Help! Possible lice/mite infestation on all my eggs suddenly in one day!

[Chrishomestead]

Suddenly today I discovered squirming little white dots on all my chickens eggs in multiple nesting spots on top of my deep pine shaving bedding. I have been adding fresh pine shavings every week for a few months and had no problems but now I suddenly discovered this on all my eggs. I’m devastated. Im planning to do a deep power washing of my coop tomorrow and consult my local poultry vet. This is my first year keeping chickens and I have not experienced this problem before. So far in my search I have found people suggesting to put down food grade DE or spray some sort of insecticide. I’m not worried about not having eggs for 30 days if insectide is necessary my focus is on killing this outbreak. What is elector psp? Is it something I can apply to the birds and to my coop after deep cleaning! Please help me as I’m freaking out.

 

[nuthatched]

Clean out you coop completely, do not clean with water, I'd try a permethrine based powder or spray. d.e doesn't work, it's bad for your and especially your birds respiratory system and a product of strip mining.
Get all new bedding and litter, dust your birds.

 

[azygous]

First step is to identify the bug you've found on those eggs. Do you have a magnifying lens? Every chicken keeper should have one. You can buy one where they sell stationary usually. Or Amazon.

For one thing, it's doubtful you're dealing with mites or lice. They aren't white. Lice are tan, and mites, being blood suckers, are usually reddish. Mites usually come out mostly at night to feast on your chickens' blood. And lice usually only live on the chickens and feed off the dander and dead skin. Mites have eight legs and lice have six.

To confirm you have coop mites, go out after dark and take a damp white rag and wipe the roosts in a few places. If you have mites, the rag will come away with red smears. Look at your chickens' butts. If you see tan bugs running around the vent, those are lice.

So, what could those white bugs on the eggs be? Do you have a garden near the coop? White bugs on garden plants can be white flies, a common garden pest. I can't think of any other possibilities right now, but maybe others will come along with some more ideas.

Meanwhile, get a magnifying glass and see what those white bugs look like, and come back and describe them. Have you inspected your chickens? No? Go look. Then when it gets dark, go inspect the coop roosts. Those bugs on the eggs may end up being totally harmless.

 

[azygous]

Once you find a magnifying lens, here is a great site with pictures of white bugs including the white flies I mentioned as a possibility. https://howtomurderpests.com/tiny-white-bugs-that-look-like-dust/

One other possibility is grain mites. When it's warm and humid, feed that has gotten a bit on the stale side can have a sudden "bloom" of grain mites. I've experienced this myself. Grain mites are harmless, but when they go on walk-about, they will make you want to panic and flee. And itch and scratch even if none get on you. Look at the feeders with your magnifying lens. You might discover that's the source of the white bugs on the eggs.