Do Chickens Get Lice And/or Mites?

Lice and mites are very common parasites that chickens get. Chickens are prime targets for these pests because they feed on skin, blood, feathers, and scales. These types of parasites are very unhealthy. Lice and mites are different creatures, so it is important to identify them correctly. Both types of bugs do not have wings. The main difference between the two is that lice are insects and mites are arachnids. This means that mites have six legs and lice have eight. Mites are smaller than lice. Lice are brown in colour and have black heads. Mites tend to be round and either black or red in colour. Both parasites are contagious.

Lice tend to attach to the skin or the feathers. Their eggs remain in their feathers. They can range from 2 millimetres to 3.5 millimetres long. You can prevent the spread of lice by checking all of your chickens twice a month and isolating chickens with lice. Lice can cause skin infections, lesions, and overall poor health in poultry. Lice can be treated with an insecticide that specially made to kill lice, and is suitable for chickens. Carbaryl dust is a common treatment option. Treat your chickens in intervals (preferably every seven to 10 days,) until the lice and eggs are gone.

There are several different types of mites that prey on chickens. Chicken mites are red and feed during the night. The northern foul mite feeds both day and night and is black in colour. The scaly leg mite is smaller than the others, and is almost invisible to the naked eye. When they are infested, the legs of the chicken will be scaly and flaky. You must use a pesticide, such as Cabaryl, to treat northern and chicken mites. To treat scaly leg mites, you have to soak the chicken’s feet in water and apply petroleum jelly.

Chickens can have mites, red mites, ticks, scaly leg mites and fleas. These parasites can cause many problem including depression and death. The reasons of chicken parasites are poor hygienic conditions, over crowding and infection from new birds. You can use sulfur base insecticides to kill lice. Mites do not live on chicken. They come to bite the chicken for their food and cause many problems. You can use white powdery dust in the cage.

You can visit a poultry vet and get medicines to eradicate these parasites.

Chicken mites in chickens feet are rarely hard to see as they burrow underneath the leg and feet scales.Swollen feet are a common sign of leg mites.Lice on the other hand can be seen.They are very tiny long cigar shaped little bugs usualy yellow to orange in color.They will usualy stay under the wings or near the vent, or butt area but will be present all over the birds usualy.Flea's are easily reconized.Mites and lice and can cause foot or leg deformatie's and infections and feather loss.Sign's are scratching, feather loss and swollen feet.Lice can be treated sucessuflly with a lice/ mite dust from your local tratcor supply with dusting the bird as well as thier coop or nesting area..Leg or foot mites can be treated with a mixture of about 2oz of sulpher pwder mixed into a large jar of petroleum jelly applied a couple times a week

Yes they can have lice/mites. And yest the other chickens in the coup can catch it just like dogs and cats. I would advise going to the vet and talking to them about getting medicine to treat this and then temperoally put the chickens some where else if you can. You need to spray down the site they live in, too keep from spreading this.goodluck!

Yes they can have mites.