The worst mite infestation i have EVER seen! Help!

[Lelilamom]

Did the chicks go back under the mama hen? @Rooka_2 . I'm curious how she's handling the separation.

 

[Rooka_2]

Did the chicks go back under the mama hen? @Rooka_2 . I'm curious how she's handling the separation.

No they didn't, I have them in a brooder. She's half silkie, she doesn't even realize they're gone lol

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Just wondering how everyone is doing?

It sounds like you may have gotten a bale of straw infested with those mites. I only use straw to cover seedlings I've planted, never with chickens, because I had a similar experience years ago, with 1 bale having a mite type bug. What an experience! As I read your initial post I could feel your panic & worry...you did great by the way, you're a very good mama!

 

[Snakebiteholloway]

Long story short, new farm, 100+ year old barn, first winter with flock in barn, literally THOUSANDS upon millions of mitesView attachment 3809250.
I climbed up a stack of straw bales because I heard peeping and found a chicken sitting on 20 eggs. Thought, how cute! Literally snapped a picture of her, climbed back down to go get a cage so I could move her and her babies to a safe spot. Look down at my jacket and there were millions on me, my son, my husband. Got the mite spray didn't even care, sprayed it on our clothes, my son stripped outside and went into the shower. My husband and I sprayed the bales as best we could, got the mom and her babies, put them in a cage. She went crazy, lost her shit and went straight back to the nest. I STUPIDLY took the babies and hatching eggs inside and put them into my incubator in a panic as chicks are literally popping out, fresh out of the shells.
My incubator was them crawling in mites, I already had 20 eggs in there about to hatch. I look at the babies, they're absolutely covered in red colored mites. I might have given them a death sentence but I carefully sprayed them with mite spray, sprayed the inside of my incubator with mite spray and all the eggs. Mites still crawling all over. Grab the babies out, head over to the sink, literally bath them with chicken shampoo and warm water. Take all the eggs out of the incubator, they're literally mid zippering. Take the incubator to the sink, quickly wash it with the hottest water imaginable. Take paper towel and wipe down the eggs, get the chicks and eggs back into the incubator and I still see mites! I have zero clue if I did the right thing for them. I felt like that was a batter option than ivermectin the moment theyre coming out of the shell. But at least I did something. Now I'm beyond stressed because it's 11pm at night and my flock is in that mite infested barn.
What the heck am I going to do!?
I AM IN CANADA no we do NOT have elector psp available here. I have zero clue what to use or how to deal with mites on this scale.
I'm ready to cry. My goats are in there, my geese, my prized silkies and mandarin ducks. I literally feel like I'm crawling with them even after stripping outside and immediately having a shower.
Where do I begin? They must be all through those straw bales. I cant even imagine. And in the wood of the 100 year old barn? Beyond overwhelmed right now. What do i do with the babies who have hatched tomorrow? Im assuming they will be covered in mites too because their eggs had cracks in them when i got them out of the mite pile. I dont want to put them in my brooder with my chicks. I need to treat them and make sure they are completely clean before even attempting that.
They look brown, but then go red once theyve eaten off the chick. Will these be on my goats and geese and everyone in the barn?
everyone will be treated with ivermectin tomorrow and followed up with more doses every 10 days. But my barn isnt even that messy! We keep up on cleaning diligently! Mice and birds must have brought them in!
i dont even know if this is worth saving, this is the biggest infestation I have ever seen.
View attachment 3809247View attachment 3809248View attachment 3809253

The good news is mites don't like humans too much so you might get a mite bite but the real emergency is the stock.
I'm in far northern Maine and mites are godawful this year.

I moved all my birds into sterile containers and took all bedding and boxes out. I SOAKED my buildings in Ortho Home Defense. I let it dry, did it again.
Even the walls and ceiling!
Then i treated the chickens with permethrin chicken mite spray. I diluted it and did it to them all. I didn't have babies though.
The pro is supposed to be safe for pets after drying, and I've had no issues, but understand that's not the prescribed use for that product.
My mites were coming out of the hay!

 

[early riser]

The good news is mites don't like humans too much so you might get a mite bite but the real emergency is the stock.
I'm in far northern Maine and mites are godawful this year.

I moved all my birds into sterile containers and took all bedding and boxes out. I SOAKED my buildings in Ortho Home Defense. I let it dry, did it again.
Even the walls and ceiling!
Then i treated the chickens with permethrin chicken mite spray. I diluted it and did it to them all. I didn't have babies though.
The pro is supposed to be safe for pets after drying, and I've had no issues, but understand that's not the prescribed use for that product.
My mites were coming out of the hay!

Sounds like a country nightmare. So sorry for you. I use de on the floor and neem oil sprayed on walls and perches. Don’t know how I would treat the bales. Bonfire with marshmallows? Just know you’re doing your best however it all turns out

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Chicks are 100%
They're doing awesome. No mites in sight.
Treated all my birds with ivermectin, only one had mites which blew my mind. They all got moved to my goat barn for the time being.
Now I just came on to post about the one with mites because I think I've got bigger issues I have been keeping chickens for 3 years and I have NEVER had this much go on with them than I have in the last 5 days.

Hi! I feel your pain! We are dealing with the same infestation, though it does sound like yours is worse than ours. I'm so sorry!! This IS the most miserable thing I have had happen in 8 yrs of having chickens!! All of a sudden we were getting odd bug bites throughout the day and night inside our clothes, in the home. Couldn't figure it out until a swallow's nest of babies died, and I had mites all over my hands when I began removing them. They are sooo tiny!! I used ivermectin on the chickens the other day, and sprayed most of the barn board cracks with a dog/cat-safe garden insecticide (only one type is safe for cats!)...Permethrin and all insecticides are terribly toxic to cats, and also butterflies and bees! Didn't see mites all that day, but then yesterday I got more on me just from letting them out in the morning and putting food and water out! Barely touched any wood! What a nightmare! We do have two bales of straw, use them for nesting material... think I might stop that!

 

[Shadrach]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/straw-itch-mite.75561/