With the recent trend of raising chickens in the backyard comes parasites, according to recent research. Scientists in California assessed the external parasite load of chickens in backyard flocks. They found that most of the flocks had parasites, including six species of chicken lice, one species of flea and three parasitic mite species. The chickens had a much greater diversity of parasites than found in commercial flocks.
The scientists speculated that reasons for the relatively high numbers include owners’ lack of experience with dealing with poultry parasites, mixing birds of different ages, and bringing in affected birds.
Although some of the birds were infected to a degree that would weaken the birds, most would not be affected substantially by their parasites (beyond a slight drop in egg production and feed conversion). Although none of the parasites found affect humans, local veterinarians mentioned that bedbugs can be a problem in backyard flocks at certain times of the year.
Source: Diversity and Prevalence of Ectoparasites on Backyard Chicken Flocks in California. A. C. Murillo and B. A. Mullens. Journal of Medical Entomology. 2016. No. 1. pp. 1–5.
- Janet Wallace