Poultry Mites & Lice

Red Poultry Mites are on the increase, and are causing great concern for all poultry keepers. They are not usually found on the birds as they hide in the infrastructure of the henhouse during daylight emerging at night to jump onto the birds to feed. Red Mite can be a killer, birds become listless, poor feeders and fade away. Warning signs are pale combs and wattles, decreased appetite, no eggs, unwillingness to go into the house at night and apathy. If you go out with a torch at night you may see the mites crawling over the birds and woodwork.

The Common Poultry Louse is yellow in colour and flat in shape and lives mostly under the tail. It lays its eggs at the base of the feathers forming a clump of what looks like white sugar. The bird is better off without these, but they are not life threatening. Control Mites and Lice by thoroughly cleaning the poultry house and then treat with sprays and dust.

Where are they found?

Poultry mites are frequently associated with wild birds such as pigeons, starlings,sparrows, martins and swallows. they live in the birds nests and feed on the blood of the adults and fledglings. When the birds fledge, the mites may disperse and infest nearby buildings, including poultry units.

They live in cracks and crevices close to bird roosts during the day in order to prevent being eaten by the birds.
At night-time they quickly move out and start to feed on the birds for up to two hours at a time
At this time they can easily be seen by torchlight
They are resistant to dessication and may survive without food for several months

When mites infest buildings they will attack humans, causing painful and irritating bites.

In poultry houses they cause a number of problems:

poultry become stressed and may avoid using certain or all nest boxes
reduced productivity both in egg production and weight gain
there may be an increase in feather pecking
anemia may set in, sometimes resulting in death
birds rapidly look scruffy, especially around the neck and tail