Content
Ticks are a very ancient and very numerous group of living organisms that live everywhere on the globe. The vast majority of tick species have been poorly studied, and no one can guarantee that science already knows all the types of currently existing ticks. There are probably a couple hundred more undiscovered species of mites. During their existence, in the course of evolution, mites have adapted to consume organic matter in any form in which it can be found. Some types of ticks are content with dead skin particles under beds, others drink blood, others consume feces, and others feed on plant sap. Each individual species of tick is strictly specialized in its own feeding niche, but together they consume everything that can be used as a food source. Chickens are also a good source of food. And not just for ticks. For this reason, there are quite a few species of mites that parasitize domestic chickens.
Mites that parasitize chickens
Mites can infest chickens under the skin, on the skin and in the feathers. The main subcutaneous mite is a parasite that causes knemidocoptic mange.The skin can be parasitized by mites such as the red chicken mite, ixodid mite, and northern bird mite. Chicken feathers can contain 3-5 species of so-called mites.
Knemidocoptosis
The scabies mite primarily affects the legs of chickens, crawling under the scales on the paws. The skin on the paws becomes rough and covered with bumps, taking on the appearance of a so-called calcareous paw.
The disease is caused by a microscopic subcutaneous mite Kmemidokoptes mutans, which climbs under the scales and bores labyrinths of passages there. The tick feeds on lymphatic fluid, skin flakes and inflammatory exudate released as a result of its activity. Up to 20 thousand individuals of this type of mite can live on one chicken paw.
In the photo under the letter “a” is a male tick, “b” and “c” are a female from the abdomen and from the back.
Methods of transmitting ticks from a sick bird to a healthy one
The mite is transmitted through direct contact with a sick bird, through care items and through a “folk remedy for parasites” - ash and dust baths, since this parasite is able to remain viable in fallen skin flakes. The mite loves dirty chicken coops. On the floor in a litter, it can remain viable for up to 2 weeks, and in winter for up to several months. Moreover, females survive even in 10-degree frost. The mite prefers chickens with weakened immune systems. The tick is viviparous; the female produces 6–8 larvae during its life cycle. Outbreaks of activity of this tick occur in spring and autumn.
Symptoms of the disease
The incubation period is 5–6 months, so owners usually miss mite infection in chickens. Pronounced signs become noticeable only in young chickens aged 5–7 months.Due to the fact that the tick on the legs gnaws passages in the epidermis, the skin of the paws becomes rough, and the scales lag behind the paw. Feeling itching and pain, chickens begin to peck at their paws. Bumps form on the paws. Secondary infection occurs on open wounds. In advanced cases, the fingers die off. Fortunately, Knemidocoptes mutans does not rise above the shins. But it is too early to rejoice at this, because another species of the same subfamily - Knemidocoptes laevis - prefers to live in the skin at the base of the feathers, causing symptoms similar to scabies.
Treatment of knemidocoptosis
Knemidocoptic mange is treated in the same way as any other subcutaneous mite. For treatment, acaricidal drugs are used according to the instructions included with the package. Aversectin ointment works well against subcutaneous mites.
From folk remedies, you can use any oily liquid. The essence of this treatment is to block the tick's access to oxygen. Fans of decorative birds often use regular Vaseline. But Vaseline needs to be applied to the paws every day. This is possible for a parrot, but not for the owner of even a couple of dozen chickens. Therefore, it is more profitable and faster for chicken farmers to use specialized preparations that do not require daily use.
How to get rid of Knemidocoptes mutans mites on chicken feet
To prevent further spread of the mite, bathing baths are removed, their contents are heated over fire if possible, and the baths themselves are treated with acaricidal agents. The chicken coop is cleaned and washed as much as possible, and then burned in it. sulfur bomb. All other products will not be able to penetrate all the cracks where ticks may be hiding. Simultaneously with disinsection, when using a sulfur bomb, disinfection also occurs.The destruction of mold fungi and pathogenic microorganisms is only beneficial for chickens.
Feather mite (syringophilosis)
They are fundamentally different from the subfamily Knemidocoptinae, living in the skin. Feather mites live directly in the feather stubs, which is why they have the second name “feather mites.” There are so many types of feather mites that they already have a narrow specialization in their place of residence. Some live only in flight feathers of the first order, others in flight feathers of the second order, and so on. Feather mites in chickens are not exclusively chicken parasite. It also affects guinea fowl, pigeons, parrots, turkeys, ducks and some other birds, causing syringophilosis.
Typically, feather mites only bother owners of ornamental birds, since with relatively small quantities of the mite, it does not cause much inconvenience to the chickens, and checking the feathers of all chickens is too troublesome. The horned mite often settles on the tail feathers. These ticks live in colonies of several hundred individuals at a time. Since its size is microscopic, its presence can only be detected by indirect signs.
The photo shows a Syringophilus bipectinatus tick under a microscope. The mite is dark gray in color with an elongated body. The length of the parasite is up to 1 mm. The mouthparts are gnawing type.
Symptoms of syringophilosis
Mite infection occurs through contact with a sick bird and contaminated feed. The mite can also be transmitted when infected feathers fall onto the floor of the chicken coop. The incubation period of the disease is 3 months. Mites infest feathers, entering through a channel at the base of the feather, and destroy the arch and papilla, causing inflammation of the surrounding tissue. The disease manifests itself in young chickens 5–7 months of age.Feathers begin to break off and fall out.
Possible untimely molting and self-pecking. The fatness and egg production of chickens decreases.
How to determine if feather mites are infested with feather mites
An accurate diagnosis can only be made after examination under a microscope, but it is possible to confirm or refute with a high degree of accuracy the suspicion that a mite has appeared in the feathers. To do this, a suspicious feather with a dark inside edge is pulled out of the chicken and a longitudinal section is made from the edge. In a healthy eye there is nothing but air and chitinous partitions. If there is something inside the edge, the contents are carefully cleaned onto a piece of paper and examined. Can be done under a magnifying glass.
A viscous, sticky brown substance is blood. It has nothing to do with the ticks, but we need to look for the reasons for the appearance of blood in the ticks. The contents of the hole with the mite are dry, dusty, yellow-brown in color. The color of the contents of the bed is given by mite excrement. If there is dry content in the chicken, the chickens are treated with acaricidal preparations.
How to remove mites from feathers
Previously, chicken breeders were of little concern about the issue of combating the mite, since in broilers the mite did not even have time to appear, and in laying hens it did not reach a critical mass. But if previously the lifespan of a laying hen was a little more than a year, now there are many expensive breeds of chickens whose owners are not ready to send breeding stock to soup after just a year. Therefore, the question of what to do to get rid of the tick mite becomes relevant for chicken farmers.
The tick mite responds well to the action of acaricidal drugs, but it is protected by the feather tick, into which the agent cannot penetrate.
Scientifically based chicken treatment against syringophilosis has not been developed, since few people were interested in this mite on an industrial scale. Owners of ornamental birds have been closely involved in the issue of getting rid of mites, having at random found ways to combat the mite.
They fight the mite with the help of preparations that are absorbed into the skin or by adding ivermectin to the water. They say that the next time they molt, the feathers grow back clean. Dosage for parrots: 1 ml of ivermectin per 100 ml of water in the drinking bowl. But this is a dose for a parrot. For chicken, you may have to adjust your dosage.
In the video, a parrot is being treated, but the principle is the same: treat the feathers and skin at the base of the feathers with an acaricidal preparation.
If we are already fighting the chicken mite, then it is imperative to keep the chicken coop clean. A fallen feather must be removed and burned, as it can be a breeding ground for ticks.
Red chicken mite
The most famous type of mite for chicken breeders and perhaps the easiest to control. This is a nocturnal gamas tick. Symptoms of its appearance can be: chickens’ reluctance to spend the night in the chicken coop (chickens also behave in the presence of bedbugs), scratching, self-pecking and, most importantly, strange small tubercles in the head area.
In the photo, arrows indicate attached mites.
Chicken mites can literally cover your chicken.
But the main thing is that they are outside and you can quickly rid chickens of ticks.
In small numbers, red mites do not cause much problems for chickens, but these mites have a habit of reproducing at a very high rate, quickly infecting an entire chicken coop.In large quantities, in addition to transmitting diseases, mites cause exhaustion, decreased productivity in laying hens, and anemia. When attacking chickens, the mites weaken them so much that the chickens fall on their feet and eventually die. Chicken mites mate and reproduce outside the host in secluded crevices, which can always be found in any poultry house.
Ixodid ticks
If I may say so, these are loners. Hanging of ixodid ticks on chickens in clusters, like chicken ticks, is possible only when the area is very heavily infested. However, after the collapse of the Union, insecticidal treatment of forests and meadows also ceased, so today ixodid ticks are experiencing an outbreak in numbers.
The photo shows an attached ixodid tick. The advantage of these ticks is that they are large and easily visible even to people with poor eyesight. In extreme cases, ixodid ticks can be found by touch. For these ticks, there is no particular difference when to attack the host. Having sucked, they fall off and lay eggs, infecting the chicken coop and the run.
Methods for controlling chicken and ixodid ticks are similar.
How to deal with mites in chickens
To rid chickens of chicken and ixodid mites, birds are treated with preparations intended for this purpose. For example, Butox solution. To combat ectoparasites, the industry is constantly developing new substances, removing old ones from production.Therefore, in order to find out what can be used to properly and safely treat chickens today, this question will have to be asked at a veterinary pharmacy or veterinary service.
Acaricidal drugs are safe for humans, but they are mainly developed for pets that are not eaten.
Chicken coops are treated with the same solutions. But this does not provide a 100% guarantee that all mites will be destroyed, since if the solution does not get into the cracks, the mites will most likely survive. These drugs are good for treating chicken pastures. In the poultry house it is better to use sulfur bombs.
Conclusion
Attentive attitude towards chickens and frequent inspection of the flock will help prevent the massive spread of ticks among birds, protecting against self-pecking and infected wounds.
