A comprehensive guide to controlling red mites in your kienyeji chickens and other poultry breeds such as Kuroiler, Rainbow Rooster, Indbro etc.
Red mites are generally a tricky issue for many poultry farmers. Unfortunately, it is an issue that you will face as a poultry farmer. The red mites are very tiny parasitic mites that will live in the chicken house during the day and suck off the chicken blood at night. They are quite common and will occur in most all types of chicken coops. The worst red mite infestations generally occur in wooden chicken coops as well as those built with local materials such as mud.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Red Mites?
- The chicken become noisy and restless
- There is a drop in egg production
- Anaemia
- The chickens will have pale combs or pale wattles
- If you can spot them, you will notice the presence of red mites or grey mites in the chicken coops or in the chickens around the poultry house.
Pro Tip
When inspecting your chicken coop for the presence of red mites, make sure you focus on the nesting areas, crevices on the walls, flooring, cracks as well as on the perches in the poultry house. One of the best ways of spotting the presence of red mites in the poultry house is by running a white towel beneath the chicken perches during the night after you have fed your chickens. When you do this, you will be able to spot some red steaks on your white towel. That is a sure sign of the presence of the red mites in the poultry house.
Red Mite Treatment
Red mites are some of the most resilient and most persistent chicken pests that you will have to grapple with. It will take you sometime, to fully get rid of the red mite problem in your chicken coop. However, through persistent management of the problem using the methods suggested in this article, it is possible for you to manage and eventually eliminate the red mites from your chicken coop.
In wooden chicken coops, the initial clean out will take you a few hours. Plastic coops, while not quite popular, take even less time. Here are some steps to follow to get rid of red mites from your chicken coop:
- Do a thorough cleaning of the chicken coop
- Mix the red mite disinfectant with water according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Apply this throughout the coop ensuring it goes through the cracks and crevices. Leave it for about 10 to 20 minutes.
- Use a high pressure hose of water to hose down the chicken coops and the various structures and fixtures inside the coop. When hosing, ensure you get into every nook and cranny inside the coop. These are the areas where the mites live. After hosing, leave it for about 20 to 30 minutes to dry out. After the initial hosing, you will see more mites that have been disturbed by the hosing coming out of the woodwork. Pressure house the chicken house again to get to these red mites. Leave again for about 10 to 20 minutes and see if more red mites are coming out. You should keep on repeating this process until there are no more red mites coming out from their hiding places after every hosing
- The poultry house should be left completely dry. It is prudent to do the poultry house cleaning on a sunny day since the UV rays from the sun will help the house dry a lot faster and can also kill off the bacteria.
- Put the house back together and spread fresh bedding on the poultry house.
- Sprinkle the poultry house with a red mite powder or any anti-mite powder that you may have purchased from your local vet. The powder should also be applied on the chicken perches inside the poultry house. The remaining re mites will have to crawl through the mite powder to reach your chickens and they will be killed in the process.
- Reapply the red mite powder after few days to kill off the residual red mites in the poultry house.
- Continue using the red mite powder during the hotter months as this is the period when the red mite infestation is usually most common.
Check our improved kienyeji chicken farming manuals for additional details.