2 day old chicks and mummy hen has Red Mite!!! How quickly should I act?

[Gardencottager]

Thank you for your response. I’m in the UK but I’ll look into permethrin. I’ve also seen there is an Ivermectin spot on treatment that can be used on birds, similar to flea treating the dog or cat, has anyone heard of/used that? Looks like that might be less stressful for the hen than dusting her in powder?

 

[Gardencottager]

DE isn't good for anyone to inhale, and fairly poor at killing those mites anyway, but maybe try some?
Ivermectin has been evaluated in poultry, and it does last in the eggs for a while. Definitely not a 'technical oversight'! You have to decide if eating small amounts in her eggs matters to you, and if selling her eggs, any problem with a person allergic will come back on you.
It's a lovely product, and easy to use, and it's a shame, but I haven't used it on my birds in a long time.
Mary

Ok that’s good to know, but as she’s not laying or anything at the moment I think I will go ahead with some ivermectin tomorrow and I’ll leave off using the DE directly on her as I think it’s too much of a risk the young ones breathing it in. I’ll spray down her shed and treat with ivermectin tomorrow when shops are open and I can get the necessary products.

I’ll have to leave things as they are for tonight unless anyone has other suggestions as to what I could do to minimise the damage?

I could take the chicks away and put them under a heat lamp, but would that distress everyone too much and break the bond she has with them?

Thanks again for the help

 

[Gardencottager]

It's usually sold for use on pigeons here in the UK; off label use 4 drops on the back of the neck for the broody and 1 on each of the chicks. As you say, she's not laying while she's broody, so the egg withdrawal period will have long passed before she starts laying again. You might find this useful
https://www.yorkshireanimalwelfare.co.uk/post/mites-and-lice-in-poultry-and-how-to-treat-them-here

Ok thanks for that info. And it would be ok to use a tiny bit on the chicks? That’d be good to protect them as well.

Should i discard her first 7 eggs then when she does lay again? Even if it’s a while after the treatment?