Day 22 Broody Hen with 2 Chicks, 4 eggs left to hatch & MITES!

[waltzb88]

Hi everyone!
First time broody experience here. How can something so exciting and beautiful be stressful?!? Its day 22 for my broody hen. Two eggs have hatched so far with four more to go. Two days ago I noticed mites in the dog crate I'm keeping her in within the chicken coop. I put my hand in the bedding and they started crawling all over. My husband and I did our best to clear out some of the bedding without disturbing her seeing that it was day 20. We also sprinkled some DE and Poultry Garden Dust around the dog crate but not directly in her nest to avoid disturbing her. The mites are still there! I checked in miss broody today, and she is looking rough. Very pale and her eyes aren't as open and bright as they usually are. My gut is telling me to move her completely. We have a stock tank in the garage that we use as a brooder sometimes and that's where I would move her and the nest to. Is it safe to move her, the chicks, and the remaining eggs? I don't want to hurt the eggs that are still left to hatch. Also with it being day 22 will eggs still hatch? I've read as many threads I could find on here and it seems hatching can be all over the place. Help!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Did you set all the eggs at the same time? Moving her isn't going to solve the problem, she'll just bring the mites with her. Have you candled the eggs at all?

 

[KRack]

Do you have elector psp?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/elector-psp-premise-spray-8-oz.11650/

 

[KRack]

It's really gone up in price, but one bottle lasts a really long time. I've also used the liquid ivermectin.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...n-for-large-breed-hens.1522063/#post-25633367

 

[Iluveggers]

I would wait until it is extremely dark, what a difference it made once I could turn the lights off. What are you using to candle? Sometimes a piece of construction paper to make a circle lip to trap light on egg and not around it can help, or make one out of playdoh.

 

[waltzb88]

The broody pooped all over the eggs this afternoon and abandoned them to focus on the three chicks that did hatch. Taking the cue from nature to assume the others are duds. We did candle them last night when it was dark. It was really hard to see into them. We couldn’t see any chick or movement.

I tried finding elector psp in my area today. Went to three different stores with no luck. Picked up a 13% permethrin solution to mix with water. Removed all bedding in the coop and gave the whole thing a good spray down with the solution. For the little family I quarantined them off in a grassy shaded spot for the day. The hen got a good dusting with poultry permethrin dust. Planning to do this daily.

Will my efforts help? I really can’t afford the elector psp and don’t really want to order it online.

 

[KRack]

The broody pooped all over the eggs this afternoon and abandoned them to focus on the three chicks that did hatch. Taking the cue from nature to assume the others are duds. We did candle them last night when it was dark. It was really hard to see into them. We couldn’t see any chick or movement.

I tried finding elector psp in my area today. Went to three different stores with no luck. Picked up a 13% permethrin solution to mix with water. Removed all bedding in the coop and gave the whole thing a good spray down with the solution. For the little family I quarantined them off in a grassy shaded spot for the day. The hen got a good dusting with poultry permethrin dust. Planning to do this daily.

Will my efforts help? I really can’t afford the elector psp and don’t really want to order it online.

I've never done the permethrin dust. Only elector psp and ivermectin. You only need a couple drops of the liquid ivermectin and it's much more affordable. You can read more on a thread about it here...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...n-for-large-breed-hens.1522063/#post-25633367

and this link may also be helpful..

http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/ivermectin

 

[Auntiejessi3]

The broody pooped all over the eggs this afternoon and abandoned them to focus on the three chicks that did hatch. Taking the cue from nature to assume the others are duds. We did candle them last night when it was dark. It was really hard to see into them. We couldn’t see any chick or movement.

I tried finding elector psp in my area today. Went to three different stores with no luck. Picked up a 13% permethrin solution to mix with water. Removed all bedding in the coop and gave the whole thing a good spray down with the solution. For the little family I quarantined them off in a grassy shaded spot for the day. The hen got a good dusting with poultry permethrin dust. Planning to do this daily.

Will my efforts help? I really can’t afford the elector psp and don’t really want to order it online.

You will have to repeat in 7 days to kill any newly hatching eggs. Just for future reference you can get smaller bottles of elector psp on ebay for around $16 and the reason I like it is because it's a 1 and done. I do use permethrin powder regularly, I put it in my dust bath area and let the ladies' dust themselves, lol. You're off to a good start, congrats on your new littles

 

[waltzb88]

Did you set all the eggs at the same time? Moving her isn't going to solve the problem, she'll just bring the mites with her. Have you candled the eggs at all?

All eggs were set at the same time. We tried candling them once but I don’t think our light was bright enough because we couldn’t see anything. The light didn’t go through or it was really dark in there. We did that on day 17. If the mites will just move with her what should I do?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

All eggs were set at the same time. We tried candling them once but I don’t think our light was bright enough because we couldn’t see anything. The light didn’t go through or it was really dark in there. We did that on day 17. If the mites will just move with her what should I do?

I'd try and candle the remaining eggs, they may be duds, and go from there. Once she's done hatching you can dust her with some livestock or garden dust (permethrin-based product) and move her and the littles to some new digs. Then you will need to clean out and treat your coop and entire flock. I highly recommend elector psp, it's pricy but you can find smaller bottles on Ebay for around $16 that will be more than enough to treat your setup. Just FYI DE isn't going to do anything for this situation