Chickens and gardens have natural synergy. Chickens enjoy eating extra garden produce, and the manure they produce can be added to the compost pile, where, over time, it becomes a rich garden soil amendment.
Maintaining a few chickens is a fun and entertaining pastime for gardeners, but attention to the possible presence of pests on them is just as important as keeping tabs on the pests in the garden.
In a recent UC Integrated Pest Management program webinar, UC Riverside veterinary entomologist Amy Murillo explained how to identify and manage the most common “ectoparasitic” pests of chickens – the pests that live on and around chickens in the backyard.
Lice
The lice on chickens are species specific. They don’t migrate to other animals unless they’re closely related – like turkeys. The primary food source for chicken lice is feathers – they do not survive long away from the chicken.
The lice life cycle is relatively long in the insect world – 14 to 21 days – so their population builds slowly. The insects may be difficult to see, depending on the feather color. Sometimes their presence can be detected by a loss of feathers or large clumps of eggs glued to feathers.
“Chickens have their own species of headlice, which I find fascinating as the parent of an elementary school child,” Murillo said. “The headlice prefer feathers on the head and face.”
Another species of lice prefers the primary wing feathers.
Mites
Mites are significantly smaller than lice and, as arachnids, have eight legs.
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to count the legs in order to tell what you have,” Murillo said.
Mites may seem to appear out of the blue.
“Your birds look fine one day, and the next day you’re seeing little things crawling on them,” she said.
The mites’ population explodes because they reproduce quickly. Their life cycle is as few as 5 days, up to 12 days.
Three types of mites are commonly found on California chickens: the northern fowl mite, which lives its whole life on the chicken; the poultry red mite, which splits time on the bird and in hidden spots in and under the chicken coup; and the scaly leg mite, which feeds under the first layer of skin on the chickens’ legs.
Fleas
There is one type of flea found on chickens: the sticktight flea. As its name suggests, the adult fleas use their long mouth parts to anchor themselves into the skin of the bird, where they feed on the blood.
“These fleas prefer the bare areas on the face, waddles and combs of the animal,” Murillo said.
As they feed on the chicken, the females will lay eggs that fall into the litter. The eggs hatch, pupate and eventually look for a host to latch onto. Sticktight fleas will also feed on the blood of other animals, even humans. The lifecycle runs 1 to 2 months.
Pest management
The best pest management strategy follows basic integrated pest management principles. Start with prevention. Limit exposure to wild birds, rodents and domestic animals with enclosures. Remove and replace the litter regularly. Limit visitors, especially from people who tend chickens. Quarantine new chickens and chicks and carefully examine them before introducing them to the rest of the flock.
Chickens that have a pest problem may be bathed with gentle dish soap (like Dawn) and water. The scaly legs may be treated with petroleum jelly or mineral oil.
Another strategy for managing pests on chickens makes use of their natural interest in dust baths. Fill a plastic basin with a bag of washed play sand, mix in 6 cups of food-grade diatomaceous earth and let the birds treat themselves. The DE has microscopic sharp edges that damage the pests’ cuticles, causing them to dry out and die.
Feed stores also carry chemical treatments for pests. If you choose to use them, read and follow the label carefully.
More information:
Chicken ectoparasites. Your questions answered, Cherie Shook, UC IPM
Pests of backyard chickens, UC IPM Webinar, Amy Murillo, associate professor, UC Riverside
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Written by UC Master Gardener Jeannette Warnert