Sorry this post is kind of long and all over the place. Any advice or information is welcome, whether it's information about the mites or how to deal with them.
My broody hen has a mite infestation and it's becoming a huge problem. She is on day 17 I think, I'm not even sure. I moved her from the nesting box into a dog crate in my garage on the 25th, I noticed a mite problem on Thursday which was when I tried treating her for it and moved her into a kiddie pool. I feel like her being in my garage with the mites is a bad thing because I just feel like these things get everywhere. I think I identified them as northern fowl mites but I could be wrong, I included a picture. They move quickly and are out during the day, are kind of dark, and seem to like to be everywhere. I feel like they're impossible to completely get rid of, like they were all over the dog cage and now that she's in the kiddie pool they seem to be spread out everywhere, on the side of the kiddie pool, on her feeder containers, and of course on her. I was hosing off the dog cage that has been sitting outside ever since I moved her and somehow there were still some mites on it, a few got onto my hands. Then I was walking around the garage with flip flops on, not even touching the chicken, I got inside and somehow there were two mites crawling on my legs. It's so disgusting and it's freaking me out, I feel like they just appear out of no where. I don't even know if she should be in my garage because of them but the coop isn't an ideal place for her.
I bought some Y-TEX Gardstar Garden & Poultry Dust and Manna Pro Poultry Protector spray which I have seen recommended on other threads. I mostly used the dust because I feel like the spray might not be as effective with the amount of mites. I was kind of scared to use the poultry dust since it contains permethrin and was trying to be careful with it, I was also concerned about using it on her since she's sitting on eggs. I saw mixed things about using it on broody hens but most of the posts I saw said to just use it. This is also the first time that I have dealt with something like this so I didn't do as good of a job using it. The first treatment helped a little, I set her in a big plastic bag on the ground with the dust and spread some around on her. That was when I moved her from the dog cage into the kiddie pool, I first sprayed the poultry protector all over the pool and put bedding on top. I saw mites the next day, just not as many. The second treatment I did a better job, getting it more in her feathers and onto her skin, but I didn't get underneath her because I didn't want to disturb her too much but I'm assuming I should have. I also spread some of the powder around in the bedding. Again, it seemed to have helped but not enough because there were still mites.
I hate having to do it again because I don't like to keep bothering her, moving her, and I don't want to keep using so much dust on her but I know I need to get rid of the mites. I have moved her twice already, both times at night, but I think I need to do it during the day so that I can see better. She did well during each move, she was a little mad but sat right back on the nest. I'm a little concerned about stressing her out even more and would rather not move her again but I think it would be difficult to get rid of the mites if I don't give her all new bedding and a clean nest. Other than the mites, she seems to be doing well, she's 1 year old so this is her first time being broody. She has been moving around, eating, drinking, and looks normal. The only thing was that she decided to poop pretty much right on the nest last night, getting it on her and some of the eggs. Today she pooped outside of the kiddie pool, I didn't think she would actually leave it but it's better than pooping on the nest.
My next plan was to repeat the plastic bag with poultry dust step but making sure I actually get the dust spread all over this time, actually into her feathers and onto her skin. I also was planning on moving her back into the dog cage but making sure I spread some of the dust into the bedding first. Is this a good plan and could this actually kill all of the mites? I just feel like since it seems like these mites are everywhere won't it be hard to fully get rid of them? I Also know you're supposed to repeat in 7 days because that's when the mite eggs hatch so I will need to figure out a plan to deal with that with the chicks if and when they hatch.
Here's the picture of the mites with a zoomed in picture below. Most of them are dead in the picture.
My broody hen has a mite infestation and it's becoming a huge problem. She is on day 17 I think, I'm not even sure. I moved her from the nesting box into a dog crate in my garage on the 25th, I noticed a mite problem on Thursday which was when I tried treating her for it and moved her into a kiddie pool. I feel like her being in my garage with the mites is a bad thing because I just feel like these things get everywhere. I think I identified them as northern fowl mites but I could be wrong, I included a picture. They move quickly and are out during the day, are kind of dark, and seem to like to be everywhere. I feel like they're impossible to completely get rid of, like they were all over the dog cage and now that she's in the kiddie pool they seem to be spread out everywhere, on the side of the kiddie pool, on her feeder containers, and of course on her. I was hosing off the dog cage that has been sitting outside ever since I moved her and somehow there were still some mites on it, a few got onto my hands. Then I was walking around the garage with flip flops on, not even touching the chicken, I got inside and somehow there were two mites crawling on my legs. It's so disgusting and it's freaking me out, I feel like they just appear out of no where. I don't even know if she should be in my garage because of them but the coop isn't an ideal place for her.
I bought some Y-TEX Gardstar Garden & Poultry Dust and Manna Pro Poultry Protector spray which I have seen recommended on other threads. I mostly used the dust because I feel like the spray might not be as effective with the amount of mites. I was kind of scared to use the poultry dust since it contains permethrin and was trying to be careful with it, I was also concerned about using it on her since she's sitting on eggs. I saw mixed things about using it on broody hens but most of the posts I saw said to just use it. This is also the first time that I have dealt with something like this so I didn't do as good of a job using it. The first treatment helped a little, I set her in a big plastic bag on the ground with the dust and spread some around on her. That was when I moved her from the dog cage into the kiddie pool, I first sprayed the poultry protector all over the pool and put bedding on top. I saw mites the next day, just not as many. The second treatment I did a better job, getting it more in her feathers and onto her skin, but I didn't get underneath her because I didn't want to disturb her too much but I'm assuming I should have. I also spread some of the powder around in the bedding. Again, it seemed to have helped but not enough because there were still mites.
I hate having to do it again because I don't like to keep bothering her, moving her, and I don't want to keep using so much dust on her but I know I need to get rid of the mites. I have moved her twice already, both times at night, but I think I need to do it during the day so that I can see better. She did well during each move, she was a little mad but sat right back on the nest. I'm a little concerned about stressing her out even more and would rather not move her again but I think it would be difficult to get rid of the mites if I don't give her all new bedding and a clean nest. Other than the mites, she seems to be doing well, she's 1 year old so this is her first time being broody. She has been moving around, eating, drinking, and looks normal. The only thing was that she decided to poop pretty much right on the nest last night, getting it on her and some of the eggs. Today she pooped outside of the kiddie pool, I didn't think she would actually leave it but it's better than pooping on the nest.
My next plan was to repeat the plastic bag with poultry dust step but making sure I actually get the dust spread all over this time, actually into her feathers and onto her skin. I also was planning on moving her back into the dog cage but making sure I spread some of the dust into the bedding first. Is this a good plan and could this actually kill all of the mites? I just feel like since it seems like these mites are everywhere won't it be hard to fully get rid of them? I Also know you're supposed to repeat in 7 days because that's when the mite eggs hatch so I will need to figure out a plan to deal with that with the chicks if and when they hatch.
Here's the picture of the mites with a zoomed in picture below. Most of them are dead in the picture.
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My suggestion is poultry dust and permethrin premixed spray. You need to spray weekly for 4 or 4 weeks because it does not kill the mites eggs. Good luck...
