I just got silkies from someone and the rooster has scaley leg mites,my husband says he will not help me treat them because he does not want mites on him,my question is will they live on humans and will ticks mites anything chicken related live on humans?
Can mites and other critters live on humans?
they will crawl on ya but they will not live on humans they r species specific. some other galiforms they can live on like turkey and pheasants but without a host they don't live long.
Almost without exception no. They may bite you if they crawl onto you, but they can not survive and live on you. Same with dog and cat fleas, they will bite you, if separated from the pet, but cannot reproduce and live on you--they need the animal they are designed for to survive. This article describes the situation.
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
I actually got mites on my arm last fall. The Dr. said he had never seen anything like it before. I told him that was NOT what I wanted to hear. Anyway, I just put vasoline on my arms (like I have done with chickens) and a couple of weeks later the mites were gone. I don't know what kind of mites I had but dang did they itch. I highly recommend the vasoline for the chickens its cheap and easy to do it suffocates the mites.
Lisa
Your husband is probably thinking of mites that humans can get. The poultry kind may get on you and bite but they won't live on a human. There are however mites humans can get but not from the chicken. So tell him not to worry and to help you :)
Speaking of mites, my chickens (8 hens & one rooster) have lost feathers on their fannies and one on its chest. The hens are the worst. They look gawdawful but otherwise seem healthy. One hen (Big Momma) is currently setting eggs. There don't seem to be anyhing wrong with their legs.
My neighbor's hens (about a mile from here) have the same problem. They are all Rhode Island Reds except for two New Hampshires.
Is this caused by mites? I thought at first my chickens were molting but there is Big Momma, can they molt while setting eggs? When the other hens lay eggs usually Big Momma or her sister, Big Sister, grab them and try to set them. that's another sad story,
Big Sister has collected about 6 or 8 eggs twice now but never seems to sit on them long enough to keep them warm, so I have taken them away from her twice now. They were stone cold. But I went to fry one this morning and it obviously had an unborn chick in it! Ewwwww.
Guess I am not much of a farmer. Another question: How will Big Momma feed her chicks when they are born? They were not born all at once so some should hatch before others. The nest is about 18 inches above ground and has a lip about 6 inches high, so how will the chicks get down to ground level after they hatch?
Thanks for any help you can give.
When chickens sit on eggs they will sometimes or most the time pull their feathers out. I guess this is to provide more warmth and humidity for the eggs. They look funny but the feathers will return when they are done.
As for the bare fannies by any chance are they pecking at one another? If they get bored or don't have enough roaming room some chickens will peck the butt feahters off of others.
Now for the babies. It is hard when eggs are due to hatch at different times especially if it is several days or a week apart. The momma hen will stay with the eggs and this could cause a problem for the already hatched ones because they will stay under momma hen past when they should be getting out and eating. By about day 2 the hatched chicks will be ready to eat and drink, if momma hen isn't getting up with them because of other eggs you may have to put some chick starter in the nest in a little shallow bowl and encourage them to eat. Also offer water. If they go too long without food and water they will get stressed and can die. Keep in mind that the first day or two they won't eat. As long as their little bottoms are sort of what I call bottom heavy they still are living off the yolk they soaked up before hatching. The momma usually will take them out and hunt and peck if she has them all hatched. We also give them chick starter because baby chicks need protein.
Hope that helped you some.
We had two babies hatch Monday and we have 3 more that should hatch today or tomorrow (by another hen) and then 3 other hens sitting on eggs. It has been a busy season for chicks for us. We already have 22 that hatched since January.
i agree with smedge but also broodiness can cause light molting. it is also possible it is from breeding if ur roos r being to rough on them. if it is from breeding i use chicken saddles for the girls. if it is from mites to check for them go out at night and check the vent with a flash light u should see tons of mites around the vent. those should be northern fowl mites and will be tiny black things. in daytime u can see them too on feather shafts and vent but they scatter and hide pretty good.
for the babies also mom may choose to either abandon eggs to be with babies or choose the eggs over the babies if the speratic hatch is spreed to far apart so u may have to keep an eye on that. mom will teach them what they need to know but that high of the nest box is what worries me. they could fall or while out get to cold cause they can't get back in but if u have another broody in there they may help foster them too. my nest boxes r floor boxes what i do is keep water and feed in the coop so it is right there for her and babies and i feed mom chick starter with them. if u can't lower the nest boxes i'd seriously consider pulling them babies after hatch and keeping them in a brooder till they r a little older and have their own body heat and r able to get up and down from the nest box.
chicks can live on their absorbed yolk sac for up to 3 days without food or water after that they have to have it. i mostly hatch in my sportsmans so soon as they go to the brooders they have chick based waterers with marbles(so they don't drown) or quail based waterers and chick feeders. usually they eat pretty quick same day or next day even though they don't need it yet. only thing i do is dip beaks in the waterers after that they do everything on their own.
Wow, what great info. Thanks to both of you. I'll try to check their vents tonight after dark to see if there are mites. On one of the other forums they talked about what to do if your chickens have them (oil & then mite powder). I don't see any of the hens pecking at each other and I don't think the rooster is being brutal, either.
I went over to my neighbors' to feed their chickens & collect their eggs because they are out of town, and it looks like two of theirs are setting eggs, too. All theirs and mine are molty-looking, maybe they all think they should be setting eggs, sort of mass hysteria. When some of Big Momma's eggs start to hatch, I will put some wter and mash in with her. What about a ramp, do you think that might help? I like the idea of marbles in the water dish.
I am going to CA for a week starting next Tuesday, so won't be here to watch over the chicks, darn it. In my post above I said "born" when I meant "laid", I guess you both figured that out. Thanks again!
A ramp may work but you would have to keep an eye on it at first and make sure they figure it out. We did that with one of ours. The nest was up a bit high for the babies and the momma had another egg to hatch. It didn't take long for the babies to figure it out and they were up and down.