Sticktight Fleas!! Please Help!!

[sorenheart]

I found a sticktight flea on one of my chickens yesterday evening. I didn’t think much of it because I only saw one, and it couldn’t have been on her longer than two hours since I spend a lot of time with her and would’ve noticed had it been otherwise, but then I found two sticktight fleas on one of my other chickens this morning. So, I performed a thorough check of my whole flock and discovered 1-2 fleas on some of them (thankfully, not all) . I’ve already gone out and purchased permethrin dust as well as First Saturday Lime to somewhat treat my coop, but it’s huge (bigger than most anyway), and I’m not sure how to go about it since the floor is dirt. I did remove the pine shavings that were in the nesting boxes and added new shavings along with FSL. Should I treat my chickens with the permethrin dust if I’ve already gotten the fleas off? They do free range every day, so if there’s anything I can do to somehow keep the fleas off of them, I’d love to know. I don’t really care about their eggs so anything that might work that happens to have an egg withdrawal period isn’t a problem for me.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Wyorp Rock @azygous @Eggcessive stick tight fleas?

 

[azygous]

I've never dealt with fleas on chickens, but the permethrin dust should work.

It would help to know your location so we don't recommend stuff that would be impractical for you. But you will probably need to treat the run and coop as well. Your climate and weather are a consideration.

 

[sorenheart]

I've never dealt with fleas on chickens, but the permethrin dust should work.

It would help to know your location so we don't recommend stuff that would be impractical for you. But you will probably need to treat the run and coop as well. Your climate and weather are a consideration.

I live in South Texas. I know I need to treat the coop and run; I’m just uncertain about how to do so. I’m not sure how much of the permethrin dust to use as well as where exactly to apply it.

 

[azygous]

Permethrin comes in a liquid concentrate. That would be more practical than dust and will go farther. You can mix up a quart in a spray bottle and spray the chickens since your weather is likely plenty warm enough. There is no egg withdrawal necessary with this product.

When spraying a chicken, I part the feathers and spray the skin starting at the back of the head and neck, then the wing pits, sides, back, and end at the vent where you want to be very thorough because parasites like this moist area best. Do it when the chickens will have plenty of time to dry before going to roost. It will give the coop time to dry out after spraying, too.

 

[sorenheart]

Permethrin comes in a liquid concentrate. That would be more practical than dust and will go farther. You can mix up a quart in a spray bottle and spray the chickens since your weather is likely plenty warm enough. There is no egg withdrawal necessary with this product.

When spraying a chicken, I part the feathers and spray the skin starting at the back of the head and neck, then the wing pits, sides, back, and end at the vent where you want to be very thorough because parasites like this moist area best. Do it when the chickens will have plenty of time to dry before going to roost. It will give the coop time to dry out after spraying, too.

Permethrin comes in a liquid concentrate. That would be more practical than dust and will go farther. You can mix up a quart in a spray bottle and spray the chickens since your weather is likely plenty warm enough. There is no egg withdrawal necessary with this product.

When spraying a chicken, I part the feathers and spray the skin starting at the back of the head and neck, then the wing pits, sides, back, and end at the vent where you want to be very thorough because parasites like this moist area best. Do it when the chickens will have plenty of time to dry before going to roost. It will give the coop time to dry out after spraying, too.

Is the treatment a one time thing, or do I just do it every time I see a flea? Do I soak the coop in the spray? Spray the entire floor, walls, everything?

 

[Eggcessive]

Stick tight fleas may need to be removed with tweezers or smothered with vaseline. Permethrin can treat the coop and facilities to get rid rid of them. Are they getting them while free ranging?

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some articles about treatment:
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/how-to-manage-sticktight-fleas-in-your-chicken-flock/

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/MG236

 

[sorenheart]

Stick tight fleas may need to be removed with tweezers or smothered with vaseline. Permethrin can treat the coop and facilities to get rid rid of them. Are they getting them while free ranging?

I would presume so. They do free range, and there are squirrels that travel through the pasture on occasion + a lot of wild birds. I already removed the fleas with tweezers. Not all of my chickens had them, and the ones that did only had 1-2.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Here you go.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...tight-fleas-in-poultry-with-permethrin.74325/