Among the parasites of birds, chicken fleas occupy a special place – they are practically invisible but can destroy a huge number of birds. If one flea appears in the barn, then in a week their number increases 50 times! Then the reproduction process goes in a geometric progression. Therefore, it is so important to notice infected individuals promptly and carry out rescue measures.
Chicken fleas are tiny insects (1.5 mm) with a dark, black-brown shiny body. Long hind legs, clearly visible antennae, and eyes are a species feature of this type of parasite. The absence of wings does not prevent them from moving – fleas are incredibly jumpy. The almost flat chitinous body is very difficult to hold in your fingers or crush. Birds are practically defenseless against this insect. Parasites get into a chicken coop with wild birds, on animals, or emigrate from other places where birds congregate. Having seen a photo of chicken fleas, many will remember that they have seen similar growths on pets, parrots, pigeons, and canaries.
Despite its strong body, the chicken flea is quite sensitive to living conditions. The optimal temperature is 40±1 °C, i.e. the body temperature of a chicken. Therefore, an adult individual never voluntarily leaves its host. It needs thin skin with closely located blood vessels with thin walls, like a bird. For this reason, chicken fleas are very rare in humans, they do not parasitize on them.
The insect reproduces daily! With effort, the flea scatters up to 6 eggs around itself, generously showering the area around itself with them. The hatched larvae eat dry blood, droppings, hay, and other particles from the garbage on the floor of the chicken coop or from nests. After a couple of weeks of development, the active worms move into the stage of motionless pupae. They can remain in anabiosis for up to several months until the hot body of a new victim appears nearby. The lifespan of a chicken flea can reach a year or more.
Symptoms and harm from infection
Usually, the infestation of birds begins unnoticed, due to the tiny size of the parasite and their relative invisibility under the feathers. If chicken fleas crawl out onto the exposed parts of the body, and this is the head and legs of the chicken, then this indicates that hundreds or even thousands of parasites are already swarming on its body. If you do not look closely, crowds of fleas near the eyes and beak look like a cluster of moles or growths.
So, what is the harm of this type of chicken parasite:
- continuous pain and itching from bites;
- decrease in egg production;
- infection of birds with infections and parasites (worms, trypanosomiasis, brucellosis, salmonellosis, encephalitis, plague, etc.);
- anemia, nervous exhaustion, and death of chickens.
Will and captivity – the difference for birds
For birds living in closed chicken coops, the invasion of fleas is especially painful, since they are unable to get rid of the annoying tormentors on their own, sooner or later they weaken and either survive exhausted or die. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of the presence of parasites, two-time treatment of each individual and the entire premises is required.
Birds that roam freely outside can bathe in dust and ashes, tumble in an anthill, and run through bushes and tall grass, especially wormwood, tansy, and juniper, thus at least partially freeing themselves from tormentors.
Prevention and Control
In order not to rack your brains over how to get rid of chicken fleas – do prevention! The most accessible and effective preventive measure is to regularly remove old litter in nests and on the floor of chicken coops. It is advisable to add dried parts of tansy, juniper, and wormwood to the litter, scaring away unwanted inhabitants. It is imperative to organize a place for taking ash baths. It will not be superfluous to treat the birds and the premises with chemicals. The harm and speed of reproduction of pests are so great, and the recovery of the bird’s body is so long that prevention is entirely justified.
If chicken fleas have already settled in, you cannot do without global disinfestation. It is necessary to treat each feathered inhabitant of the chicken coop and the entire premises. It is important to treat the birds first, and only then the chicken coop, so that the crumbling and escaping pests are destroyed along with all the garbage from the floors and perches. All the contents of the nests and bedding are treated with chemicals according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, thoroughly stirred, dusted, or moistened again, and left for several hours/days so that all individuals and their offspring die, and only after the garbage is taken away from the farm and any birds, or better yet, burned.
After processing and cleaning the building, it is left to air out for several hours or even days, and only then are the animals moved in. Due to the resistance of the pupae to chemicals, similar measures should be taken several more times at intervals of 2-3 weeks. Then the question “What to do if the chickens have fleas?” will be completely closed.
How to combat chicken scourge?
All preparations for treating chickens from fleas can be divided into:
- powders/powders (“Deltamethrin”);
- capsules (Get, Tetrix, Tsifox, Karbofos, Kukaracha);
- aerosols (Combat, Butox, Raptor, Raid);
- injections (Ivermectin);
- solutions (pyrethroid preparations);
- drops (Advantage, Bars, Dana, Frontline, Stronghold).
There are chemical preparations and products made from natural components, each owner chooses for himself what to treat domestic chickens with from fleas based on the cost and effectiveness of the preparation, as well as the number of individuals on the farm and the degree of infestation.
Next, it is necessary to transfer the chickens to enhanced, vitamin-rich food, since their bodies are weakened by insatiable pests, and systematically check the birds for the absence of insects.
Important! When deciding how best to combat chicken fleas and how to remove them, you should choose organic products, for example, based on pyrethroid pyrethrin. When treating chickens, you need to work with gloves and a mask, and in no case should the product get into the respiratory tract or digestive tract of the bird. Usually, a liquid product is rubbed into the back of the head, aerosols are used to moisten all the feathers and, if possible, the skin of the bird, and powder is rubbed into the body of the chicken.
It is not recommended to use meat, feathers, or eggs of birds during the treatment period – any insecticide hurts the human body and can lead to allergies or poisoning.
Fleas themselves are not dangerous to humans, they can only bite, but they will rarely live on their bodies. But they very often carry helminths and a variety of infections. They are extremely harmful to birds and cause death.
