Mites?

[pawsplus]

Hi all--haven't been around recently. My red-sex-link, Svetlana, is doing great. I recently lost Felicity, who I rescued from a bad situation where the was being picked on and overbred. Her eggs were never normal (she laid sporadically and the eggs were thin-shelled and malformed), so I always worried that she would have problems like Olivia did (who died after surgery to remove many old, rotted eggs inside of her). At least Felicity went fast--she was normal one day and dead the next.

So to keep Svetlana company, I rescued 2 more hens and named them Kathleen and Wendy. The owner (a friend of mine) said they had been overbred by the rooster. They both had lots of feather loss on lower back and vent area, so that seemed likely. But when I got them home I noticed that Kathleen's skin is very red and irritated. Wendy's is not. Wendy seems, after a week or so, to be starting to re-grow feathers, but Kathleen does not.

When I asked my friend about this, she told me (AFTER I had already put them in w/ Svetlana!) that her mom thought that they might have mites. <sigh> Yeah, I know q-tine is recommended but it's very hard to do at my place and Svetlana, after nearly 2 weeks of being alone, was losing her mind.

They are very spooky around people so getting good pix is not easy! This is the best I could do.

So . . . do we think it's mites? If it is, what is a safe treatment? Bear in mind that they are scared of people! I might be able to grab them after dark when they are roosting.

Thanks!

 

[Green Beans]

have you found a cure?

 

[pawsplus]

No! I don't know what to do? Can nobody help? I've ready about Sevin dust, but isn't that terribly toxic? Does DE actually work?

HELP, PLEASE!

 

[cafarmgirl]

DE will not solve a mite problem. I would dust them all well with Poultry Dust or Sevin. I get the Yardtex Garden and Poultry Dust from Tractor Supply. Make sure you strip and treat the coop as well. I like using the Sevin spray in the coop because it's easier to get it into all the nooks and crannies where mites like to hide. You need to retreat both the coop and the birds every 7 to 10 days, that is the hatch cycle so you have to keep up with it until you get them under control.

 

[pawsplus]

Ugh--sounds awful! How long is that likely to be? And I assume the eggs should not be used in the meantime?

How toxic IS the stuff?

 

[pawsplus]

I spray the coop--what about their yard? 2 10X10 dog runs, together. One is just soil--one is sand.

 

[pawsplus]

And do I need to actually put the dust ON the chickens? Even Svetlana? The 2 new ones (who are affected) are terrified of me. Not gonna be easy.

 

[pawsplus]

And how will I know when they are "under control"? It will take a while for feathers to grow back. I'm not sure how I'll know?

 

[Green Beans]

I recently started trading for mites. worried and sprayed the coop worth " worry free" garden spray. says it kills mites. I Did not want to use seven first on my birds. I opted for poultry protecter by manna. sprayed them thoroughly on day one and app treatedthere legs and feet with soapy water, a rinse, and when dry used vetrx on their legs and combs. over the next two days I have them a good through " bath" in a sand,DE, and zeolite. they have been feeling better and scratching much less. not picking at each other anymore. also added a little DE to their bedding.

 

[Green Beans]

I decided to schmear their legs eack morning with bag balm. it's easy to catch them before they go outside. less stress for both of us.