Broodies and Permethrin spray HELP PLEASE

[The Wild Hen]

I would really appreciate any advice or tips you might have! I have a forty bird flock and all of them are currently experiencing some amount of northern fowl mites. I have done my best to dust them with permethrin but I have not been able to get all of them as some are skiddish, especially the roosters. I am preparing to spray permethrin spray in the coop and as many birds as I can get at this weekend since it's been seven days since dusting. What I'm wondering is I currently have two broody hens, each sitting on 9 eggs each. Naturally, as broodies are, they are the most infested. Is it safe to spray them and the eggs, nest, etc?? This coming week I am moving them and their eggs to their prospective "maternity wards" aka pens to hatch successfully and keep them safe from the rest of the flock. I guess I'm wanting to know if it's safe for them and their soon to be chicks and also just some general advice on spraying. It's my first go with these crazy critters I've had them crawling on my arm and clothes it's all I can do from lighting a match and starting all over AHHHHH im joking of course but seriously they freak me out. Thank you in advance

 

[Rainwing]

try diatomaceous earth as well and make sure you continuously dust them with treatments. a one time treatment is not enough to stop a lot of fowl mites in one area.
according to cackle hatchery, "Permethrin has low toxicity for birds but is toxic to fish and honeybees and highly toxic to cats"
cackle hatchery suggests gathering eggs, feeders, waterers etc. from the coop, then wearing a mask when applying treatment of permethrin
https://blog.cacklehatchery.com/is-permethrin-a-safe-treatment-for-poultry-lice-and-mites/
mites will kill the chicks anyways without treatment so i'd just take out the eggs if you can, dust the nest and the broodies, and place them back in.

 

[cmom]

I have posted this previously. I had some birds that were severely infested. I thought they were just molting but weren't getting their feathers back in when I discovered they had mites. The first thing I tried was DE. The birds weren't improving and still had mites. I first discovered them in only one coop but eventually found them on birds in another coop. I dusted the birds and the coops with the DE and no improvement. I did use some sevin dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I did some research and came up with permethrin, which is the pyrethrum on steroids. It lasts longer than pyrethrum. There is no egg withdrawal period with permethrin. Wild birds can bring the mites and other pests in if they have access to their coop. I used the dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and sprayed inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the mites can hide. Nothing will kill the mite eggs so repeated weekly treatments are necessary. Wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I did a weekly spraying for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes, originally sprayed the birds getting under the wings and worked it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. It will take a few weekly applications. Slowly my birds began to recover and get their feathers back in. I think if I hadn't treated with the permethrin when I did I probably would have lost some birds to the mites. The birds were in bad condition. I did originally bathe the worst birds with flea shampoo which did help but did not get rid of the mites but then discovered that the over the counter (OTC) head lice shampoo for people. Every over-the-counter (OTC) treatment of head lice contains either pyrethrins (Rid or Triple X) or permethrin (Nix). Both are effective treatment. Both only kill live pests, not the mite eggs eggs. Good luck...

 

[chickens really]

Collect the eggs and Broody hens. Spray the hens or dust them good. Then put back the eggs. Wait till everything is dry.

 

[The Wild Hen]

try diatomaceous earth as well and make sure you continuously dust them with treatments. a one time treatment is not enough to stop a lot of fowl mites in one area.
according to cackle hatchery, "Permethrin has low toxicity for birds but is toxic to fish and honeybees and highly toxic to cats"
cackle hatchery suggests gathering eggs, feeders, waterers etc. from the coop, then wearing a mask when applying treatment of permethrin
https://blog.cacklehatchery.com/is-permethrin-a-safe-treatment-for-poultry-lice-and-mites/
mites will kill the chicks anyways without treatment so i'd just take out the eggs if you can, dust the nest and the broodies, and place them back in.

Thank you. I keep DE, sand, wood ash and dirt in a giant dust box in the coop all year long. It’s clearly not working for me. I can see the hens I got with the dust are improving. When I handle them there is far less mites on my gloves than before. I know I need to spray and wondered if I should remove the broodies and their eggs first. Will do. I was going to move them to separate pens for hatching anyways so it should work out well. Thanks again.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wouldn't spray eggs, but definitely would consider dusting the hens and nests at least. Hopefully if you can do it quick the hens won't get too cranky or try to abandon the nest. But broodies are definitely more susceptible to parasites, and it'd be a shame to lose a mama just before/after hatch due to anemia.