The short answer
- Assume every new bird is infested: treat it with a labeled insecticide and keep it apart from the flock until treatment is finished.[1]
- Check the vent area of some birds every two weeks for northern fowl mites; check birds at night, and cracks in the coop, for chicken mites.[1]
- Keep wild birds away from the chickens, coop and feed; they can bring in mites and lice.[1]
- Make follow-up treatments; infestations are rarely controlled with one application.[1]
Northern fowl mite vs chicken mite
Both are about 1/25 inch long, feed on blood, and can go from egg to adult in 7 to 10 days, so hundreds or thousands may be present before you notice. Heavy feeding causes stress, anemia, disease and fewer eggs. Both will bite people but don't infest them.[1]
- Northern fowl mites live on the birds day and night, mostly around the vent, where feathers turn black with dried blood and mite droppings. They're most common on birds up to about 30 weeks old and usually come from wild birds or new birds; they survive up to 3 weeks off a bird.[1]
- Chicken mites feed on birds at night and hide in cracks and crevices of the coop and roost by day, laying eggs off the bird. They arrive on new birds, transport cages or used shelters and can survive up to 34 weeks without a host, so removing the birds for a few days won't starve them.[1]
- Look for chicken mites at night, for feeding lesions on the breast and lower legs, or for clusters of mites in cracks and manure on the floor.[1]
Poultry lice
Chicken lice are six-legged insects with flat bodies and wide heads that chew skin scales and feathers rather than drinking blood. They spread mostly by contact, survive about a week off a bird, and complete their life cycle in one to two weeks.[1]
Treating
- Use a product labeled for poultry; read whether it's labeled for the birds, the roosting area, or both, and check age restrictions and retreatment intervals. Farm supply stores carry poultry insecticides that garden stores may not.[1]
- For northern fowl mites and lice, treat all birds at once, focusing on the vent area for mites and getting the product to the skin; recheck in 7 to 10 days and repeat as needed.[1]
- For chicken mites, spray or dust cracks and crevices thoroughly and repeat in 5 to 6 days, because mite eggs survive most insecticides.[1]
- Clean or discard crates and boxes used to bring birds home.[1]
Rats and feed
- Rats accept whatever food is abundant, and roof rats travel 300 feet or more to find it. UC IPM advises storing pet food in rodent-proof containers and offering only what animals will eat at a feeding; the same logic applies to chicken feed.[2]
- Snap traps are the safest, most effective and most economical way to trap rats; place them where chickens, pets and children can't reach them.[2]
- All rodent baits are toxic to other animals, and dead rats can carry enough anticoagulant to poison pets and wildlife that eat them.[2]
Sources
- University of Kentucky Entomology, “ENTFACT-516: External Mite and Insect Parasites of Backyard Chickens.” entomology.mgcafe.uky.edu/ef516 (accessed 2026-10-06)
- University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Rats (Pest Notes, Home and Landscape).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/rats/ (accessed 2026-10-06)