Red Mite
(Approximately 4 minute reading time)
Red mites (Dermanyssus Gallinae) are tiny bugs (up to 2mm in size) that live in, and around your chicken coop, they’re most active at night when they feed. They cause itching, distress and in severe cases can make your birds unwell or even kill them.
You’ll probably be aware of red mites before you start to look for them! Mites will hop on to anything warm in the hope of a blood meal, this includes you and other pets - they cause skin irritation and itching, which can result in dermatitis.
When your birds are locked inside the coop at night, the mites become active, they’re attracted by movement, body heat and carbon dioxide. Your birds will feel the crawling sensation of the mites on their skin, they will peck and preen, but often the red mite numbers are too high and your birds will be subjected to the mites biting, and crawling over their skin all night - this interrupts sleep and it’s probably why your birds seem out of sorts (sleep deprived and grumpy!)
Broody birds are particularly at risk as they sit in the next box for long periods - this is an all day buffet for red mites!
Red mites feed on blood, which can lead to:
Anaemia - low red blood cells, which can reduce oxygen delivery.
Immune suppression - low white blood cells, which can increase the risk of infections. Red mites can also spread disease such as Mycoplasma or bacterial infections.
Common signs of red mites are: Pale combs, less eggs, irritable noisy birds, birds refusing to roost in the coop at night, bullying, feather pulling … and you feel itchy when cleaning out the coop!
The mites mostly live in the environment (coop, run, under perches etc) it’s unusual to find red mites on a bird, but it does happen in severe infestations. Red mites prefer warmer temperatures for breeding, and will hide in the environment over the colder months, where they can go for 6 months or more without a blood meal. In spring, as the temperature warms up, they become active and start feeding and breeding again. The red mite life cycle is rapid, they can grow from an egg to an adult in 7 - 10 days in the right conditions, and the numbers quickly get out of control!
What can I do about red mites?
Regularly check for mites - even in low numbers the mites can affect the health of your birds. Mite numbers can multiply rapidly, and it’s easy to get caught out. Check around the door to the nest box, under perches, and in the corners of the coop - sometimes just holding a warm hand in there will encourage the mites to hop on to you.
Note: Not all mites are red, they can range from pale brown/grey to red depending on when they last fed. The mites will leave dirt which contains dead mites and faeces, it’s a grey-ish colour and looks like ash.
Clean - cleaning the coop will physically remove the mites and reduce the number significantly. Scrub the coop, using a detergent, which helps to dissolve the mite dirt and flush them out of crevices. Rinse well. Cleaning alone this won’t cure an infestation, but it helps!
When the coop is dry, apply a light dusting of food grade diatomaceous earth everywhere the mites were found, concentrate on corners, crevices, under perches etc. Double sided carpet tape or petroleum jelly can be applied around the end of perches, this acts as a physical barrier for the mites as they walk along perches to get to the birds. It’s also a useful monitoring tool!
Dust bath - always provide an area for dust bathing and include a small amount of food grade diatomaceous earth - or other suitable desiccant, which is safe for birds. The diatomaceous earth sticks to feathers, and when the mites hop on to feed they become coated in the diatomaceous earth, which acts as a desiccant (dehydrates them) and they die. Be careful when using any desiccant powder - use small amounts and apply carefully, as it can create dust, which can cause irritation to the airways in both birds and humans.
Predator mites - can be released in the coop to feed on the red mites. They are a natural red mite predator, but they may not keep red mite numbers under control in heavy infestations. Don’t use diatomaceous earth in the coop, if you intent to release predator mites.
Pesticides and chemicals - use with caution! These can be toxic to: the environment, cats, and they will kill friendly insects too. Only use as a last resort!
Treatments - there is an effective, licenced veterinary treatment for red mites, which is given to your birds in their drinking water. The medication relies on the red mites feeding on treated birds, which means subjecting your birds to many more painful bites. This is why I recommend cleaning to reduce red mite numbers before giving any treatments - this is optimum bird welfare.
The licenced treatment is a prescription only medicines and your birds would need to be seen by a vet for them to legally prescribe it.
Book an appointment with the Chicken Clinic - book a telemedicine call for advice, or book a home visit where I can check for red mite, advise on specific cleaning products and preventative treatments, health check your birds and help them to recover from an infestation, I can also prescribe licenced poultry medicines if needed.