Freezing weather, dying chicken, mites

[Farmerbetsy]

Here in Seattle, we have unseasonably snowy and icy weather. One of our older, adopted chickens, new to our flock after her flock was murdered by raccoons, has not been doing well. She's clearly dying. We brought her into the house and while my daughter was snuggling her wrapped in a towel, noticed that she has brown mites. The coop floor is covered in snow, so all the girls are hanging out in the nest boxes. Cleaning out the nest boxes right now is simply not practical.
I guess my simple question is, until things warm up around here, will the freezing weather kill brown mites in the nest boxes? that would be handy. We have permethrin dust and can treat them after it warms up.
Thanks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The weather won't kill the mites. You will need to treat your birds and housing with the permethrin dust.
Even if cleaning out the boxes is not practical, I would still sprinkle the dust in the boxes and dust the hens now, this will help eliminate some of them and make the hens more comfortable.

I'm sorry that the adopted hen is not doing well. I would treat her too. Are there symptoms you wish to share? Sometimes older hens have ailments that are affecting them and all you can do if offer supportive care. If she's suffering and you don't think she will make it, then going ahead and putting her out of her misery would be an appropriate thing to do instead of her lingering on. I know it can be a difficult decision to make.

 

[Farmerbetsy]

Thank you. She was lethargic, not lifting her head, couldn't keep her eyes open. We brought her in and warmed her up, and she is perking up and drank a little bit of water. BUT my daughter noticed that when she petted the chicken, she got mites all over her hands. Do I need to powder my mud room also? How far do these nasties run? do they leave their blood meal or do they start running as soon as they get into a warm spot? WHAT HAVE I DONE? My kid with OCD is freaking out. I have never personally culled a chicken. I was expecting her to just die and not recover. We are going to treat her right now.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Get the chicken powdered with permethrin and powder the nest boxes at least, since you know they're in there.

As far as yourself and the house and the kids, don't take the chicken any further than the mud room if you plan on keeping her inside.

Here's some general advice if mites are an issue inside your house (so not all may apply to your situation), but it'll help get rid of them if mite bites on you/your family are an issue, or mites are active in the house:

While treating the chickens I suggest keeping a dedicated set of chicken-only clothes, gloves, boots, etc. either in garage or shed, somewhere out of the house, and only use those around the chickens until treatment is done. Before going back into the house, check arms and legs carefully for any mites.

I also got some permethrin spray for use in the house, and sprayed all our muck boots, as well as hubby's office chair and the sofa.

Launder everything you've worn recently in hot water + hot dry. Launder your sheets as well. Even things like pillows... let them tumble in the dryer on high for at least 30 min. I even threw jackets in the dryer. If you happen to have rubbing alcohol to spare, my pest guy suggested spraying the mattress as well.

Continue vacuuming daily for a couple of days and make sure to empty out the vacuum/remove bags when done.

I know it seems like overkill but if you can get it under control with the chickens, the ones in the house should get eliminated/under control in the same time frame as long as you don't drag more in. Best of luck!

 

[dawg53]

Mites suck blood, cause anemia, then death. Your hen has been weakened by the mites. Eliminate the mite problem as mentioned and give her Poultry Nutri Drench orally, 2 drops a day; one drop in the morning and another in the afternoon for no more that 5 days and she will recover.

 

[Farmerbetsy]

Mites suck blood, cause anemia, then death. Your hen has been weakened by the mites. Eliminate the mite problem as mentioned and give her Poultry Nutri Drench orally, 2 drops a day; one drop in the morning and another in the afternoon for no more that 5 days and she will recover.

Thanks for that. I think we've got another one at risk, too. I can't get out to the feed store so I'll have to see if this is something we can get on amazon.

 

[Farmerbetsy]

Thanks for that. I think we've got another one at risk, too. I can't get out to the feed store so I'll have to see if this is something we can get on amazon

 

[Farmerbetsy]

Well, the local farm supply store doesn't carry it, it won't get here from Amazon until the 4th. I don't know what else to do.

 

[Farmerbetsy]

we cannot get that product. Would Floradix, infant iron drops, adult iron drops, chopped raw or cooked liver help?

 

[NatJ]

Well, the local farm supply store doesn't carry it, it won't get here from Amazon until the 4th. I don't know what else to do.

we cannot get that product. Would Floradix, infant iron drops, adult iron drops, chopped raw or cooked liver help?

Just getting rid of the mites will help.

Make sure the hen has access to water and normal chicken food.

You can add water to the normal chicken food, and chickens often think it's a treat. (This is a nice treat to give to all of your chickens, especially if bad weather is messing with appetites. Just don't make so much it sits around to freeze in winter or rot in summer.)

You can offer cooked scrambled egg, or egg yolk (raw or cooked). Chickens usually like it, and it has lots of nutrients, including iron.

I would expect liver to be fine too (raw or cooked).

I have no idea what dose of iron drops would be right for a chicken, so I can't give advice there.