Advice on Sevin dust applications.

[kellyjo8437]

With the heat in Florida, comes the bugs!!! I wanted to check in here to make sure I do a few things right, since I am not completely sure of myself. I have two large cages that hold some of my poultry. These cages consist of wire walls with frame and dirt bottoms. Each cage has several egg boxes and a roof. One cage is 14' L x 8' W x 5' H and the other is 6' L x 8' W x 5' W. I am wanting to treat my chickens/muscovy ducks with Sevin 5% dust to prevent/treat lice and or mites. I know to dust each chicken, especially around the vent and under wings, and to make sure they do not inhale the dust. My confusion is do I dust the dirt of the floor of their cages? Do I dust the hay in their egg boxes? Normally to clean the cages I rake the sand and poo and leaves once a week and pressure wash roof and cage frames as needed. I hand wash egg boxes once a month and change hay once a week. If I do dust the cage bottoms (sand and leaves) do I need to not throw scratch down for them? I don't want them eating the Sevin dust do I? I normally throw them Sunflower seeds and scratch directly into the sand so they can hunt. Do I need to make sure food is in a non spill bowl so none gets in the sand? Sorry to carry on! Just don't want to poison the poor things! I also have 2 china geese and one giant rooster that roam the yard inside a fence. They only have a little hut they sleep in sometimes but don't get locked down. Do I powder them and their little hut too? Or should I be treating with something else altogether? Thanks everyone

 

[galanie]

With all the cleaning you do, I wouldn't dust anything but the birds.

 

[Lollipop]

Probably best to determine if they actually have lice/mites before treating. To do that, pick one or two off the roost at night and look around the vent and under the tail with a good flashlight. If you don't see any, don't worry. To answer some of your questions, dust everything, floor, nest, ALL of the birds, everything. Dust the free range rooster, but probably not his roosting area or the geese. Geese are remarkably immune to most everything, most of the time. You don't hafta worry about them eating enough Sevin to hurt them, so dusting the dirt floor is fine. Wild birds are usually blamed for lice, but hay can sometimes bring them in also. Be sure the hay you buy is fresh and look it over good before spreading it. I've used Sevin to dust broodies with new chicks with no problem, so I don't hesitate recommending it for everything. Have fun.........Pop