legbars love that....thankfully they didn't have mucky bums)

I just wish I could work out why those four keep getting mucky.I've seen them all do healthy looking poos and they're otherwise fit and well...just constantly mucky (and when they were wormed a couple of weeks ago there were no signs of dead worms in their droppings)

[Bramble-Poultry]

If you want frontline spray and your vet will not sell it you or like us you don;t want to pay the overpriced vet prices then go to Pet Care Mart: discount pet care supplies, pet medicines at our online pharmacy, look for frontline spray for cats (not dogs - no reason except for the one for cats is cheaper!!) On here frontline is almost half the price of your vet and the service is quite good.

[di]

Thanks BP.How many birds approx would the 100 ml do?

We've just recently had our BIG spend on Flubenvet,Mite powder,louse powder and Poultry Shield(why do they all need getting at once),but I think if over the next week we don't see any improvement we may give it a go.
Could the mites be the cause of their vent feathers getting so mucky?

[Bramble-Poultry]

Depends on how you use it!!! Hahahah sorry couldn't resist! 3 bottles does all of ours chickens when on maintenece if that helps!

We give as a general 3 maybe 4 squirts per bird when it is on a regular plan - however when they first come here they are invariably plastered in hitchhikers and we virtually drown them in it!! It perfectly safe once dry.

best is to part the feathers on the back of the neck until you get to skin and squirt here, 1 under each wing in the armpit and 1 if needed on the tummy above the vent!

You can give a couple of squirts in each location and some futher down the back and on teh chest if infestation is bad!

[lindyloo]

not sure, but dont think you should eat the eggs, if you have sprayed around vent with frontline? and have you treated the wood of the housing, as the mites can get under the flet, and between the wood? what i do is treat the birds for mites , then dump o whole tin of mite powder on the floor of nesting area, and just leave it there, under a good layer of bedding. i try not to remove it when i clean out, and top it up as neccasary. also, give them a sand tray with a tub of mite powder mixed in, so they can self treat as they have a sand bath. aslo, this might help- put some garlic granules in the drinking water- it helps cut down on parasites, and should help with mites, as the blood is then not so sweet.

[lindyloo]

i think i might be inclined to put some vaseline/ parrafin ointment on the area, and suffocate the little critters. at least it would soften up the feathers so you could get the bulk of the muck off ( ie the pictures)

[Bramble-Poultry]

There is no egg withdrawal period for the spray version of frontline as it sits on the surface of the skin. unless you squirted it up the vent at the exact moment the shell is formed around the egg there is little chance of it getting into the egg at all.

Whilst Frontline is a cure, it is no substitute for good housekeeping. Keep everything clean to give yourself a chance

[di]

not sure, but dont think you should eat the eggs, if you have sprayed around vent with frontline? and have you treated the wood of the housing, as the mites can get under the flet, and between the wood? what i do is treat the birds for mites , then dump o whole tin of mite powder on the floor of nesting area, and just leave it there, under a good layer of bedding. i try not to remove it when i clean out, and top it up as neccasary. also, give them a sand tray with a tub of mite powder mixed in, so they can self treat as they have a sand bath. aslo, this might help- put some garlic granules in the drinking water- it helps cut down on parasites, and should help with mites, as the blood is then not so sweet.

We've creasoted all coops last year and I'd just given them a good spray in all the crevices with Poultry Shield....the only place I failed to treat was the poop on their bums!(although the feathers round it got a dust down)

[di]

There is no egg withdrawal period for the spray version of frontline unless you squirted it up the vent at the exact moment the shell is formed around the egg there is little chance of it getting into the egg at all.

....knowing my luck....

[its hilly]

Thanks for the link Bramble, I have tried to find it before but kept getting sites that asked for a prescription.