Adding quarentined birds to an existin flock

[hunterhart1113]

Would food grade diatomaceous earth work?

 

[speckledhen]

Would food grade diatomaceous earth work?

If they don't have mites around their faces, yes, it will kill lice, though not instantly. Mites are a bit harder to treat with DE, especially around the eyes. I've used DE on a rooster in quarantine (many years ago, only bird EVER on this property to have lice and he came with them) and it did kill them. You must also remove bedding and put down fresh if you do see mites or lice on the birds.

 

[hunterhart1113]

Have you used the garden and poulty dust you attached in the previous picture before?

 

[speckledhen]

Have you used the garden and poulty dust you attached in the previous picture before?

I have only used DE myself in nests and under the wetter areas under the roosts and sometimes, on the birds themselves, but many folks here on BYC do use the poultry dust and if I had an infestation, I would use it. I have wormed my birds with pour on wormers that also kill lice and mites so I've never had to resort to the poultry dust, not yet anyway. And mine have fabulous, deep dust holes that are very well-used.

 

[hunterhart1113]

Yeah. That is what

 

[hunterhart1113]

I do as well. I have n

 

[hunterhart1113]

Sorry about all the previos stuff. I use the DE for the same reasons listed above and my birds are very good at dust bathing on their own and I havent seen any signs of lice and or mites. I just want to do it as a precaution. Therefore, for now I think I will jsut dust them with the food grade DE and then if something changes I might go to the garden and poultry dust.

 

[speckledhen]

Sorry about all the previos stuff. I use the DE for the same reasons listed above and my birds are very good at dust bathing on their own and I havent seen any signs of lice and or mites. I just want to do it as a precaution. Therefore, for now I think I will jsut dust them with the food grade DE and then if something changes I might go to the garden and poultry dust.

That's fine, certainly. It's just that your new birds weren't managed by you and mites can be very hard to see sometimes. I have used DE in the nests since the early days. And I use the safe citrus oil based insecticide Orange Guard sprayed in cracks and crevices when I do a clean out of the coops since DE can't get into horizontal cracks that well. So, I've never had to resort to the poultry dust. I would, though, if I had a big infestation setting up. In quarantine, you have the chance to get every pest they might be bringing to your other birds. You and I both know that many folks just don't manage their birds as well as we'd like them to. And mites can literally suck the life out of a chicken. I've only brought in that one rooster about 8 years ago and he was covered with lice, poor guy, as well as having favus and malnutrition. DE did kill the lice, but if it hadn't, I was ready to get out the big guns because lice are worse than the poultry dust for them.

 

[hunterhart1113]

Yeah. Well the person I got my birds from is very reputable in my breed and I contacted her about this and she said that she has never had lice or mites in her flock and she uses DE just like we do. Anyways, I am going to do some of this this weekend and I will get back to the post on Sunday or Monday. Thanks again everyone for the help

 

[speckledhen]

Good luck to you!