1st Coryza, now lice and mites! Help!

[dmdhart]

I've been battling coryza in one of my hens (finally she is starting to turn the corner and after almost a week 1/2 she is starting to eat on her own) only to find that my flock is invested with lice and mites. I have dusted 3 times this summer, and dusted both chicken houses as well as the pens. Obviously it hasn't helped. Some of my hens are starting to look so scruffy that I'm embarrased to say that they're mine. I have been reading posts on here about using dog flea and tick stuff, or ivermectin. But I'm a little confused. I have some hartz mtn. flea and tick ultra. Can I use that? Do I put it on the feathers or on the skin? How much would I use? I can't afford the ivermectin at the moment, so I'll have to settle for something else. Also, my one hen that has been so sick......she has started losing alot of her feathers. I don't see anything on her, so could this be due to her being sick? Should I treat her anyway? Or should I wait until she's all better? Oh, I do have some ivermectin paste for horses here. Could I use that orally on the chickens? and would it control the mites and lice from the inside out?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Yes, you can use the horse paste. Give each bird a BB sized bit. I personally find the horse paste hard to use, as dosing is so inaccurate. Not sure what the Hartz stuff is. If it's a shampoo, then yes, you can use it. If it's something like drops, then no, I would not.

All ivermectin works systemically, essentially making the animal poisonous to insects that bite it or come in direct contact. Many mites and lice are microscopic. Never assume a bird does not have them because you do not see them.

Biting bugs can spread illness.

 

[BLaBauve]

Frontline spray works really well for severe mites and lice. I do a few squirts around the vent area, but not on it. The spray is not cheap, but it works and lasts a long time.

 

[dmdhart]

Do you mean the Frontline drops that you put on dogs and/or cats? Do you put it on the feathers or on the skin?

 

[ND]

Frontline has a spray formula AND the "spot on" formula. I think the previous poster was talking about using the spray on formula. On cats and dogs, it's so many spray pumps per pound with that formula.

Initially, when I had a problem with lice/mites, I tried oral deworming AND topical deworming (ivermec pour on drops on the skin of the back).

I still had a problem.

Then I learned that lice... I think it is (but maybe some kinds of mites?) don't actually suck the blood/bite the chicken... they eat on the dead skin flakes and feathers. I think I continued to have issues because of that little tidbit... I don't think it was killing the ones that didn't actually bite the chicken-- whichever kind that was. (and honestly, I think I saw two different types of bugs...but they were SO tiny...so, so, so tiny... I really couldn't tell and couldn't *see* them well enough to tell one from the other. I didn't find any egg clusters, but saw the tiny bugs moving.

Anyway-- for that reason, I've come to feel that dusting with sevin OR a poultry dust of some sort (along with cleaning and treating the coop VERY well) works better because they don't require the chicken to be bitten by the bug to kill it. The frontline spray or other spray or dip would work in this manner, too.

NOW-- I'm certainly no authority... and perhaps my rationalization isn't right, but I know that the ivomec used topically didn't take care of it... nor did oral deworming. They have to BITE the bird (and some don't!) to be poisoned by some of the treatments.


You'll have to retreat again in a week to 10 days...at least once... possibly more...to break the cycle. If not, eggs will hatch and reinfest your birds pretty quickly.

 

[seminolewind]

Have you been using Sevin for dusting? You gotta do it, then do it again a few weeks later.

If you're dusting with DE, it's not going to kill what's already there.

 

[dmdhart]

I've used two different brands of poultry dust. My chickens free range during the day and come into one of two different coops at night. I can't really treat my whole yard or the big pen (over 1/2 an acre, but I have treated the ground outside of the coops and the coops and nests themselves in additions to the chickens themselves.
I have pretty bad asthma, so I was trying to find some kind of treatment other than the dust that might be easier on my lungs.
A friend suggested getting guinea's, that they would eat any bug in site! I think she was joking. I really don't think I want to get those noisy critters. But it would be worth it if it worked.

 

[scooby]

when you guys talk about dusting with sevin, are you talking about the bug killer for plants? or is there an actual sevin dust for chickens that i have not seen before, can you use it on the chicken or just the coop/bedding/run?

 

[ND]

It's the sevin that's used as a bug killer for plants.
You can sprinkle it liberally in the coop, on the roosts, cracks in wood/walls, etc.

You can dust the birds with it. What I do is use an old sock (my son is great about holding on to socks that are a bit thread worn...

), but some people use a pantyhose stocking. I don't even think the sock has to be very thin, really...the sevin comes out of it pretty good regardless. Then I use it as a "powder puff". Some people grab the chicken and hold it upside down to get up under the feathers... some grab them from the roost at night (easier to catch some). Whatever you do, you need to get the sevin under the feathers and right down to the skin. I really powder puff their rears, up under the tail and into the tail, under the wings, neck, chest, breast bone area. I find it easier to grab the chicken, hold it by the hocks laying on the GROUND with the legs behind it. (face down). Day or night, they don't struggle much in this position. (protest vocally yes! lol) I can really get up under their tails/vent area...under each wing easily, and I can tip them upside down just a little (but not hanging upside down- their chest is on the ground) to get their belly.

It's messy STILL, even this way... I don't wear gloves or anything, but I am sure to do it outside in a ventilated area and wear a mask or something to cover my mouth/nose if needed. I dust them all as quickly as I can...then jump in the shower!


They make a poultry dust, too... which you'd have to apply the same way- or similar way. It's Permethrin, I think-- or at least some are.


I read on a thread somewhere that someone used a trash bag, put the dust in there, then put the bird in the bag (head out, held the bag around the birds neck) and then made sure the dust worked into the feathers using the bag. I think the one person that tried it didn't find it any 'cleaner' and had issues getting the birds easily in the bag. In theory it sounds good--- but I haven't tried that... I can't imagine trying to get the bird in the bag, then holding the bag at the neck to seal the bag there...


If it's mites, make sure you clean out your coop and bedding well...and liberally dust the coop and roosts before putting in new shavings. Retreat the birds in about 10 days.
Then set up a preventative plan... dusting every so often (every few weeks/month), because they'll likely continually pick up new bugs.

 

[ND]

dmdhart- I think if I were really needing to avoid inhaling any powders, I'd go for a 'dip' method. I haven't tried it, but I'd use the Adam's flea and tick dip for puppies and kittens (I think that's what I've read others using), and mix is up in a big tub, then dip each bird in it up to their necks... making sure the skin got wet. I've seen several people say they had a lot of success with dips. You'll still need to so something with your coop/roosts, though. Maybe you could hold a damp cloth over your nose and mouth while you liberally dusted the coop after cleaning it out?