[kirstie1978]

Hi,
I've just noticed my silkie has white mite looking things on her. So i need to get a treatment for her and my other bantam. I'm not sure what the best thing to use for them (my orpington isn't overly compliant and with my shoulder i'm going to struggle if it's not easy to apply!)

I only have them but thought perhaps i should give them the once over treatments for worms etc? Is there anything else i should treat for etc as well? (i feel i've been a bad mom :o( )

Which products are the ones to get? I've seen a total mite spray and powder set on ebay and wondered if this is the one to get?

Any advice as always is welcomed!

Thanks!

PS are these transferable to humans, my aviary, cat or parrot??

[bantam novice]

For internal parasites (worms etc) many people on here recommend Flubenvet

For external parasites (lice, fleas etc) Frontline kitten strength spot on drops

For redmites you may need to clean your coop out, spray with Poultry Guard and use diatomacious earth (Diatom) made into a paste in all the cracks and crevices of the coop that mites can hide in.  If you take a piece of whte paper and slip it into the cracks and crevices (not forgetting the ends of the perches) it will come out with red or pink stains if there is redmite.  These nasty ####ers hide in the cracks and crevices and drop down on the hens at night to feed on their blood.

Good luck and keep us posted 

[GrannieAnnie]

White mites?

young red mites that haven't been feeding on your hens blood look whiteish, but they don't live on the hen, so its unusual to see them on a bird in the day time.

Lice are bigger and brownish so are easily seen, but lice eggs are whiteish and are laid around the base of the feathers in little clumps.

Not sure about white mites though???

[kirstie1978]

They definitely weren't eggs as they moved!! And rather fast. They looked more lice size I would have thought as I think red mites are tiny these were small. There were a couple not loads. They were off White so not like bright a4 White more human skin coloured maybe!

[SnooziSuzi]

it's most likely lice; are your hens shaking their heads a lot?  this is the lice irritating them and tickling their skin, a lot like human head lice do so if you've ever had those then you can sympathise with the girls.

Also,  don't be fooled just because you only saw a few, there will be hundreds or thousands of them on each bird 

I found it best to use diatom, decanted into an old, clean and dry washing up liquid bottle (put a funnel in the top, pour the diatom in and when it gets blocked use a plastic fork handle or similar that will fit down the neck of the funnel to get things moving again).  then catch your ladies and use the washing up liquid bottle like a puffer, making sure you get right up under their feathers and next to the skin.  this suffocates the lice and brings some relief to the birds.

You'll have to do this regularly, particularly in summer.  I'd recommend once a month minimum.

Like Granny Annie said, you'll see clumps of poo around their vents which is where the eggs are laid and the hens can't defecate properly because there are so many eggs and it gets all clagged up and can cause other health problems because of the unsanitary condition around the vent.

This is a pic of one of my girls' back ends with lice stuck to the base of the feather shaft from when I was new to chicken keeping and needed help with lice; 
She's wet becuase I had to put her in the bath and shower her gently in warm water to get rid of the clumped on poo.  Chickens do like a gentle blow dry afterwards! 

good luck with getting rid of them

[kirstie1978]

OK i will have to research where to get all these products from.
I looked in teh pets at home today and could only find one for caged and aviary birds as well as pigeons. Will these lice/mites affect my aviary birds too? they'll be difficult to catch and clean that's for sure!
I've not noticed the chickens shaking their heads but today i noticed a small amount of white on the black orpingtons bottom, so that would be what you're saying.
I'll see if scats have anything tomorrow as i want to get them treated asap. I'll also check for red mites too. I only have teh 2 of them so that's a good thing by all accounts!
Any ideas on where to get the stuff (online or shops) please let me know! Failing that i'll see what Scats have and hopefully it won't be too difficult for me to treat on my own without help from someone else!
Thanks everyone!

[kirstie1978]

OK this seems to be the stuff?
http://diatomx.co.uk
Apparently will kill lice, mites and all parasites so in theory that's all i need to banish them from everything including worms??
Fingers crossed although not sure what size to buy now!!

[SnooziSuzi]

That's the stuff, but get the one for pets not the one for human consumption!

I'd get the biggest you can afford - it will ultimately cost less than buying lots of little packs and you will always have some handy when you need it.

Incidentally,  a little of this can be mixed in with the girls pellets to act as a mild wormer and boosts their intake of some minerals too.

Also the white flecks at the base of the feathers could just be skin / feather particles and therefore nothing to worry about; you are looking for nobbly clumps of grey attached at the bottom of the feather shaft - they will be quite obvious if you see them

[kirstie1978]

Thanks! This was a slightly yellow/skin (human) coloured thing, and it moved! There looked like egg sacks at the base of the feather sheath in some places when i looked today. As soon as my orpington has come out of the coop then i will inspect her bottom which has a white patch of poop on it! i'll probably trim it off (easier than bathing her) and then will wait for teh stuff i ordered to arrive... will buy bigger in future I got the one it said was for pets... i will add a bit along with the mineral supplement they are getting to their food and give them the once over! How often do i feed them it??
Not looking forward to having to douse them in this powder as i'm one armed (well one useless arm and one ok one!) and it's going to prove fun i think!
thanks for all the advice if i can get a decent photo i'll put it up
Fingers crossed!!