HELP- Mites on our broody hens, whose eggs are currently hatching!

[Scrambles]

I saw a mite on one of the chicks, then looked and found them on the hens, who are still sitting on about 5 eggs apiece.

Can you use DE on chicks? Does it work to get rid of mites, or just to prevent? I'm assuming we can't use anything stronger on the chicks, who are so far 1-2 days old.

 

[kelar]

In this case, I'd use sevin powder, although I've used frontline pump spray on chicks - putting just one tiny drop on each chick and this worked quite well. You do need to do something as the mites can quickly overwhelm the chicks and kill them. DE can help as a preventative, but it's not going to get rid of what you are dealing with IMO.

 

[HiddenHill Heretic]

Sevin is a gnarly poison. Try DE and pyrethrin based insecticide first IMHO. Good Luck

 

[kelar]

Actually I think sevin is carbaryl and DE - there have been some recent posts about its makeup.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

There is no DE in Sevin (not sure if you meant that sevin has both carbaryl AND DE, or just the carbaryl (which is correct).

Carbaryl is fine, and is an approved dust for poultry.