A poultry farm has rid itself of mites, which had killed 569 of its laying chickens, chicks, and ducks, by using an organic pesticide mixture of garlic, thyme, and peppermint.
Edward Mwahvuta, who owns Inua Jamii Farm in Igwamiti, Laikipia County, suffered an almost total wipeout of his birds in 2023 after a futile three-week fight with mites using pesticides saw him lose about half of his flock. “I was only able to get rid of my mite menace after switching to a brew of herbs and ash, which both killed and repelled the pest,” he informed.
Mites are the most common poultry parasite affecting 43 per cent of all Kenyan farmers. They are often referred to as the “chicken keeper’s nightmare” because once a chicken coop is infested by them, it becomes very difficult for a farmer to get rid of them as they hide in crevices inside the house.
Inua Jamii farm which deals majorly in poultry houses 5,000 layers, 100 ducks, 100 fowls and we also have egg incubators to hatch chicks on a large scale for wholesale to farmers.
However, in 2023, they lost 349 layers, 20 ducks and more than 200 chicks after his flock was ambushed by mites.
“The flock was affected by mites for three weeks without any remedy. We bought different acaricides in agrovets to at least try the one which could eliminate the parasites, but it was all in vain. Diazinon, an acaricide from Osho chemicals, could try to eliminate at least 40 per cent, but it affected our chicks, and another blow of chick mortality followed. The acaricide could not be applied directly to the chicken and thus could only be sprayed on structures while the birds were kept out; hence, there is a possibility of eliminating them on structures but not on the body of the birds.
As per my findings, I realised that mites on the chicken’s body left after spraying their structures would later breed very fast, and the mite’s population will go back up,” he said.
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Edward, a retired Kenya Forest soldier who is a professional at using minimal chemicals in controlling both pests and parasites, explained that he had used organics to control pests on his crops, which he read from online research could also work well in eliminating the stubborn mites in his bird flock.
The red mites which attacked his crops would migrate to nearby poultry structures and cause the same harm to his chickens. Additionally, the organic pesticides also worked well in repelling fleas and as medicinal agents in drying wounds and lesions caused by parasites on the body of chicken. The organic acaricide caused no harm when it came into contact with the chicken’s body, making it easy to control the parasites.
“I first isolated the sick birds from the healthy ones and used garlic, thyme and peppermint, crushed them together and sieved the juice from them before spraying the liquid mixture to all affected areas, and after three to four days of applying daily, the pest died and sores dried. Garlic contains bioactive ingredients that can kill mites. Around the poultry bathing area, I sprinkled wood ash that acts as repellent to mites, also, wood ash contains bioactive ingredients that kill the mites when they come into contact with them”, Edwin explained.
Mites suck blood and breed very quickly. They attack combs and wattles, around the eyes and beaks and in the skin and around the legs, the blood and may cause anemic conditions in poultry, reduced egg production and loss of weight, they also cause irritation thus inflicting stress to the chicken. They also raise the cost of production in the buying of acaricides and in hired labor to spray the pesticides. They also cause death in poultry, incurring losses for the farm.
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“Mite bites also irritate the body of the birds, which makes them scratch themselves, causing lesions,” the farmer added.
The mite attack caused a drastic drop in the production of eggs at Inua Jamii, dropping their egg collection from 1,800 per day to 1,000 -900 eggs. The size of the eggs also became small, and the loss of weight in our poultry was also experienced. Due to lesions and sores on the bodies of the poultry, it promoted cannibalism due to open wounds on their bodies.
Acaricides from agrovets are very expensive and unreliable, some irritating bird bodies, thus causing distress to the flock. At the same time, the irritation makes the flock scratch themselves, causing sores and lesions on their bodies and exposing them to secondary infections. On the same note, the application of the acaricide requires a lot of skill because any slight mistake during and after the spray can lead to massive death of birds as the chemicals are highly poisonous. These challenges also necessitated the invention of a new method of parasite control to avoid the challenges and curb the mites’ population, which was spreading like a forest fire.
“I isolated the sick birds from the healthy ones, so I used garlic, thyme and peppermint, crushed them together and sieved the juice from them and sprayed the liquid mixture to all affected areas, and after three to four days of applying daily, the pest died and sores dried. Garlic contains bioactive ingredients that can kill mites. Around the poultry bathing area, I sprinkled wood ash that acts as repellent to mites, also, wood ash contains bioactive ingredients that kill the mites when they come into contact with them”, he said.
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The use of this method is more reliable and convenient compared to acaricides, which are very expensive and do not guarantee that they will kill all the parasites because of their mutation. Garlic and other ingredients are readily available and can be bought at a low cost. The method is environmentally friendly, that is, the method is not harmful to the person spraying the chicken and also, when it’s sprinkled to the feeds or water it is not harmful to the chicken. Unlike chemicals, the applicant should cover him or herself well to avoid chemical contact and also, feeds and water should be removed near the reach of chemicals since they are harmful to chickens. The method can be used to control all types of mites in poultry. In that regard, the method curbed all the mites, and the production of eggs hiked immediately from the previous production of 1,000 to 1,800 per day.
To prevent future struggles and threats from these mites, one should at least have one dedicated tool per house since mite movement occurs via tools and egg trays. Also, obtaining the birds from reputable sources or mite-free sources would save a lot from inter-spiking and intra-spiking in chicken.
Photo Courtesy: The Country Smallholder