Lost 6 babies today. Feeling pretty heartbroken

[louiserivergod151]

I would throw out the eggs with mites and not bring them anywhere near my home or animals. It’s cheaper and easier to replace eggs than it is to treat all of your surfaces and pets for mites. When I worked in a pet store many years ago, we got mites from a delivery, And we didn’t realize until you could see them walking on our white wooden shelving at the store. We sprayed everything down with an ivermectin solution that the on site vet provided, and then we all changed to scrubs and put our clothes in a bin of treated water, and then into the store washer. We repeated that a few times over a couple weeks before the outbreak was deemed gone by the vet.

only issue is ive already bought them into my home, they were delivered so didnt know there were mites crawling inside the polystyrene box until id opened it up. Its only been on my kitchen shelf by back door, ive sprayed that shelf around the box several times with total mite kill hoping itll kill any gits that crawl off. I cant see any more but its the unhatched ones i worry about. Can i roll the eggs in DE before i set in the incubator? id throw them out but this is my 2nd batch and both batches had mites so wondering how many times do i have to throw them out before i find a breeder who keeps their flock treated. Breeder options are limited on ebay and there arent any suppliers in close range that i can find so my options are limited. My 1st batch, i didnt know had mites until a week into incubation, they were tiny so must have recently hatched and had to squish em as i saw them (wasnt to many) and id removed the eggs briefly to clean my brinsea out with Total mite before re setting and id not seen a single mite since so caught it early and treated. indoor babies ( i had hen eggs in the same incubator) are mite free, so was a close call.

 

[NatJ]

I cant see any more but its the unhatched ones i worry about. Can i roll the eggs in DE before i set in the incubator?

Would it help to wipe the eggs with a cloth? Even a dry one might knock off some mite eggs.

I know there are many kinds of bugs where the eggs are resistant to poison (so people treat to kill the bugs, then again later to kill the ones that hatch after the first treatment.)

 

[louiserivergod151]

Would it help to wipe the eggs with a cloth? Even a dry one might knock off some mite eggs.

I know there are many kinds of bugs where the eggs are resistant to poison (so people treat to kill the bugs, then again later to kill the ones that hatch after the first treatment.)

i could certainly try, i don't want to spray the eggs with the insecticide incase it kills the eggs. Ill just wipe them over, set them and if i see any little creepy crawlies appear inside my incubator ill just do what i did with the last lot and squish them all and spray incubator with total mite and if i see any more after that (only took 1 application the 1st batch of eggs) then ill rinse and repeat until theres nothing in there when the new babies arrive.

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

i could certainly try, i don't want to spray the eggs with the insecticide incase it kills the eggs. Ill just wipe them over, set them and if i see any little creepy crawlies appear inside my incubator ill just do what i did with the last lot and squish them all and spray incubator with total mite and if i see any more after that (only took 1 application the 1st batch of eggs) then ill rinse and repeat until theres nothing in there when the new babies arrive.

I believe hydrogen peroxide kills mites. I usually spray the eggs with 3% hydrogen peroxide just before incubating. There was a study conducted more than 30 years ago showing the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide for fumigation before incubation. Here's a link to the post and an embedded link to the study:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/causes-for-my-poor-hatch.1438901/post-23840814

 

[louiserivergod151]

I believe hydrogen peroxide kills mites. I usually spray the eggs with 3% hydrogen peroxide just before incubating. There was a study conducted more than 30 years ago showing the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide for fumigation before incubation. Here's a link to the post and an embedded link to the study:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/causes-for-my-poor-hatch.1438901/post-23840814

oh thank you, ill have a read through it...if its safe its def worth a try. The last thing i want is a mite infection the moment they hatch

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

oh thank you, ill have a read through it...if its safe its def worth a try. The last thing i want is a mite infection the moment they hatch

I can attest to it being safe. I've had a high hatch rates of up to 100% of fertile eggs after spraying with drugstore hydrogen peroxide.

 

[louiserivergod151]

I can attest to it being safe. I've had a high hatch rates of up to 100% of fertile eggs after spraying with drugstore hydrogen peroxide.

Thank you ill see if our chemist/pharmacy sells it. never bought it before but imagine its readily available. Might do a hatch along with this lot, see how it turns out and see if we get any stowaways along for the ride

 

[FloorCandy]

only issue is ive already bought them into my home, they were delivered so didnt know there were mites crawling inside the polystyrene box until id opened it up. Its only been on my kitchen shelf by back door, ive sprayed that shelf around the box several times with total mite kill hoping itll kill any gits that crawl off. I cant see any more but its the unhatched ones i worry about. Can i roll the eggs in DE before i set in the incubator? id throw them out but this is my 2nd batch and both batches had mites so wondering how many times do i have to throw them out before i find a breeder who keeps their flock treated. Breeder options are limited on ebay and there arent any suppliers in close range that i can find so my options are limited. My 1st batch, i didnt know had mites until a week into incubation, they were tiny so must have recently hatched and had to squish em as i saw them (wasnt to many) and id removed the eggs briefly to clean my brinsea out with Total mite before re setting and id not seen a single mite since so caught it early and treated. indoor babies ( i had hen eggs in the same incubator) are mite free, so was a close call.

If you live in the us, we can recommend several hatcheries to order eggs from. I’ve hatched from eBay eggs, 2 hatcheries, and a private breeder, and I’ve never received mites. You should request a refund, and if refused leave bad feedback to warn others, shipping mite infested eggs is definitely irresponsible and unsanitary. Their poor birds are probably suffering long term from these mites, and compromised parents can lead to weak and sickly chicks.

 

[louiserivergod151]

If you live in the us, we can recommend several hatcheries to order eggs from. I’ve hatched from eBay eggs, 2 hatcheries, and a private breeder, and I’ve never received mites. You should request a refund, and if refused leave bad feedback to warn others, shipping mite infested eggs is definitely irresponsible and unsanitary. Their poor birds are probably suffering long term from these mites, and compromised parents can lead to weak and sickly chicks.

Im in UK, west midlands specifically. Anything local to me are private backyard breeders so its pot luck whether you find a responsible breeder. on ebay there are alot more options for hen eggs than there are quail (well the celadon i was looking for were limited). The 2 batches ive received from so far have come from 2 different locations. ive contacted the ebay seller who got quite defensive that their birds are clear and regularly treated but then came back and said he'd checked the stock of boxes hed ordered and some had mites n will be throwing out. Not sure whether to believe him but ill leave a note on my feedback to state it had mites just so other buyer are wary. im going to clean these and keep checking throughout incubation to be sure they are completely clear before the babies hatch. None of my birds have had mites and i dont intend to let it happen now over a careless breeder. Ill def be buying the UK equivalent of permethrin though as a precaution