Red mites, also known as Dermanyssus gallinae, are blood-sucking, little crawling ectoparasites that resemble insects. They have eight legs as opposed to the six that insects have.
They are related to ticks and are a nuisance in every poultry house, where the females hide in cracks during the day and bite hens at night in order to engorge blood for survival. Because they are primarily nocturnal, they are very difficult to notice during the day. Farmers usually complain about a progressive reduction in egg production for unclear reasons in impacted birds in egg production.
If you look closely at the hens, you’ll find that they have strange scratching on their faces, as well as matting around their eyes. The mites will crawl on your clothes and bite you if you spend too much time in the apartments. As you play intermediate host, this is another manner they are transported to the next farm. These mites are seen in backyard flocks and are known to multiply effectively in hot and humid environments.
The loss is significant
These mites use their hairy sets of legs to infest the chicken’s body and patch on the skin, preferably around the head, below the wings, neck, and belly. They suck blood from beneath the skin with their mandibles, producing skin itching. The birds will retaliate by scratching and grooming nonstop, depriving themselves of water and food.
Egg production will fall. The birds may get anemic, lose weight, and eventually die if the situation is severe. Growing birds lose weight, become unfrugal, and are culled. If the condition is not remedied in a timely manner, flock uniformity will be lost, and badly afflicted chickens will be unable to lay when they reach laying age.
Loss of money
In production birds, prolonged skin irritation and suffering will cause the hens to entirely stop eating and spend all of their time combing and scratching their bodies. Egg production will gradually decrease as a result of this. If the problem isn’t fixed, production might decline by 10% to 20%, with a corresponding drop in revenue. This illness is sometimes mistaken as an internal ailment, leading farmers to use a lot of antibiotics, feed supplements, and multivitamins with no benefit.
The remedy
For treatment in poultry units and on individual birds, we have traditionally used conventional tick sprays, acaricides, or Dudu dust. Before spraying the walls, crevices, nest boxes, and house equipment, you must first remove the birds and eggs.
The birds must also be sprayed, with special attention paid to the eyes. spared. This must be conducted at least twice to cover the ectoparasite’s two life cycles. Organophosphates, pyrethroids, and carbamates are just a few of the chemicals available on the market; just make sure you follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Exzolt, a product created by several companies, is a harmless chemical that may be given to birds through drinking water. It is safe for both birds and humans to use, and there is no need to remove eggs during the application process. It is applied twice to cover two cycles.
Non-essential personnel and guests must not be allowed access to the premises for a long-term solution. Share no infected premises’ equipment, trays, feeders, feed bags, or staff. Ensure that the crop is fully cleaned and disinfected after the conclusion of the crop, and that a downtime of at least 21 days is allowed before the new flock arrives. As they wait for the next victim, mites might go weeks without eating.
