Red Mites

Red Mites are small parasites who live outside the hen and live in the crevices of the chicken house. These mites thrive in warm temperatures which makes them a particularly tricky pest in the summer. If the situation is bad, your chickens may resign from sleeping in the coop at night. These mites leave a spotty gray deposit which tend to be found near the cracks around the coop, so regular inspection is needed. To prevent red mite use Diatom, it is a natural substance made from fossils and is otherwise known as Diatomaceous Earth, it works by dehydrating them. Just spread this lightly around the coop and even dust the hens under the feathers with it, this is more of an irritant to the pest and a preventative measure.

Adult red mites are 3-4mm and after feeding contain the blood of the animal turning red in colour thus called red mite. If you squeese a plump mite with your fingers you should see the blood released. Another way to diagnose if you have red mite is by using a microscope and comparing to some picture below. They are a type of ecto-parasite and its scientific name is Dermanyssus gallinae.

Personally I had huge problems with this mite, I used a Fortefog fumer, Diatom and eventually I spoke to a vet who prescribed me some strong horse lice killer made up off ammonia to use on the coop. So while the hens were out the coop I soaked it down wearing a mask as it is very toxic. Although this was effective, they kept coming back. I even changed the roof to a corrugated plastic cover. As I suffer from OCD these pests really drove me crazy! The only way I got rid of red mite completely was to buy an entire new plastic chicken coop by Omlet, an Eglu Go. Here there are no crevices for the mite to hide in and they can be hosed off, this was by far the most effective solution to the problem. Nonetheless an expensive fix. Therefore, the best you can do to stop these mites is do regular checks for signs,look underneath perches and in corners to catch and kill them as soon as possible. 

Some facts about red mites:

• Can bite humans a rash may occur however cannot live of humans alone
• Cannot fly
• Can make the birds anaemic for a while
• Will reduce productions of eggs in chickens
• May cause pale wattles and combs on chickens
• Usually transferred by wild birds (so more common in free range)
• can cause death in young chicks
• Spots of blood on eggs

The Life Cycle of Red Mite
A blood feed takes 1 to 2 hours.
After feeding a female red mite crawls into a crack or crevice to mate and lay eggs.
During mild weather, eggs hatch and the larvae emerge in 2 or 3 days.
24 hours later, larvae change into 8 legged protonymphs.
The protonymphs change into deutonymphs 24 to 36 hours later.
They start to feed and become adult red mites. The females start to lay eggs again and the cycle is repeated.
The complete cycle takes about 7 days to complete.



Source of info, pictures and direct information (in italics):http://poultrykeeper.com/chickens/health/red-mite.html



Treatments:

Diatom
Poultry shield

To kill instantly:

Diluted solution of Deosect horse fly and lice (does need prescription from vet very strong stuff!)
Ardap spray