I am a terrible chicken owner :(...mite problem please help!

[casportpony]

This is about an egg bound goose:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/738201/goose-what-is-this-how-did-it-happen-what-do-i-do-about-it

 

[JodiLynn]

Wow we have treated 100 chickens with dust and the ones with mites we could see used ivermectin. Can mites make a hens poop like water? I have a silkie girl with a dirty bum and I picked her up and some water came out?

 

[casportpony]

Wow we have treated 100 chickens with dust and the ones with mites we could see used ivermectin. Can mites make a hens poop like water? I have a silkie girl with a dirty bum and I picked her up and some water came out?

I don't think so, but I think that worms can.

 

[dretd]

I know that the last photo has pyrethrin in it, can you use these in the bedding and on the birds and still eat the eggs? What about for Sevin? Thank you, I'm very worried about mites in the coops because my girls have been getting tattered feathers and it's not lice, molting, feather picking, or roosters...

JodiLynn, good luck to you, I can't imagine dusting that many chickens!!

Just my 2cents from my personal frustrating experience dealing with mites:

Pyrethrin and pyrethroids like Permethrin are safer, in general, than Sevin (Carbaryl). Although Sevin is very popular here in the States, it is banned in many European countries including England and is listed as a likely carcinogen by the EPA. Derived from Crysanthemums, Pyrethrins are one of the safest insecticides available. Permethrin is a man-made chemical based on Pyrethrin. Both Pyethrin and Permethrin are very toxic to cats and aquatic life so do not spray them on your cat or where runoff can get in to wetland areas. My daughter snuggles the girls so I personally don't like her breathing in a potential carcinogen like Sevin dust--I guess everyone has their own phobias and damaging my kiddo it one of mine.

I struggled with killing off red mites with my flock and ended up trying Ivermectin, Eprinex, Frontline, Sevin (powder), DE, Spinosad (spray), Permethrin (spray) and Dichlovos (no-pest strip). I also purchased but have not tried a steamer unit I read about recommended to kill bed bugs. It may come out and get a trial if the mites come back this spring.

My failure was because I was not aggressive with perimeter treatment. The mites were killed on the chickens but mite and mite eggs were left in the environment and re infested the girls. What finally worked was using the Permethrin spray (I used this one: http://www.jefferspet.com/permectrin-ii/camid/EQU/cp/14045/ ) diluted as per label into a tank sprayer and spraying to run-off the entire hen house (in and out), all wood surfaces and perches in the coop and all areas the the chickens tended to hang out (under bushes etc) while free-ranging every 2 weeks for 2 months while using Frontline once monthly on the chickens and also hanging a no-pest strip in my well-ventilated coop.

To answer your specific question about eggs, I would wash the eggs in their shells prior to cracking if using the Pyrethrin or Sevin, and I would pitch the eggs for a few days if using Frontline or Ivermectin. Eprinex has a zero withdrawal for meat so I figure eggs are ok too, though its not approved for chickens.

I guess that ended up being 3 cents