Recovering from mites

[PippinChicken]

I brought a new rooster home recently and he had a terrible mites infestation. Like clusters and scabs on nearly every part of his body. He's been bathed and then had an elector dip (since they were so thoroughly everywhere, I didn't want to risk missing some spots by just spraying). I plan to give him an occasional permethrin dusting in case there are any survivors.

My question for all of you is how long should it take a chicken to fully recover from this level of infestation? This is actually my first mites incident. I can only assume he was anemic and just generally feeling awful. It's been two days since his elector treatment. He's eating, drinking, and pooping normally. He's preening but no longer scratching. More active than he was but still spending more time hunkered down than I'm used to (wondering if this may be more to conserve heat than due to weakness). Comb has more color but isn't bright red yet. It's tough because I'm not familiar with what his baseline behavior and appearance was. Any words of wisdom? Extra things to help his recovery?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get some photos of the rooster and his skin?
How old is he?

He may benefit from some poultry vitamins I would get some Poultry Cell and direct dose him at 1cc per 3 pounds of weight a couple of times a week. It wouldn't hurt to provide him with an 18-20% protein feed like Chick Starter or an all flock type feed. A treat of eggs would be better than scratch.

Make sure his crop is emptying overnight.
Consider getting a fecal float to make sure worms are not an issue as well.

 

[PippinChicken]

He is about a year old (I was told he was a February 2020 hatch). I'll see if I can get some clear pictures of his skin... he clearly hasn't been handled a whole lot so is a bit of a panic when you hold him. I use flock raiser all the time so he's already been on a 20% feed, and I've been doing daily scrambled eggs too. I'll pick up some poultry cell though, never used that before so it's not in my arsenal His crop is emptying so he's good so far on that front. Haven't seen any worms in droppings but that's a good idea too. Thank you!

Can you get some photos of the rooster and his skin?
How old is he?

He may benefit from some poultry vitamins I would get some Poultry Cell and direct dose him at 1cc per 3 pounds of weight a couple of times a week. It wouldn't hurt to provide him with an 18-20% protein feed like Chick Starter or an all flock type feed. A treat of eggs would be better than scratch.

Make sure his crop is emptying overnight.
Consider getting a fecal float to make sure worms are not an issue as well.

 

[PippinChicken]

So I couldn't get any pictures of his skin but it looks a thousand times better than two days ago. I didn't want to stress him more than necessary so didn't check every single inch but took quick looks at the spots I knew had been bad. I spotted no living bugs AND no scabs/ gross whatever buildup actually stuck to his skin. Only some remains that had formed around feather shafts and, while they have lifted off the skin, haven't made their way all the way up off the feather yet, if that makes sense. He had a good appetite for his daily scrambled eggs. He's more active than yesterday or the day before, but not quite as active as my boys usually are. They didn't have poultry cell at my feed store so I'll be ordering some online.

 

[aart]

I'm betting he'd be fine with just good chicken ration....and some time.
Nice looking bird.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So I couldn't get any pictures of his skin but it looks a thousand times better than two days ago. I didn't want to stress him more than necessary so didn't check every single inch but took quick looks at the spots I knew had been bad. I spotted no living bugs AND no scabs/ gross whatever buildup actually stuck to his skin. Only some remains that had formed around feather shafts and, while they have lifted off the skin, haven't made their way all the way up off the feather yet, if that makes sense. He had a good appetite for his daily scrambled eggs. He's more active than yesterday or the day before, but not quite as active as my boys usually are. They didn't have poultry cell at my feed store so I'll be ordering some online.

He's a big boy!

Sounds like he's recovering nicely under your care. Since he's got a little dirt and room, he will probably dust bath and preen the remaining "buildup" out of his feathers. Just check him in a week or so.

If he was infested, then he may be weak for a little while. Also being in a new home he might be a bit cautious. I think he'll get up to speed fairly quickly.

 

[PippinChicken]

Thank you both! I've been so lucky to have avoided mites all these years so I just had no clue how slow of a recovery is normal with a severe infestation. Many of my breeding plots revolve around him so fingers crossed you're both right and he makes a full recovery with a little time