Chicken mites: types, signs and treatment

Last updated: October 2026

Chicken mites are tiny eight-legged poultry parasites. Three species matter most: the northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) lives on the bird around the vent, the poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) hides in the coop by day and feeds at night, and the scaly leg mite (Knemidokoptes mutans) burrows under leg scales^1,3. Control pairs a poultry-labeled product with coop treatment, repeated to catch newly hatched mites³.

What kinds of mites live on chickens?

The northern fowl mite is the most common external parasite of poultry and the most serious ectoparasite of poultry in North America^1,4. It spends its entire life cycle on the bird, feeding on blood, and lays its eggs in masses at the base of feathers, usually around the vent⁴.

The poultry red mite is the species extension guides formally call the chicken mite, also known as the roost mite or red mite^1,3. Unlike the northern fowl mite, it does not live on the bird: it hides by day in cracks and crevices in roosts, walls, ceilings and floors, and comes out at night to feed³. It is probably a greater problem in floor nests and on floor-housed birds¹.

The scaly leg mite is smaller than the northern fowl mite and lives under the scales of the legs and feet, tunneling into the upper layers of skin to lay its eggs¹. Its relative, the depluming mite, burrows into the skin at the base of the feathers, and infested birds pull out their own feathers^5,7. The tropical fowl mite (Ornithonyssus bursa) behaves much like the northern fowl mite and is often confused with it⁴.

In North America, northern fowl mites and poultry lice build up in cool weather, so infestations typically rise in fall and ease in spring, while poultry red mites are mainly a warm-weather pest^2,4,5. In the Southern Hemisphere the seasons are reversed, so expect the cool-weather build-up from late fall through winter and red mite pressure in the warm months.

What do chicken mites look like?

Mites are about 1 mm across, roughly the size of a grain of ground pepper, so a magnifying glass helps². Each species looks different and sits in a different place on the bird or in the coop³.

• Northern fowl mite: about 1/25 inch, eight legs, black or brown, seen as tiny specks moving quickly on the skin near the vent³. Eggs and black specks of mite droppings at the vent are sometimes the most obvious sign³.
• Heavy northern fowl mite infestations: a dark gray discoloration and matting of the vent feathers, made of mites, eggs, droppings and shed skins⁴.
• Poultry red mite: gray, brown or red, turning red after a blood meal³. In the coop, look for the mites plus black and white deposits of droppings and cast skins in crevices³.
• Scaly leg mite: about 1/100 inch, pale gray, flat and circular, living under the leg scales; infested birds' legs become thick and crusty³.

What is the difference between chicken mites and lice?

The two common body mites of chickens, the red mite and the northern fowl mite, are blood feeders². Poultry lice are wingless, flat-bodied insects with chewing mouthparts², and they feed on dry skin scales, feathers and scabs rather than sucking blood³. The chicken body louse (Menacanthus stramineus) and the shaft louse (Menopon gallinae) are the species most often found on poultry³.

Lice are larger, about 1/8 inch, yellow and fast-moving, and do not cluster around the vent the way northern fowl mites do⁵. The white egg masses glued to the base of the feathers are the best sign of lice⁵. Lice survive only about a week off the bird, so they spread mainly bird to bird³.

What are the signs of mites in a chicken flock?

Flocks with mites or lice show similar signs: weight loss, fewer eggs, lower activity, bald spots, red and irritated skin, small scabs and dull, ragged feathers². Heavy red mite infestations cause pale combs and wattles and listless birds³. Red mites can take a heavy toll: a laying hen can lose more than 3% of its blood volume in a night, and heavy burdens can kill hens⁶. Red mite infestations also drive feather pecking⁶.

Mites are often noticed first on eggs or on the people who collect them⁵. For northern fowl mites, part the feathers around the vent in daylight³. For red mites, examine the birds at night or check cracks and crevices, because the mites scatter evenly over a bird's body and are hard to count there⁵. Inspect the flock every month or two, and pay particular attention to brooding hens, which dust-bathe less and are prone to parasites². For scaly leg mites, look at the legs: severe cases can cut off blood supply to the toes, and the bird may lose toes¹.

How do you get rid of chicken mites?

Use only a product whose label lists poultry or chickens and the pest you are treating, and follow the product label, including any withholding time for eggs and meat^2,3. Using these products off-label in food animals is against the law without veterinary supervision².

Northern fowl mites: the materials used against them do not kill the eggs, so the flock is re-treated every 4 to 7 days, and the nest area, roosts, cracks and crevices are treated too because mites survive off the birds for a couple of weeks³. A house left empty for less than 3 weeks may still hold mites that will infest new birds⁵.

Poultry red mites: treat the whole coop, every crack and crevice, roost, wall and ceiling, and re-treat every 4 to 7 days, because adults survive up to six months without feeding³. Treat vacant houses thoroughly before new birds arrive⁵. Resistance to multiple acaricides has developed in red mites, driven partly by improper application such as uneven spraying of cracks that exposes mites to sublethal doses⁶.

Scaly leg mites: coating the whole leg with petroleum jelly or dipping it in linseed oil suffocates the mites and moisturizes the scales^1,3. Treat the coop as well, since these mites can survive off the bird¹. Mild cases return to normal; severe cases may leave the feet swollen and deformed³. For the plant-oil actives used on premises, see essential-oil miticides.

How do you prevent chicken mites, and when are they worst?

Wild birds and rodents carry northern fowl mites into poultry houses, so seal entry points, clean up spilled feed that attracts them, and keep up rodent control⁴. Mites also travel on people, egg flats, racks and equipment moved between flocks⁴. Clean and disinfect housing and equipment between flocks, and limit contact between your birds and wild birds².

Season matters. Northern fowl mites prefer about 65 to 68 degrees F and are more of a problem in cool weather, so infestations typically increase in fall and decrease in spring^4,5. Lice also build up in cooler weather⁵. Poultry red mites are mainly a warm-weather pest². Mite populations build faster on young birds than on older ones⁵.