How to prevent Red Mites in Chickens

Red mites are small parasitic mites that live in your chicken coop in the daytime and feed off the blood of your chickens at night. They can live in all types of chicken coops. The time it takes for a mite to go from egg to adult is 7 days. As you can imagine this short cycle can cause a rapid infestation. Even without a food source the mite can survive for as long as 8 months making them a very hardy pest. These red mites devastate the health of your chickens, putting them off their food, reducing egg-laying and making their lives miserable. Yet it is easy to identify, treat and prevent.

TREATMENT:

Every time you change the bedding in your chicken shed and BEFORE putting in new bedding, dust all the surfaces including the perch rails with Pest Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) using 15 to 20 grams per square metre. 

If deep litter bedding, use DE every two weeks dusting on the top of bedding material.

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