broody+mites+heat

[thebulg]

my broody hen is on day 20. i realized today she has mites. we treated her and the nest, changed the bedding, etc. at that time there were no external pips. she chose to brood in our garage in a corner, and as of now, it is hot and humid. as in hot and humid enough that i could reasonably take her off of the eggs and just let them hatch without her. obviously i won't, but the conditions are fine for it.

she is panting horribly, her eyes keep shutting in a very lethargic way and she is tilting her head backward, her comb is very pale (i know that is supposed to happen, but parts of it are nearly white) and she isn't as alert or aware as she has been for the first 18 days.

she is still attentive to her eggs, she ate a scrambled egg earlier, she is drinking water with a little ACV and sugar. i put a fan on low out there and a very big bowl of ice in front of the fan to blow cold air.

i am a little concerned about the combination of mites and it being so hot and her refusing to get up. the folks on the broody hen thread suggested that i ask in here.

i really have no concrete opinion on what to do. part of me thinks it might be worth the risk to get her into a box and put her in the walk in shower in our bathroom. the risk of moving the eggs and the risk of the mites ha! she has 15 eggs under her. she just looks really, really awful.

 

[thebulg]

update, we made the decision to bring her in. it's 96 outside, and the garage is easily 5 or more degrees warmer, with no moving air. we were able to move the entire thing SUPER easily and brought her right into the bathroom and into the walk in shower. it's 80 degrees in there and holds pretty steady, and it's very quiet. she stopped panting almost immediately.