Help! Nothing open till morning, have mite problem NOW!

Jenefur

Hatching
11 Years
Sep 28, 2008
1
0
7
My mother had a chicken go "renegade" for almost two weeks. She does this now and then, likes to sit on about a dozen eggs that will never hatch. She's really, really good at hiding. Last time Mom got a good look at her, she was fine. Today, she located the nest, and when she recovered "Pearl" there were a ton of reddish-brown mites crawling on the eggs, and on Pearl.

She is apparently COVERED in them. Her underside is covered in dead skin (like post-scab). My mom can't really get a good look, they move too fast, so she doesn't know what type they are. Also, they aren't concentrated around her ears or egg vent, or legs. They spread upward from where her body was making contact with the eggs.

Mom has Pearl quarantined in an old dog carrier, but they're all over the place in there and spreading rapidly.
What can she do RIGHT NOW to help Pearl, since most of the stores are closed for 12 more hours? Can she bathe her in plain water? Apple cider vinegar? Dust bath? She's itching herself everywhere and just generally looks uncomfortable.

None of the other chickens have them, and mom has never dealt with mites before. She's in a bit of a panic. Okay, a major panic. Please help?:eek:
 
If you have tea tree oil or olive oil you can mix it in a spray bottle with water, shake it up and spray. These oils will kill mites. I you don’t have these things use any kind of cat or dog flea mite or tick powder. This will get you by until tomorrow.
 
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Do you have any cat or dog flea shampoo? If so, you could wash your hen in in a bucket of warm water with a couple squirts of that shampoo. It is a messy job, but will help in the short run. Be sure to have a nice dry and clean towel to wrap her up in after you bath her and keep her warm. A dust bath would help her out even better but it is now dark and that would be a little difficult.

These mites will spread quickly to your other birds. Let your birds take dust baths to help rid themselves and you will need to clean out your coup after you let your birds out of it tomorrow. They make your birds miserable and broodies are especially volunerable
 
Here are some things you can use:
commercial mite duster (I would rather you not use this as it is bad for the enviroment)
diotamateous earth (this is slightly expensive but if you have any left over you can miz it with their feed and it will kill any worms in them)(this works because it mimics rust)
or the ideas that the previous posters posted.

I hope you can get rid of the mites fast because they will spread to the rest of the flock soon and even to you if they can.
 

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