Poultry red mites are a type of external parasite that infests chickens. They conceal themselves within the chicken coop surroundings and reproduce quickly. These mites survive by feeding on the blood of chickens and can even cause their death. Learn how to prevent and treat poultry red mite infestations.

Multiple species of mites exist globally, but only a limited number of them are relevant to poultry as external parasites. Specifically, this document addresses the poultry red mite, scientifically known as Dermanyssus gallinae, and also referred to as chicken mite or roost mite. This particular mite is an ectoparasite that feeds on the blood of chickens and various other avian species.

Poultry red mites are not always bright red; rather, they are red after a blood meal. They also look similar to northern fowl mites. The main difference between these two mites is that you will not find red mites on chickens during the day, whereas the northern fowl mite spends its entire life cycle— day and night—on the chicken.

Red Mite Identification

The poultry red mite is a hematophagous, or blood- sucking, ectoparasite. This particular mite stays on the chickens only at night and then hides in the coop environment during the day. To see if your flock is being affected by this particular external parasite, examine your flock at night with a flashlight. These parasites are most active 5 to 11 hours after darkness.

When your chickens go to roost at night, poultry red mites crawl along the roost to find the host. They crawl along the chicken’s leg to where the scales on the legs end and the feathers begin. This is right above the hock joint. Skin not protected by scales is subject to being bitten by the poultry red mites. You may just see redness from bite marks, or you may see the mites themselves, just above the hock. This does not mean that they will not travel up to the breast or thigh areas and bite the skin there. Sometimes you will see bite marks or lesions on other areas of the body when you lift the feathers to see the skin.

Poultry red mites are tiny, so you must look closely at what looks like dirt on the birds. Since chickens engage in dust bathing, observing their skin at night may require patience as you wait to see any potential movement. You may be able to disturb what looks like a mite by using a tiny paintbrush, such as ones used in watercolor paints, and see if it responds by moving. Be aware that they move slowly.

When you are moving equipment around or cleaning in the chicken coop, you may see small groups of poultry red mites. They congregate in cracks and crevices. Taking apart a wooden coop for spring cleaning, or perhaps during regular monthly cleaning, will likely reveal mites as they slowly run for cover once a hiding spot has been exposed. They will even inhabit spaces around nest boxes or in the litter. You must carefully check broody hens for signs of infestation from sitting in a nest box with red mites.

The Life Cycle

The life cycle of the poultry red mite starts as an egg that hatches in 2 to 3 days. At this stage, it is called a larva, and it is in its smallest size. In 1 to 2 days, the larva molts and is called a protonymph. In another 1 to 2 days, the protonymph molts and is called a deutonymph. After 2 to 3 days, the deutonymph molts one last time and is then an adult poultry red mite. The protonymph, deutonymph, and adult take blood meals on the host chicken. Within 12 to 24 hours after becoming an adult, a female poultry red mite can produce eggs that are laid in clutches of 4 to 8. Generally speaking, a female red mite will lay around 30 eggs in her lifetime, and she is capable of being reproductively active for about 8 weeks. In optimal conditions, the time between an egg being laid, molting several times, and becoming an egg-producing adult can be as short as a week. Poultry red mites are good survivors and can live in the environment for up to 9 months without feeding.

Symptoms of an Infestation

Chickens that are enduring an infestation of poultry red mites will be affected in two ways. First, birds will express stress-related behaviors. These behaviors will include increased levels of preening, head scratching, and some gentle feather pecking due to skin irritation from bites. Plumage damage can be seen as the feather quality of chickens will be reduced due to self-grooming. Increased self-grooming is a characteristic symptom of anxiety. This can be identified by feathers losing their shine or iridescent sheen. Feathers will begin to look tattered at the ends from frequent preening by the beak. A small portion of the feather may be missing from the rachis out to the end of the barb.

Stressed hens may begin to act aggressively toward one another. The aggression can begin with feather pecking and progress to cannibalism. There may be increased levels of light feather-pecking at night due to the irritation from the mites. In severe infestations, chickens may spend more than half of the night in feather-pecking behavior, which disrupts their sleep patterns. Hens may no longer sleep on perches where they have been repeatedly bitten.

Red mites may also be seen crawling on eggs if they inhabit crevices in the next box. This infestation can be especially problematic for hens that choose to sleep in the nest box or have begun to brood eggs in the nest box. Severe infestations of red mites can result in blood spots appearing on eggs. These red spots occur when eggs roll around in the nest and crush the red mites, marking the eggs with their color. When nest boxes are infested, hens may choose to avoid using the nest boxes when laying eggs. Instead, hens may begin to lay eggs on the coop floor or find an alternative location for egg laying. This can lead to dirtier eggs from the floor and hidden nests that are not discovered for longer periods.

Another symptom of a red mite infestation is in the chicken’s body weight. Chickens will begin to weigh less. This is possibly due to the disturbance of normal behavior during both the day and night. Although not complete, information on the effects of the mite on chicken behavior as noted by industry personnel and researchers, indicates that water intake will increase, egg production will decrease, and feed intake will increase. The increased feed intake and lowered egg production and body weight lead to a lower feed conversion ratio.

Birds will experience anemia that can range from mild to severe, even leading to death. Anemia is when the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells, which leads to reduced oxygen flow to the body’s organs. This can result in fatigue, changes in skin color, or a fast heartbeat. With this condition, your hens will have pale combs and faces. In a particularly bad infestation of poultry red mites, hens may lose more than 3 percent of their blood by volume every night. They may also isolate themselves and appear huddled or sleepy.

Disease Transmission Potential

The poultry red mite has also spread diseases, including numerous poultry pathogens and zoonotic organisms. The most recognizable organism to small flock owners is Salmonella enteritidis. If a poultry red mite takes a blood meal from a chicken that has Salmonella, then the Salmonella can live in the mite’s gut for up to 4 months. In that time, it can transfer the bacteria to another chicken. Also, the poultry red mite can carry the causative agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, and avian influenza A virus.

Humans may be bitten by mites while caring for their flock. If you are bitten, your skin may become red and irritated, possibly followed by itching. This condition is called gamasoidosis. Humans can also be infected by organisms carried by the poultry red mite when bitten. These organisms include Borrelia burgdorferi, and Bartonella.

Monitoring Your Flock

Monitor your coop environment to see if poultry red mites are present, so you can decide if there are enough red mites to take action by treating the chickens or doing a coop cleanout. Any of the monitoring methods mentioned below can also be done in conjunction
with examining known gathering spots for the mites in the coop.

Blue Painter’s Tape

The first method uses blue painter’s tape. Purchase 1.88- or 1.44-inch wide tape and wrap it around the roost near where the walls meet the roost. Wrap the tape so the sticky side faces outward and away from the roosting pole. Any poultry red mite that crawls along the roost will need to walk across the painter’s tape and will become stuck. Take this step in the evening, preferably after the chickens have selected their spot on the roosting pole. Examine the tape the following day and count the number of mites stuck to the surface. This is an easy and affordable monitoring method for any small flock owner. If you put out several tape traps, then you may find some have more mites than others, indicating that a desirable hiding spot is nearby and should be the focus of your treatments of the coop and birds.

Rickstick

The second method is a Rickstick, a 1-inch PVC tube with a stick, such as a wooden dowel, inside of it. The stick should be slightly smaller in diameter than the PVC tube and extend slightly beyond the PVC pipe. Chickens are curious and may want to play with anything new in the coop, so place the stick inside the PVC tube with a single screw halfway down the wooden stick. This will keep chickens from pulling the stick out of the tube.

Mount this tube on the underside of roosts using cable ties. Regularly examine the wooden dowel in the Rickstick to see if any poultry red mites are present. Count the mites, clean off the stick, and return it to the PVC pipe. If you find just one or two mites on the RickStick, you are at a low or medium level of infestation. If there are more, treat all the birds and the coop.

PVC Tube + Cardboard

The third method uses PVC pipe mounted in similar locations to the Rickstick. Instead of a stick inside the PVC pipe, place a rolled-up piece of corrugated paper or corrugated cardboard. The length of the cardboard should not stick out of the sides of the PVC pipe, or the chickens may pull it free. The cardboard should be rolled up tight and placed in the tube. Pull out the cardboard after 1 or 2 days and search for mites, keeping in mind that you may have to pull the cardboard apart to see if they are inside the ridges between the inner and outer layers of cardboard. Replace the corrugated paper and check the trap regularly. The corrugated paper PVC tube should give you countable numbers of mites. Fewer than 250 mites is a low number, 251 to 500 is medium, and more than 500 is high. Examine your birds to see if they are losing weight when medium numbers are present, and then treat birds and the coop as numbers approach or exceed 500 mites.

Prevention

Regular cleaning disturbs the cracks and crevices where red mites hide. Painting the inside of the coop is another way to cover up many of the cracks and crevices where mites like to hide during the day. If you choose a light paint color, mites are also easier to see. Having a painted coop interior will result in an interior that is much easier to clean and disinfect. An alternative to painting the interior is to use a silicone gel to seal larger cracks and crevices. Exclude wild birds and rodents from your flock, as they can be a source of red mites.

Treatment Options

Treat birds and the coop for poultry red mites only if they become a problem. Spraying birds and the chicken coop environment with unproven products can potentially create more problems. Not only can this be environmentally irresponsible, but resistance may also occur due to incomplete kills or poor residual activity. By monitoring birds and the chicken coop environment, you can verify that the problem exists and at a level that warrants action.

Use temperature to your advantage. Chicken red mite populations grow faster when temperatures are between 77 and 95 degrees F. They also prefer a humidity level of 70 to 90 percent. You may be able to remove the flock from the coop interior for a day and close up the coop until temperatures reach over 113 degrees F, which is lethal for red mites. In cold climates during cold times of the year, a coop temperature that reaches -4 degrees F is also lethal for red mites.

An integrated pest management (IPM) approach wisely uses time and resources to keep your flock healthy. Many chemical control methods once on the market are no longer available, or mites are resistant to them. A short residual activity with some chemical products means that some mites may not come into contact with the chemical. Mite eggs are resistant to many products. As such, some chemicals may need to be reapplied to allow eggs to hatch, affecting immature stages of poultry red mites.

Your treatment strategy should resemble an integrated pest management plan. Your strategy will change depending on the number of poultry red mites you find, because so many acaricide (mite-killing) products that were once available are no longer on the market. Be strategic and forceful with your treatment strategy. If you find just 1 or 2 mites on the birds, you are at a low or medium level of infestation. You should treat all the birds and the coop if there are more.

Some treatments listed in this document are not to be used in the presence of birds and, therefore, should be used during spring cleaning or after a flock has been moved out. Most treatments warn that the chickens’ feed, water, and related feeding or watering equipment should not become contaminated with the product.

For products designed to be used directly on the chicken, focus on areas around the vent, the upper thighs, and under the wings. Dusts and liquids should be applied directly to the skin. Do not spray the feathers, as that is not where the treatment will be effective. If the product is a dust, ensure that you work in a well-ventilated area and wear a mask. Several products carry warnings on the label that indicate what sort of clothing or personal protective equipment you should use in the presence of the product. Please be sure to read and follow all label instructions. You can also use food grade diatomaceous earth (DE), but don’t breathe the dust. Application rates for DE will need to increase when humidity levels are high.

In all of the coop sprays in table 2, retailers suggest that you spray the product into cracks and crevices in the coop. It may surprise most people that they will go through more than a gallon of liquid spray to force the product down into these gaps effectively. The only exception is in coops where owners have painted the interior to significantly reduce the number of cracks and crevices where red mites may hide. Not only does painting the coop’s interior reduce the number of places where red mites may hide, but it also helps flock owners reduce the amount of material they spray as a treatment.

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Don’t you take a shower or bath EVERY DAY!

Why Do Chickens Dust Bathe?

 
A healthy and good smelling hen NEEDS to take a dust bath on a regular basis. Chances are if your bird stinks she does not have access to a dust bath and if she doesn’t have access to a bath, the probability is higher that your flock will carry lice and mites.

For those of you that have watched chickens dust bathing, I think you will agree that it is not only comical, but shows your hens in the utmost state of contentedness.
During the act of dust bathing, chickens will do their best to get as much “dirt” as they can all over their bodies down to the base of their feathers.  This in turn actually cleans the chicken (see ingredients below) and will asphyxiate any pests that may potentially prey on them.

If you let your hens free range and DON’T provide a dust bath in the coop/run, I guarantee that they WILL make a dust bath where your favorite plants are growing.  If you do not let your hens free range, or they are limited to free ranging because of Winter conditions, than it is essential that they have access to a dust bath. The need is ingrained in their behavior and essential to their personal health.  So…… why not build a dust bath in your chicken run?

How to Make a Dust Bath for Chickens 

In order to get started, you will need a container for the dust bath.  I only have 3 hens and an old apple crate that is around 12 “deep, 15″ wide and 24” long works well for this application.  If you have a larger flock, you will need a larger container.  I’ve seen kiddy pools used for this purpose and they appear to work well.

Next, you are going to need to fill the dust bath with 4 essential ingredients.   The 4 ingredients that you will need are:

• Builder’s sand (don’t waste your money on the more expensive kid’s play sand).
• Wood ash – I get the ash from my wood stove and take out the larger charcoal pieces with a cat litter scooper.
• Soil – If you are purchasing soil, make sure it is fertilizer, chemical and vermiculite free.
• Diatomaceous Earth Make sure it is FOOD -GRADE and not for use in pools.  The bag MUST read For LIVESTOCK FEED.  See more on Diatomaceous Earth in on following page.

Add equal parts of each ingredient to the mixture and top up when necessary.  You will know that your hens are using the dust bath if:

1. You find some of the “bath” contents on the floor of the run.
2. You see them nestled up together in the crate throwing dirt on each other.
3. They are free ranging and suddenly shake from comb to feet and a cloud of dust emerges around your hen.

So……before it gets too cold or your chickens destroy your prized petunias, why not make them a dust bath.  They’ll thank you with being vermin free and consistently giving you all the eggs that they are capable of laying.

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Here is another way on How to Make a Dust Bath for Chickens 

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Inside a Chicken Coop: 8 Essential Features

 

What makes the inside of a chicken coop a healthy home for your chickens and a place that they’ll love to come back to every night? Here, we’ll explore 8 interior features of a chicken coop to discover why each feature is important and how it contributes to the health and safety of your chickens.

So what should be inside a chicken coop? Let’s take a look at some essential features.

Roosting Perch

One of the most important things to have inside an A-frame chicken coop or any coop is roosts for your chickens. Chickens sleep best in the air, so providing a roost for your chickens inside the coop is very important. In unprotected environments, chickens sleep on roosts to protect themselves from predators.

Although this isn’t necessary for a closed coop, sleeping on a roost keeps chickens off the floor, where they are more susceptible to bacteria and disease. Roosts should be constructed from a material such as wood rather than metal or PVC.

Roosts should be installed higher than the nesting boxes since chickens will usually seek out the highest perch for sleeping. Depending on the height at which you set your roosting perches, you may need to install a chicken coop ramp so your chickens can easily access their resting spot.

A sturdy roost that is large enough to accommodate all the chickens is one of the most important interior features of a chicken coop.

Nesting boxes

The inside of a chicken coop should always have nesting boxes for your laying hens. Nesting boxes provide a quiet place for your chickens to lay eggs and a convenient place for you to find the eggs in time for breakfast.

The nesting boxes should be kept as dark as possible and installed lower than the roosting bar to prevent chickens from pooping in them. Recommendations for how many boxes should be provided per chicken vary, but a safe guide is 4-5 chickens per box. The boxes can be lined with a dry bedding material such as wood shavings or chopped straw, which should be changed periodically to prevent the buildup of harmful bacteria.

Chickens prefer to nest and lay eggs in soft bedding, but they should not be sleeping or loitering in the boxes for very long. Nesting boxes are provided solely to lay eggs.

Insulation

Although your coop should be well-ventilated, it should not be drafty. Cracks and small openings should be closed to keep snakes, mice, and other rodents from entering. Another important insulation factor to consider is ceiling insulation. Insulation in the ceiling helps to keep the coop cooler during the hot summer months.

If your coop has a metal roof, you’ll want to have insulation installed between the roof metal and framing during the construction of the coop. If your coop has an asphalt shingle roof, be sure to use Tech Shield roof sheathing as a barrier against excessive heat from the sun. Tech Shield sheathing usually provides adequate protection against heat and no additional insulation is needed in the ceiling of your coop.

Lighting

Adequate lighting is important, especially if your chickens will spend a significant amount of time inside the coop. Since a chicken’s reproductive cycles are regulated by natural light, your chickens may stop producing eggs if they lack enough light.

Windows are the best way to let in natural light during the daytime. An artificial, soft, yellow light can be used inside the coop during winter months in the Northern Hemisphere with fewer daylight hours. However, a continuous light inside the coop is not recommended.

Artificial lighting should be used with caution as it can tamper with a chicken’s natural reproductive cycles. (you may be interested in this well-written article on using supplemental lighting to promote egg production)

Air Quality

You should pay attention to the air quality in your coop. One of the biggest causes of poor air quality inside a chicken coop is ammonia. Ammonia is released from fresh or moist chicken feces and can be bad for the health of your chickens if it reaches high levels (read this helpful article about ammonia and chickens).

Providing adequate ventilation is a key component to controlling the levels of ammonia in the air inside a barn-style chicken coop. Vents should be positioned to remove contaminated air from the top of the coop without making the coop feel drafty. The best position for vents is usually near the top of the coop.

Litter Trays

Chickens poop while sleeping, so using a litter tray under the chicken roost is a great way to make cleaning the coop easier. Chicken feces should be removed from the coop frequently to help control ammonia levels (see the section on ventilation).

A litter tray makes frequent removal of the majority of the waste that collects in a coop possible. The litter tray should be cleaned daily, or at least weekly as a bare minimum. Simply pull out the tray, scrape the chicken feces onto your compost pile, and replace it. You’ll be able to complete this step in minutes if you make it a part of your morning egg-gathering routine.

Tip: Line your litter tray with newspaper to make frequent cleaning super easy!

Choosing the right floor for your chicken coop is very important for your chickens’ health and happiness. The right flooring can also make your life a lot easier, after all, you’re the one who has to build, clean, and maintain it. There are many flooring options for a chicken coop such as concrete, timber boards, plywood, wire mesh or dirt. There are also many options for covering your chicken coop flooring to make it easier to clean or more comfortable for your chickens, we’ll talk about some options below.

Concrete chicken coop flooring

Concrete is the longest lasting and most durable chicken coop flooring option. The hard surface prevents burrowing rodents and other predators from getting into your coop through the floor, it is also easy to clean and very low maintenance. The down side of concrete is that it is expensive and means that your chicken coop will have to stay in the same location with its permanent concrete floor. It can also be very cold, so if you live in a cold climate then you should use a deep bedding on top of it to keep it warmer for your chickens. Concrete is the ideal flooring for chicken owners who want an easy-to-maintain flooring option for their chicken coop in a permanent location.

Pros	Cons
Very durable Easy to clean Very low maintenance Burrowing predators can’t get through it	Expensive Permanent Hassle to install Cold in winter

In the picture above you can see on the left side the clean timber board floor and on the right it has been covered with wood chip bedding that absorbs the poop

Timber board chicken coop flooring

Wood is probably the most common material used for chicken coop flooring. It is strong, easy to build and it also provides some insulation for cold environments. Timber flooring is often used in relocatable chicken coops with the flooring set up off the ground a couple of inches. The timber boards give relocatable coops extra strength which helps to prevent the building getting damaged when being moved.

Unfortunately timber boards are a bit more difficult to clean than concrete because of the rough wood grain surface and the cracks in between the boards where dirt can get stuck in. The gaps between the boards are also popular hiding spots for red mites. Wooden chicken coop flooring will not last as long as concrete, especially if you’re in a damp climate. If you’re choosing a wooden flooring we suggest that you cover it with a few coats of paint to make it easier to clean and make sure the timber is at least H3 treated to prevent it rotting. You can also cover it with plastic, rubber or linoleum to make it easier to clean, we’ll talk more about these options below.

Pros	Cons
Affordable Easy to build Good insulation Good option for relocatable coops	Harder to clean than concrete Gaps between boards hide red mites Won’t last as long as concrete

Plywood chicken coop flooring

Plywood is a laminated wooden sheet that can easily be cut to fit your chicken coop floor. Like wooden boards it is strong, easy to build/install and provides good insulation for your chicken coop. The added advantage of plywood is it doesn’t have any gaps between boards for red mites hide or dirt to get stuck in. This makes it a bit easier to clean. A thick plywood (at least 12mm) is also harder for rodents or predators to get in through than timber boards just make sure there’s no gaps big enough for small rodents to squeeze through.

Plywood is not quite as strong as timber boards so it’s not usually used for relocatable chicken coops. The plywood used should be H3 treated so that it doesn’t rot and as long as you are using bedding, or a floor covering your plywood flooring will be very easy to clean. You simply remove the droppings with the bedding.

Pros	Cons
Affordable Easy to build Good insulation	Harder to clean than concrete Won’t last as long as concrete Not as strong as timber boards

Pictured above is an inside view of an Outpost 3 bay Hen House with no floor. If you are worried about rodents getting into your chicken coop then we recommend you choose a timber floor or lay a concrete pad for your chicken coop flooring.

Dirt chicken coop flooring

You can simply use a dirt floor for you chicken coop, it is the cheapest option and dirt is a natural, soft surface for your chickens feet. Dirt flooring is commonly used for relocatable chicken coops and chicken tractors. If you move your chicken coop regularly to fresh ground your chickens will enjoy scratching in the grass and dirt and their poop will fertilize the ground.

Dirt flooring is not a good option if you have a permanent coop and live in a rainy climate as it will get muddy and messy inside your coop. It also provides no protection from predators who can burrow through dirt to get inside your chicken coop. It is also much harder to keep clean than other flooring options as you can’t just hose it off, you have to scrape off the poop with a spade.  We recommend using bedding such as wood shavings or sand if you choose a dirt floor, this will make it much easier to clean as you can just shovel out the bedding and replace it with new clean bedding as required.

Pros	Cons
Cheapest option Soft on chickens feet Good for relocatable coops or chicken tractors	Harder to clean Easy for rodents and predators to get in Can get wet and muddy

Wire mesh chicken coop flooring

Some people use wire mesh (sometimes called hardware cloth) flooring in their chicken coops. This is not a common flooring option in New Zealand but is quite common overseas for keeping predators out such as snakes and rodents. Wire mesh flooring can be easy to clean as the chicken poop falls through the mesh and can be caught on a drop sheet below, or can be swept or raked out underneath the floor. It can also used in a relocatable chicken coop so you don’t need to clean out the poop at all as the chicken coop is moved regularly to new ground and away from the mess.

This flooring option is not suitable for cold climates as it lets drafts inside and offers no insulation. You also need to be careful that the wire mesh chosen has small enough holes in it that predators can’t get through them but is strong enough that the predators can’t break the wire to get through. Be aware that chickens can injure themselves on the wire as well. If the wire mesh you choose has small holes (less than 15mm square) then the poop might not fall through, and it’d be hard to clean. If you choose wire mesh with bigger holes then rodents will be able to get through it – a mouse can get through a small 6-7 mm hole and a rat can get through a 20 mm hole.

Pros	Cons
Easy to clean if in the right coop Can help keep predators out Good for relocatable coops or chicken tractors	May be expensive or sold in large rolls Not suitable for cold climates Chickens can injure themselves on it

 

 

Chicken coop floor liner materials

The most commonly used floor liner materials are paint, linoleum, vinyl, rubber mats or plastic. If you use a thick layer of bedding such as wood shavings or sand then you probably don’t need a floor liner as all the poop gets soaked up into the bedding and the flooring won’t get dirty anyway.

Paint is definitely a good option for timber or wooden flooring. It’ll help protect the wood, make it easier to clean and prevent it from rotting if it is not treated. The paint also fills in some of the hiding spots that red mites like to live in.

Linoleum or vinyl floor coverings are often used as they are easy to clean and reasonably low cost. You do need to be careful what product you choose as some vinyl flooring is toxic and if your chickens peck at it then they can get sick. So, if you do decide to use vinyl, make sure you use a very thick layer of bedding so your chickens can’t consume the poisonous material. The quality of Linoleum and vinyl flooring products varies a lot so it might pay to get a more expensive one that will last a long time instead of having to replace it many times. It is best to staple this type of floor covering down instead of gluing it as some types of glue can be toxic and staples will also make it easier to remove and replace it you ever have to.

Rubber mats are sometimes used as a chicken coop floor covering. They offer great insulation and are easy to clean. There are many types of rubber mats available such as ones used for livestock and horse stable matting. This option is quite expensive and you’ll have to get the rubber mat custom cut to fit your chicken coop exactly.

Invest in a coop that you can move!

Outpost Chicken Coops are relocatable and designed so you can move your hens to fresh ground regularly. They come with or without a timber board floor so you can choose if you want to use a dirt, concrete or timber floor for your chicken coop. There are many circumstances where having an easy to relocate chicken coop is beneficial as well as the ability to use the chicken coop as a chicken tractor! The strong timber framing on an Outpost Chicken Coop is mounted onto heavy duty 4×4″ timber skids so you can tie your tow rope onto it and drag it around your paddock or yard. Whether we plan to stay living in the same place for long term or just short term there is no telling for sure that where you want to position your chicken coop today will be where you want it in years to come. See our blog about Relocatable Chicken Coops for more information >

Marek’s disease is not a cut and dry chicken disease. It can show its ugly head in many different forms but can also be asymptomatic (your birds can be carriers of the disease but show no symptoms). Because Marek’s disease is so fickle, it can be a challenging ailment to diagnose and worst of all, it can be fatal. Knowing how to prevent Marek’s disease and recognize some of the characteristic symptoms of the disease can help prepare you should this chicken ailment affect your flock.

What is Marek’s Disease in Chickens?

Marek’s disease is a common virus that affects few other birds or animals besides chickens. It is a complex virus that can take on many forms, ranging from no symptoms to eventual paralysis that can result in death.  

Seemingly healthy chickens with a strong immune system can be affected by Marek’s disease but remain asymptomatic. Their body can be strong enough to fight against the virus and make it go dormant. Even though the chicken may show no symptoms of being affected by the virus, this chicken is still a carrier for the disease. 

Chickens that are affected symptomatically will exhibit one or more of the varying symptoms of the virus.  

Marek’s Disease Forms & Symptoms 

Marek’s disease is a very difficult disease to diagnose in chickens. It can cause a chicken to show no symptoms, show a single symptom, show multiple symptoms, or simply show symptoms sporadically.  

There are generally 5 recognized forms of Marek’s disease: 

•  Eye Form (aka gray eye, ocular lymphatosis)– graying & shrunken iris, irregular-shaped pupil, un-equal pupil sizes, blindness in one or both eyes 
•  Nerve Form (aka neural leukosis)– lack of coordination or walking stilted, muscle spasms, progressive paralysis of neck, legs or wings, weight loss, paleness, enlarged crop, gasping
•  Transient Nerve Form (aka pseudobotulism)- temporary limp paralysis of neck or legs
•  Skin Form (aka cutaneous Marek’s)– enlarged feather follicles (especially on legs), reddened and bloody looking shanks
•  Visceral Form (aka visceral leukosis)– rapid weight loss, sometimes greenish diarrhea, massive internal tumors

Both the eye form and the skin form of Marek’s disease are rare for chickens to contract while the transient nerve and visceral form are the most common. The transient nerve form often causes sporadic symptoms and rarely leads to death. The visceral form of Marek’s disease is the deadliest and usually causes a 60-80% mortality rate, yet the eye and the nerve form of can also lead to an early death. 

Different forms of the virus will cause a chicken to exhibit different symptoms. However, there are some characteristic symptoms that will be true of any chicken who contracts the Marek’s disease virus. Carriers will exhibit immunosuppression and may show frustrating come-and-go symptoms with no resolutions. Immunosuppression can be transient, which means it does not last, leaving the chicken susceptible to disease for short periods of time before the immune system becomes strong again. However, full immunosuppression is also possible, in which the chicken has no ability to fight any other diseases or parasites. 

It is not uncommon for chickens affected by Marek’s disease to have slow growing tumors developing inside that are impossible to diagnose until a postmortem examination is performed.  

How Common is Marek’s Disease?

Unfortunately, Marek’s disease is very common in chickens. Those more pessimistic may tell you to simply assume your flock is a carrier of the disease even though they may show no symptoms. Marek’s is so common that your entire flock has likely been exposed to the virus, but they remain healthy enough to keep the virus dormant. This is yet another reason why it’s important to invest in a feed with proper nutrition! 

Marek’s disease is most common in young or growing chickens/pullets. Birds between the ages of four weeks and six months are the most susceptible while building up their immune defenses. Even though Marek’s disease most commonly affects young birds, older chickens can also contract the virus and are more than likely carriers. Stressors such as overcrowding, moving to a new location, poor coop ventilation, parasites, or even the natural process of maturing and reproducing can all make way for Marek’s disease to become active.  

Even though Marek’s disease can be an asymptomatic disease, it can also cause slow-growing tumors to develop internally, making the chicken appear asymptomatic at first. As the tumors grow the chicken may slowly decline in health until the tumors become so large that they lead to death.  

What Causes Marek’s Disease in Chickens?

Marek’s disease is caused by the herpes virus and is considered a viral tumor disease. The virus targets a chicken’s tumor-blocking genes and antibody-producing cells, inhibiting the ability to fight tumors or produce antibodies. Without antibodies, a chicken’s immune system is severely weakened, paving the way for other diseases and parasites to take hold.  

Because the Marek’s virus impairs a chicken’s immune system, it is not uncommon for Marek’s disease to become symptomatic when the chicken is affected by other ailments, such as coccidiosis or a chronic respiratory infection. To make Marek’s disease even harder to diagnose, some of the symptoms of Marek’s disease are the same symptoms as other common chicken diseases.  

It may seem as if an ailment or disease caused a chicken to get Marek’s disease, when really the virus was present all along and it became active when the chicken’s body was stressed by another ailment.  

Is Marek’s Disease Contagious? 

Marek’s disease is highly contagious amongst chickens. Chickens who are exposed to another chicken diagnosed with Marek’s must be considered lifelong carriers even if they show no symptoms or were even vaccinated for Marek’s disease. The Marek’s virus can survive in affected areas for at least five months and potentially up to many years.  

The virus is commonly spread by chicken dander and other chickens can contract it though inhalation. Here’s some good news! Marek’s cannot be spread by means of hatching eggs, which means a hen who is a carrier of the disease will not spread the disease to her eggs. Brood young chicks away from adult chickens unless you are using a broody hen.  

Chicks who are not raised by a broody hen can be raised isolated from adult birds for five months to help them overcome the virus as adults. The five month ‘quarantine’ time allows their immune systems to become strong enough to fight the virus when they are exposed. Some chicken breeds are more resistant to the virus than others. However, Silkies, Polish, Sebrights, and a few other exotic chicken breeds tend to be more susceptible to Marek’s disease.  

Can chickens spread Marek’s Disease?

Chickens can only spread Marek’s disease to other chickens.  

Can humans get Marek’s disease?

No, Marek’s disease is not zoonotic, which means it cannot be spread across species. The eggs and meat from chickens who contract Marek’s disease are safe to eat.  

Can ducks get Marek’s disease?

No, in most cases Marek’s disease is not contagious to other domestic poultry besides chickens. Some occasional cases have been reported in quail and turkeys.  

Is Marek’s Disease Treatable?

Marek’s disease is not treatable. There is no known cure for Marek’s disease, and it cannot be 100% symptomatically diagnosed while the chicken is still alive. The only way for Marek’s disease to be diagnosed positively is through a DNA blood test or a PCR test. Postmortem examinations can reveal large tumors, but there is no way to identify Marek’s disease as the cause of the tumors without a blood test or a PCR test.  

If you suspect one of your chickens is showing symptoms of Marek’s disease, explore other causes of the symptom and try potential treatments since you won’t know for sure that your chicken has Marek’s disease. Here are some other poultry ailments that can mimic symptoms similar to Marek’s disease: 

•  Vitamin Deficiencies– learn more about dietary deficiencies here  
•  Avian Lymphoid Leukosis – causes emancipation due to internal tumors 
•  Toxicity or Poisoning – heavy metal & lead toxicity or poisoning from aflatoxins in moldy or stale feed
•  Botulism – caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nervous system  
•  Egg Binding – occurs when a hen is unable to lay an egg 
•  Hypocalcemia – often called layer fatigue and is due to dangerously low calcium levels
•  Internal & External Parasites–  mites, lice, & internal worms
•  Ear Infections – will sometimes cause a chicken to hold its head at an odd angle
•  Avian Encephalomyelitis – can cause paralysis
•  Viral Tenosynovitis – poultry version of arthritis and can cause difficulty walking
•  Mycoplasma Infection – a respiratory disease that can also be asymptomatic
•  Bumblefoot–  staph infection of the foot pad that can cause a chicken to limp or walk funny

Should I Use the Marek’s Disease Vaccination on my Flock?

The Marek’s disease chicken vaccine is available and can be administered as a preventative against Marek’s disease. Keep in mind that the Marek’s disease vaccine only works as a preventive and is NOT a treatment for Marek’s disease. Chickens can still contract Marek’s disease if they are exposed, regardless of if they have been vaccinated or not.  

Chickens of any age can be vaccinated; however, the vaccine will not be effective if the chickens have already been exposed to the virus. To be the most effective, chicks should be vaccinated within 24 hours after hatching. Ideally, they should then be kept separate from any other birds as their immune system gradually builds up resistance to the virus.  

The Marek’s vaccine helps a chicken gradually build up resistance to the virus. It can reduce the chances of a chicken exhibiting symptoms and can help reduce shedding of the virus through dander.  

The Marek’s disease vaccine is not 100% effective. About 5% of chickens who have been vaccinated for Marek’s disease end up getting the virus anyways. As the virus becomes more common, the vaccine becomes less effective against new strains of the virus.  

The MDV-3 vaccine is the most common vaccine administered to non-commercial chickens for preventing Marek’s disease. This vaccine cannot cause a chicken to be infected by the virus or spread the virus. The vaccine is derived from a natural virus carried by turkeys which prevents the Marek’s disease virus from forming tumors.  

Whether you get your flock vaccinated for Marek’s disease or not is up to you. It may depend on the age of your flock and whether you think they have already been exposed to Marek’s disease or not.  

Conclusion

Marek’s disease is a common virus that can affect a chicken in different forms and to varying degrees. If you suspect one of your chickens has Marek’s, it is a good idea to assume that your whole flock is now carriers of the virus. As discouraging as Marek’s disease can be, keeping your flock in good health and preventing common stressors can help prevent Marek’s disease from becoming a big issue! Keeping your flock healthy starts with quality feed and plenty of water, preventing stressors from letting Marek’s take hold. If you are concerned about your flock spreading Marek’s disease, you can always consult with your local vet or an avian vet. source