Have you got red mites in your chicken houses?

Most poultry keepers findred mites on their chickens very distressing. Eradicating them can be difficult. Farming is a funny business. It is trying to manipulate natural systemsto mankind's end. Sometimes this can be with catastrophic results, such as theencroaching deserts or the decreasing rainforests. Even in sustainable systems,such as organic systems, we are manipulating nature. This manipulationsometimes causes opportunities for other life forms to excel. Such is the casewith red mites. By putting, what were basically jungle fowl into groups insmall wooden sheds we created the opportunity for red mites to thrive.

A few facts about red mites

Red Mites do not live onchickens; they just feed on them by sucking their blood, and then for just anhour or two at a time. After feeding, gorged and red, (they are normally a greycolour, and if they haven't fed for a long time, white), they crawl back to theconvienient nooks and crannies, that we have made for them, to lay their eggs.These larvae can hatch and mature into egg laying adults in as little as3-4days. Hence, especially in warm weather, you can have an explosions of thered mite population to the point which is called an infestation.

The red mites havenumerous ways of finding your chickens in the first place. They may have comeon the birds, although, as mentioned, they normally do not stay on the bird.They can survive without food for 8-10 months, so if your house previously hadchickens they could still be there. In warm weather they can even survive inthe grass. It is possible that they can be carried around on the clothes ofpeople or on poultry equipment; they can certainly be carried by wild birds.

The cumulative effect ofproviding food for thousands of these bloodsuckers will affect the bird. Theywill become anaemic, listless, egg production will fall and you will noticemore eggs being layed on the floor, as the birds will want to avoid theinfestation in and around the nest boxes. Feed consumption will increase andbirds will sometimes appear reluctant to go in at night. There could be anincrease in vent pecking and cannibalism. Eggs maybe stained with crushed mitesor mite faeces.

You won't find any miteson the birds, but if you go into the house with a torch at night you should beable to see them moving around. They seem attracted to white cloth; if you hangone up in the house you can often see them on it in the morning.

How can you dealwith red mites?

So how to deal with them.First of all lets consider the red mites home. Eliminate, as much as possible,areas that the red mite can live in. Don't put roofing felt in your house. Thisprovides the ideal living space for the mite. Many people report that whitewashing the interior of the chicken house with a lime white wash not onlyreduces the red mites but also lightens the inside. This may help to maintainegg production in the shorter days. The use of steam cleaners or blowtorches isalso effective.

There are, obviously, manychemicals on the market, which will claim the destruction of red mites.Unfortunately mites are a bit like head lice, (if you have any kids you willknow what I mean); you get rid of the live lice and another lot of eggs hatch.Even if you manage to get rid of this lot by treating at just the right timethey will insist on going to school and getting re-infested. Just like headlice the red mite builds up immunity to the chemicals over time. It only takesa small survival rate and within a very short time your house can be infestedagain. Chemicals are expensive, can be environmentally damaging and treat theproblem rather than solve the problem.

In a way red mites are alittle easier to deal with than head lice because, unlike the head lice, the redmite does not live on the bird, it lives in the chicken house. We also knowthat it only feeds at night when the birds are roosting. Suspending the perchesso that they do not touch the house at any point and covering the rope withaxle grease or Vaseline to stop the mites walking down the rope will greatlyreduce the opportunity for the mite to feed. The birds don't mind movement intheir perch; it imitates their natural environment. Putting the perches in agrid will reduce the movement to some extent. Alternatively, if you have alarge enough chicken house,  freestanding perches can be used. Again, the point of contact with the ground needsto be well greased and ideally this point should be made of metal.

If you have not as yetacquired your hen house consider those made of plastic and metal rather thanwood. Such houses do not allow the nooks and crannies of wooden houses. On thedown side such houses don't tend to look as good and there construction is notso sustainable as wooden houses.

Have you find a good wayof controlling red mites?  Please go tothe blog and add your comments http://keepingchickenswales.wordpress.com/

Stephen Merritt

The Welsh Poultry Centre