My silkie chickens have been suffering from a red mite infestation so bad that they've pulled out their head and wing feathers and had sores on their necks. I scrubbed out their timber coop with bleach and sprayed concentrated Malabar wash all over the coop. I also dusted the chickens with Pestene (active ingredients Sulfur and Rotenone) and put the Pestene and food grade DE in their nesting boxes. Two weeks later and they're still scratching and looking thin so I just put a heap of Poultry Dust (active ingredient Maldison) in their sleeping quarters. It says on the container that it's OK to do this. But it smells so strong and vile that it makes my eyes water. The coop has a small window and small door (which I usually close at night, but have left open tonight) but otherwise it's fairly well enclosed. I'm worried that the chickens will die overnight from breathing the poisonous fumes? I've googled and found lots of articles on how dangerous it is for humans to inhale Maldison powder, but nothing on chickens inhaling it. They've been in there for about an hour, but I will pull them out straight away if they will die from inhaling the fumes. I thought it would be OK because the instructions said I could put the dust in their nests and sleeping quarters. Can anyone help? I'm on standby, ready to pull them out of there straight away if need be. HELP?
