uh oh creepy crawlies on broody's eggs!

[JJchiknshak]

I have a broody bantam sitting on a nest of 9 eggs. They are due to hatch around the 1st.
This morning while she was taking her morning constitutional I took advantage and candled a couple eggs.

They look like they are developing.... Yay!

But I noticed 2 quick moving tiny little bugs running across the egg shell.

The were tiny, but looked like they had oblong bodies, maybe grey or tan in color. (Hard to tell in the lighting I had.)

Anyone know what they are, and what should I do... I'm afraid of disturbing the nest, but I don't want the babies to be born and immediately get parasites.

Suggestions please...

 

[clkingtx]

I have heard many people use diatemaceous earth (DE) in their coop and on their chickens for parasites, which it sounds like you have. I have also heard that the parasites can hide in the bedding, and a broody can abandon her nest if it is badly infested. You might want to do more looking around on here for other relevant posts, and hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

Carrie

 

[nzpouter]

dust the nest box.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

SOunds like your chickens may have lice of some sort. I use Frontline spray and in two days ALL gone

You can find it at Jefferspet.com

Here is the link: Hopefully this link works. What you do is spray one tiny spray at the neck area on skin, one spray under each wing and one spray above vent area...NOT on the vent though. In a day or two they will be gone...do this on a monthly basis to keep bugs away. I don't treat the layers as often because after treatment I do wait a week before eating eggs but they can be hatched. My show birds I do monthly because we don't eat their eggs we hatch them.

http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/produ...1RTQDXPVQLQ8KCW8FQ2W1FBHJ5ACEKD&pf_id=0028814

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
Is Frontline OK to use on Chickens?!? Did you get that from a veterinarian? It would be nice to have an alternative to Sevin dust if DE doesn't control the problem. DE also can be inhaled if used to much and that's not good for their (and our) lungs. Is there any problem with eating eggs if they are sprayed?

 

[tropicalchicken]

This happens to us with almost every hen that goes broody and sets on eggs, generally after about two weeks. We wait until the broody is off her nest, then take the eggs out, quickly clean and replace the bedding with some DE mixed into it, or if it is really bad we will use sevin dust in a layer under the bedding, then we replace the eggs. Our broodys tend to be fairly tolerant of us, so we will pick them up and give them a quick dusting under the wings and vent area with the sevin dust before the get back on the nest. They actually seem to appreciate it as it kills the bugs and they are not itching anymore.

The first time we did this I was scared of harming the chicks when they hatched, but it got so bad we had to do something for the poor hen, she was scratching so bad, so this was the method we used and now use every time this issue comes up.

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Is Frontline OK to use on Chickens?!? Did you get that from a veterinarian? It would be nice to have an alternative to Sevin dust if DE doesn't control the problem. DE also can be inhaled if used to much and that's not good for their (and our) lungs. Is there any problem with eating eggs if they are sprayed?

I got this tip from a lady that has been showing birds for years and years and she was told this by one of the judges at the shows she goes too. He says it's totally safe to use on them but only use the stuff that is safe on puppys and kittens. I have no ill effects yet and I have been using it for a while now

AND it kills any bug they may have.

We don't spray our layers unless they really really need it because we do eat those eggs. And if we do have to use it on them we wait for a week before we eat the eggs. And its MUCH better then the dust that goes everywhere AND in your lungs too. I practically choke when I use that stuff. This is NO mess

I use it monthly on my breeding stock because we don't eat those eggs.​

 

[JJchiknshak]

My concern with dusting is that the babies are supposed to start hatching in a couple days. Won't the chemicals affect them?
And I don't have wheels today so I can't even pick up the stuff till tomorrow.

But I can change the bedding, no problem with that. She's very tolerant of me.

 

[elmo]

If these are fowl mites, the can kill the chicks once they hatch. A friend of ours lost several chicks that way last year. Definitely change out the bedding and put a layer of DE or permethrin dust down under the fresh bedding. And keep an eye on things, check and change out the bedding again after the chicks hatch, too.