northern fowl mites

[shane]

just a quick question, what are the symptoms of northern fowl mite, i thought one of my chickens had them. but on looking up the net i found lots of contradicting info. in the end i had to kill her, she could not even walk. the rest of the flock aren't showing any symptoms. havent treated them yet, lots of contradictions on what to use. any help greatly appreciated.

[Martin]

Never thankfully come across that - garlic is mentioned as a preventive - if you've had to cull a bird, I'd have a chat with your local vet, conventional or homoeopathic

[shane]

rang local vet, but shes still fairly busy, coming to the end of calving time around here. in the end she never got back to me. just read that northern mites dont attack much in hot weather, we've just had a full week of temperatures in the mid 20's, becoming more doubtfull that it was them.

[Martin]

what were the bird's precise symptoms?

[shane]

the feathers o her back looked like they were being pecked off, it was like she had dry dioreah stuck to her tail feathers, loss of appetite, lethargic, within 2 days she couldnt walk, that was when i decided to cull her. her tail feathers looked exactly like a picture in a book i have of a bird with northern fowl mites, hence the home diagnosis.

[Sian]

Diarrhoea isn't a usually symptom for Northern Fowl Mite, and could be a variety of diseases from worms to salmonella. If you want to treat the flock for Northern Fowl Mite avermectin is considered the most effective drug. But I'd advise seeing the vet as the symptoms are quite general, and you don't want whatever it is getting to the whole flock. I find it worrying that your vet never got back to you though, are they always like that? It may just be a genuine mistake at what is a busy time of year for farm vets but if not I'd personally consider seeing another vet, some large animal vets don't always take smallholders as seriously as they should. But only you know your situation, obviously.

[shane]

I called into a local pharmacy that stocks a lot of vet products, they have a specialised vet pharmacist, he told me there is nothing liscenced for poultry use to get rid of mites in the Republic of Ireland, but gave me a powder to kill fleas on dogs, told me it should work. i treated the rest of the hens and found bald patches on most of them, nothing on the ducks. I couldnt see any mites or fleas or anything on their feathers or skin. a friend told me to dissinfect their house with lime aswell. all done. repeat dosage in a few days and hopefully problem solved. egg production drastically down at the moment also!!!!