When I did a nest check, I found a whole bunch of little black bugs crawling all over the nest and the baby birds. What are these?
These are chicken mites and, if left unattended, quite often become a major problem in martin colonies. Mites should be taken care of promptly or they could result in early fledging of the young or worse, their death. These mites feed on the blood of the young and is not a pleasant thing for a baby bird that has nowhere to go to get away from them. Chicken mites are one reason you see so many baby Robins on the ground before they can fly properly. The control of mites and the methods used in their control is a very controversial subject and you’ll get many different answers, but here are two methods that do work to keep them under control. One. Nest changes. This is done by removing the young and placing them in a softly lined bucket or shoe box. Then, totally remove the nesting material from the compartment, wipe it down with alcohol and then refill with new nesting material, forming a small bowl in the back of the nest. The alcohol evaporates very quickly and the fumes are usually go
Related Questions
- When I did a nest check, I found a whole bunch of little black bugs crawling all over the housing, nest and the baby birds. What are these?
- When I did a nest check, I found a whole bunch of little black bugs crawling all over the nest and the baby birds. What are these?
- Why do the sweeteners in BRANDS® Birds Nest Sugar Free have little effect on the blood glucose levels?
