Chicken tick: measures of control and prevention

The chicken tick is a blood-sucking parasite that lives on the body of domestic birds and causes them great discomfort. Such an insect is not only a carrier of dangerous infections (including encephalitis), but also significantly undermines the health of the feathered brotherhood, causing a weakening of immunity, a decrease in productivity, egg production and a slowdown in the growth of young animals on which the chicken prefers to live most.
Poultry, infected with chicken mites, is characterized by restless behavior and nervousness, because due to its physical structure it can not scratch the affected and intolerably itchy places.

Ticket for chicken: description

Chicken mite is characterized by a flat dark red small calf (up to 0.7 mm), which becomes purple when saturated with the blood of the victim. The body of the parasite is divided into two parts: a trunk with 4 pairs of limbs and a mouth device in the form of a proboscis intended for piercing the chicken skin. Ticks breathe with the help of trachea, breathing holes are placed on the sides of the trunk. Reproduction of parasites occurs from May to October. One female can lay about two dozen eggs. A characteristic feature of a gas mite is the ability to manage for a long time without food (about six months), while being hibernated.

Habitat of chicken mite

The optimal environment for a blood-sucking parasite is dirty, raw, poorly ventilated poultry. A massive gamaceous mite lives in the litter and is even capable of attacking a person. The most common outbreaks of tick-borne activity are manifested in the damp and warm season, as the temperature of + 25 ° C is optimal for ripening eggs of a harmful insect, spread on all continents.

The parasite, found on the human body, looks like a small clod of dirt, attached to the skin, most often to the feet. If you brush it off, you will notice traces of bites. Frequent bites of chicken mites may contribute to the emergence of an allergy or dermatitis, so people who are in contact with chickens should take care of them in special clothing: rubber boots and tight trousers.

How to determine the presence of a chicken mite?

Parasites in chickens can be detected with the naked eye, by examining poultry: in the affected individuals the body is covered with small numerous ranches, the mass accumulation of which is most observed on the bird's head, near the nostrils and eyes, and in places with thin skin (tail area, under the Wings and neck). Pale gray eyes and combs from blood loss also indicate the presence of a blood-sucking insect. The danger of hitting a chicken mite is that the latter penetrates not only into the upper skin layers, but also into the larynx, trachea, ears, because of which the chicken begins to cough, wheeze and shake its head. The bird can lose its strength so much that it will not even be able to jump on the roost. The bird's unwillingness to return to the henhouse in the evening can also confirm the presence of chicken ticks, especially attacking birds in the evening.

During the day parasites hide in crevices of walls, ceilings, cages, nests, garbage. During the feeding time, which lasts from several minutes to an hour, an adult insect is able to absorb the amount of blood that exceeds the mass of its body by a factor of 10.

In a large number of small parasites can be identified directly in the poultry house with a white sheet of paper, with which you should bypass all the cracks and irregularities in the floor and on the walls. The gray small points remaining on the paper are the required mites. Also, a clear indicator of the presence of chicken tick is a sharp decline in egg production with a simultaneous increase in the amount of food consumed. Sometimes birds simply refuse to return to their nests, because there is an increased concentration of parasites. Red spots on the eggs also confirm their presence.

Chicken Mite: how to get rid?

When a chicken mite is found, the question arises as to how to get rid of it. First and foremost, you need to urgently save the bird by oiling the bites with oil: a gas mite will die in a few days. Then the wound should be treated with a disinfectant and a healing ointment. An important factor in fighting chicken mites is to put things in order in the hen house. To do this, the bird must be temporarily isolated, and in the room maximized cleanliness. It is advisable to build new roosts, and from old, in the cracks of which parasites can remain, must be eliminated.

Methods for getting rid of chicken mites

Remove chicken ticks, which carry danger not only to the bird, but also to the person, by processing such places:

• The floor and walls should be piped with steep boiling water, a blowtorch or a flame. On large poultry farms it is required to use special quartz lamps. Their action is aimed at protecting against ticks and other parasites of poultry.
• Feathered can be treated with any permitted insecticide. The procedure should be carried out two times per week.

The effective remedy for chicken mites can be: powders "Sevin" (no more than 15 grams per individual), "Pyrethrum" (based on chamomile flowers) and "Ecoflis" - a new generation drug. A high result (about 9 weeks of protection) shows the effect of a spray with EU permethrin, which should be treated with poultry and chicken coop.

Ash and sand against chicken mite

An effective measure against a chicken mite is the placement on a bird's backyard of a pelvis with an ash-sand mixture in equal proportions. The mixture layer should be about 20 cm or more. Chickens with pleasure are floundering in such a healing bath. It is important only to ensure that the contents of the cans, which should be regularly updated, do not get wet under the influence of precipitation. Also it is worth remembering that the vectors of the mites can be birds, so you do not need to allow the placement of chicken nests, pigeons, sparrows under the roof of the coop.

Do not use drugs containing chlorinated hydrocarbon, as there is an accumulation of active substances in meat and eggs.

Plants against chicken mite

The chicken tick is afraid of the sharp smells of some plants, so you can scare it away naturally by spreading the gifts of nature that are not loved by parasites: parsley, horseradish, wormwood, scented mint leaves, garlic and onion, celery. Using them as a litter sharply reduces the number of chicken parasites. The floor can also be laid with potato or tomato tops, marigolds or cherry branches. In winter, small portions of chopped garlic and onions can be added to the ration of chickens.

Preventive measures

In order to prevent chicken tick it is recommended:

• From late spring to early autumn, inspect the birds for dangerous parasites;
• As often as possible to change the old bedding;
• Clean the drinking bowls and feeders and beat them with boiling water;
• Keep the chicken coop for chickens in perfect purity, without forgetting to take off the web;
• Place the paddock in a well-lit place, sprinkle with sand and keep it dry;
• Chicken coop for chickens sprayed with diesel fuel, and floor and walls covered with lime.

An important role in preventing the infection of chicken mites is played by the type of poultry keeping. In the case of a cell cultivation method, the risk of parasites is minimal, since there are no roost-free roosts where the chicken fin completes its life cycle.