Feather mites came in with a free heat lamp bulb

I picked up a used heat lamp from a garage sale last Saturday in Portland, and a week later my hens are scratching nonstop and losing feathers around their vents. My vet said the bulb fixture was likely carrying mites from someone else's flock, and now I'm treating all 12 birds with permethrin dust. Has anyone else brought home secondhand gear and ended up with these little monsters?

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vera_sanchez12d ago

Oh man, been there with the used gear myself. Did you take the whole lamp apart and scrub every nook with hot soapy water before you used it? That's the trick I learned the hard way. The mites hide in the seam where the bulb screws in and the little ridges on the reflector, so just wiping the outside does nothing. Also, don't just dust the birds, you gotta treat the coop and the ground around it too, or they'll just crawl right back on the hens. I'd toss that bulb fixture completely and get a new one from the store, they're cheap enough and not worth the risk of reinfestation. And check your shoes and clothes before you go near any other birds, those buggers hitchhike like crazy. You're doing the right thing with the permethrin, just stay on top of it for a few weeks.