Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

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Minxy
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Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by Minxy »

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've not been around much but I'm in the throws of writing my final dissertation, which is taking up all of my time.

So! I've had an outbreak of red mite in their shed. I've been treating this frequently by spraying the shed down and seem to be breaking their breeding cycle. Though last week with 35 degrees probably didn't help! Also dusting with diatomaceous earth. The birds themselves have been dusted with red mite powder. However! They are looking in a sorry state feather wise. It has been a process of elimination really.

Some of them are fine while others are going bald on their backs, necks and in some cases, partial breast too. It isn't annual moult. I tried some anti-pecking spray (incase it was that) but they liked it! I've sprayed them with gentian violet which has helped to take away some of the angry redness. My poor Faverolles have completely lost their muffs! They've all also been wormed and treated with ivermectin drops, as I wondered if a feather mite might be the culprit. They are now back on their usual layer pellets though I've mixed in an alfamix feed (added peas, sunflower seeds, mealworms) and some multivitamins in their water to help give them a boost.

No signs of feather re-growth yet and no signs of bullying or feather pecking each other. Does anyone have any thoughts on this please?

Hope you are all keeping well. :)

Minxy
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."

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Mo
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Re: Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by Mo »

No helpful thoughts, sorry. Sounds like you've got plenty on your plate!
Can't remember if you've already told us what the dissertation is about. Hope it meets with approval.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
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Minxy
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Re: Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by Minxy »

Hi Mo! Are you well?

Yes, this is why my main veg plot is mostly covered over for this season - way too much else being juggled!

Working title is '1850 to 1900 Coleoptera: Collections, Collectors and the Social and Cultural Implications.' I've been researching the collections themselves (and why they were collected) such as a private collection held in archive storage at the Horniman Museum (3,000 specimens!); their use in novels and satire of the period which includes class and gender implications, classification systems and how these were developed by field naturalists, gentlemen and artisans, while analysing national vs. local museums and obscure artisan collectors. Also looking into women collectors of which very little is written. I have found a delightful rare book, circa. 1850, written by a woman naturalist under pseudonym of course in order to have it published! It's proving to be intense work and painstakingly slow at times, as I'm having to research and find information from some obscure archives. But I am enjoying it and hopefully it will all pay off. I have to write 15,000 words of which I currently have about 6,000 - so I'm getting there! :)
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
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Mo
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Re: Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by Mo »

Hi, yes I'm enjoying life. My veg patch is limited too - as much by lack of stamina as time though.
Your beetles sound fascinating. Quite a wide ranging topic.
I visited the Horniman years ago. Seem to remember lots of oddities.
Dance caller. http://mo-dance-caller.blogspot.co.uk/p/what-i-do.html
Sunny Clucker enjoyed Folk music and song in mid-Cheshire
bikesandbirdsbob
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Re: Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by bikesandbirdsbob »

Hi .My girls often have bald patches . When the farmers dispose of their flocks ,lots of the girls look the same. It is not necessarily due to condition (s . 18 months they start moulting /broody etc. stop laying ) . As long as no blood about would not be over concerned . Plenty of food for the re grooving of feathers . If no bugs then should be ok. They do look a sorry state . Wild birds do not go through all this . Must be the breeding of them .
Bob
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KarenE
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Re: Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by KarenE »

Hi

It sounds as though you've a real plate full! I hope the red mite disappears soon.

The feather loss - it could be feather mites but if you're using ivermectin I would have thought that would sort that out. Have you repeated the dose over a fortnight? Are you sure they aren't moulting? It could be that. Or it could be stress from the red mite. Try upping their protein (mealworms, sunflower seeds, sardines) and maybe put some nutridrops or cider vinegar in their water and see if that helps. Another alternative although I think you'd know if it was happening would be if they were broody, but it sounds as though that isn't the case as there's too many of them, and it's only their chest & undercarriage feathers that are pulled out for this (for warm contact with the eggs)
Karen
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kitla
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Re: Red Mite and Feather Loss...arrgghh!

Post by kitla »

there's alot of moulting going on at the moment, they usually have a smaller mini-moult
during the summer, so could be that. Mine are shedding a few feathers but still laying, so as Karen says extra protein treats are good. What are you spraying the shed with? As a last resort you could always try a permethrine smoke bomb thing. I've just found a few redmite that were living around the doorway, not actually inside the coop. Also dont forget to check around roofing, they can breed under things like felt.
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
--Immanuel Kant

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