Sevin Dust Question

Please help........I am so confused and am not sure what is the best route to go.......my chickens appear to have mites - very, very tiny brownish black looking specks around the vents and other places on the body, head shaking like something is irratating them, etc. - when I walk in the coop, they get on me as well.....

I have been reading the many, many posts on this and it seems that everyone says something different as far as a good, safe treatment goes.... I put some DE in the end of a stocking and tried to "dust" under wings and around vents, etc. plus took out all the pine chips and straw bedding sprinkled DE on everything, sprinkled a small amount of cedar chips then put more pine chips down and hay in the nest boxes. I spritzed Poultry Protector on the roosts, the floor, nest boxes, the run, etc. - not in huge amounts but spritzed it all around. This hasn't seemed to have helped as they still have lots of the things around their vents - can see it in the daytime and don't even have to wait and look with a flashlight. The DE also concerned me because try as I might, it seemed like it was getting near their faces and I didn't want it to hurt them.

I am reading that a lot of people use Sevin 5 dust. Is Sevin poisionous to them after you have dusted them and they are preening and eat it? Do you have to stop eating their eggs for a time after you have treated them with it? If it accidentally gets in their eyes, what do you do? I don't really like the thoughts of using Sevin as it can kill beneficial insects such as bees but I need to do something....

Other things I have read and am wondering about - can I bathe them in a flea and tick shampoo to get rid of the mites? What is poultry dust and how safe is it? Orange Guard on the roosts?? Bathing with baby shampoo or Dawn detergent??? Ivermectin??? Adams dog sip or spray??? Frontline???? Oral or topical???

I am so confused with all of the options, myself and the chickens are itchy (me from just thinking about it)....we need some good advice and help - please............

I don't know the answers to the sevin dust question, but I use the DE and it seems to work great. I use gloves so I don't dry out my hands, and wear a face maask to make sure I don't breathe it in. I use quite a bit, but I think it's cause I am an amatuer. I've used it on my goats with fantastic results, all I had to do was rub it in and brush them so it got all the way down to the skin. Maybe that's what the chickens need? I hope you get the answers you need!

Thank you for the advice - maybe, being a newbie, I just haven't gotten into it well enough with the gloves and copious amounts of DE!
Quote:

I use DE, Sevin dust and Adams fleas and tick spray. I am not real sure about the Sevin dust either, I won't eat the eggs when I use the Sevin dust. I have heard most people just use DE and it works out great for them. I also know someone that uses Frontline spray but you can't eat the eggs either. I am confused about all this too! I hope you get some answers.

I'm not sure about the eggs with Sevin dust, but the guys at Lowes recommended that for my vegetable garden a couple of years ago. Even the container said it was safe to eat veggies treated with it.

Sevin is safe to use. Eat the eggs, etc. I`ve used it for years. No dust mask, no gloves. Good stuff that works........Pop

Wow - You seem to have covered all of the bases! Do you dust the chickens themselves with the DE and Sevin or just put it in the bedding, etc.? The Tractor Supply near me has the Adams spray - do you just liberally spray them down with it, especially near their vents and if so, does it seem to irritate the vent area? Thanks again for your answers and insight!
Quote:

Thanks Pop! I had read a number of your replies to other posts about the Sevin and all seemed to make sense - I was just a bit scared about the environmental impact on other things and didn't know about eating the eggs. You don't just dust the birds but also the coop and run correct? I read a link that someone gave to a Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet that said to put the Sevin in a garbage bag, put the bird in WITH HEAD OUT and shake the bag to completely cover the bird - my sick mind immediately thought of Shake and Bake!! haha
Quote:

First off, you have to determine if lice/mites are present. To do this, pick a couple birds off the roost tonight and check under their tail and around their vent with a good flashlight. If you see any minute little bugs scurrying for cover, you`ve got them.

To treat them as radically as you can without affecting egg eddibility, get some Adams flea and tick dip. Mix it up as directed in a 5 gallon bucket, and proceed to dip EVERY bird on the place. Do it on a warm morning so they have a warm day to dry.

Clean out the litter from the coop and dust heavily with sevin dust. Don`t forget the nests. Replce with clean litter. If showering with hot water and soap, includiing a good shampoo doesn`t make you feel like they are all off of you, do it again.

Like I said, you can eat the eggs and this treatment will get the new ones as they hatch. In fact, you can still smell it for at least a month, but it`s not offensive. Good luck........Pop

We have used it on our garden as well but gave it up and started using more natural products and ash from the woodstove when we heard/read that it killed other beneficial insects, i.e., bees...BUT the bottom line would seem that if it is safe for the veggies, it should be safe for the eggs...Thanks!
Quote: