URGENT: Another Mite Question

[Bigfishbobby]

We have lost one chicken to mites (we think) and now have another one that is lame. We brought the hen inside and there are mites everywhere. We treated her with permethrin liquid last night. We dunked her in the solution and let her dry in a towel by the wood stove which she loved. Her tote was completely cleaned, sprayed with the solution, filled with new bedding that I misted with the solution too. Tonight, the mites are worse than last night. We just washed her twice with Dawn and cleaned everything out again, switching to the powder tonight.

My question is this…I seem to be following all of the normal procedures here and I’m losing the battle to get them under control literally on a daily basis. Is this normal?

 

[Rose the Legbar]

You have to make sure to scrub her feathers to get the liquid on her skin. If you don’t then the water will just run right off. I would spray diluted permethrin on her bedding to the point it is decently damp.

 

[Bigfishbobby]

You have to make sure to scrub her feathers to get the liquid on her skin. If you don’t then the water will just run right off. I would spray diluted permethrin on her bedding to the point it is decently damp.

Thank you. Do you think it is safe to dunk her again tonight with more attention to a deep scrub? The one failure we know we had last night was that we did not leave her in the solution for 30-60 seconds. It was literally two dunks up to her neck and out. Also, we used 3 gallons of water and 60ml of the liquid. Should we be going any stronger?

 

[GoosesGeeses]

@Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you. Do you think it is safe to dunk her again tonight with more attention to a deep scrub? The one failure we know we had last night was that we did not leave her in the solution for 30-60 seconds. It was literally two dunks up to her neck and out. Also, we used 3 gallons of water and 60ml of the liquid. Should we be going any stronger?

No, I wouldn't go any stronger, follow the manufacturer's directions.

I'm not sure if I'd dip her again. IF she's not lethargic or stressed to greatly, you can give her another bath in the dish liquid.
Permethrin has residual affects, so I'd be hesitant to use it again so quickly, but of course, it's up to you to decide what's best.
https://www.drugs.com/vet/permectrin-ii.html

 

[Bigfishbobby]

Thanks. We decided against dipping her again. We dried her off and used the powder on her instead. May still be too much but we want to give her every shot. We are so tired of the mysterious illnesses and feeling so helpless.

We went back down to powder her and she was standing for the first time in 2 days. She was very wobbly and had a hard time staying up but it was progress. She was also eating some. Dawn dish detergent apparently has serious healing qualities. We powdered her up and hope for some positive results tomorrow.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks. We decided against dipping her again. We dried her off and used the powder on her instead. May still be too much but we want to give her every shot. We are so tired of the mysterious illnesses and feeling so helpless.

We went back down to powder her and she was standing for the first time in 2 days. She was very wobbly and had a hard time staying up but it was progress. She was also eating some. Dawn dish detergent apparently has serious healing qualities. We powdered her up and hope for some positive results tomorrow.

I'm glad she's standing. Hopefully she's on the way to recovery now.

Personally, I prefer the dust, I find it easier to apply and control. I usually put it in a sock and use that like a powder puff and tap it on the bird, this gives a fine layer of dust that can be worked through the feathers all the way to the skin. Alternately small condiment squeeze bottles with a narrow nozzle works fairly well, this will give you some control or you can also purchase "dusters" from amazon.

Since she had a lot of Mites, she may be anemic and weak. Electrolytes to give her a boost or you can give homemade (1tsp sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of baking soda to 1cup water). Get her drinking, then see if she will eat.
It wouldn't hurt to give her egg or some beef liver to help restore her too. Alternatively you can use Poultry Cell a couple of times a week to help build her back up.

 

[Bigfishbobby]

Thanks. We are going to try egg in the morning. She has always been a picky eater even when it comes to treats. She turns her nose to banana or just about anything except….We mixed some scratch and mealworms in her regular feed and you can guess what she ate. At this point, I’m happy with any intake at all. We haven’t observed her drinking, but we did give her some fluid last night with a syringe. As long as she is eating I would assume she will drink when she wants it. Hopefully tomorrow she starts rebounding and the mites are under control. If not, we will continue bathing and dusting until we win the battle.