Anyone not have problems with Mites and Lice?

I've had chickens for almost 5 years and never had any problems with mites, lice etc til recently. Can't get rid of them. I've scrubbed out the coops, dusted them & used ivermectin pour on. They seem to go away for awhile but comes back? Its such a PAIN!!!!
 
I've had my current flock almost seven years and nothing. I don't treat, use DE, etc. They do have all the horse poo they can eat/roll in
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, don't know if that makes a difference. I do free range and they have several areas to dust bathe in. In the coop I use whatever I can easily come by--shavings or hay, usually. I do the deep litter method and clean out probably twice a year. No mites, lice, scaly legs, diseases, intestinal parasites that I can tell. Now if the predators were as easy to manage!

edited---I don't buy anything but chicks, also, but have had the neighbor throw their mom's unwanted birds over the fence on two seperate occasions. We also have wild sparrow/finches/whatever that consider the feeders a buffet.
 
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I think it just SEEMS like you see a lot of posts about lice/mites...I really think it's the minority of people who fight those pests. The only time I've dealt with lice/mites was with a rooster we picked up from a farm...and we treated him for over two weeks BEFORE he was allowed to join my flock, of which I've never had an issue (knock on wood).
 
Wow there are some of us out there. At least I know I am not overlooking something. As a matter of fact, sometimes I think we can try too hard and that makes things worse. I also only get day old chicks, never have gotten a chicken from anyone else. I don't give antibiotics except in dire emergencies, (I don't use them myself), and I really stick with feed and not tons of treats. I do sprout lintels once a week for the girls and that is about it. They drink from puddles, eat worms, snakes and bugs. I just let them live like they wish. However, I will admit that if any of my girls are feeling a little down I do give them a spa treatment
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I'm on my third year of raising chickens, and I did have lice one time. It was at the end of winter, beginning of spring. Apparently, wild birds may have given it to my flock, when they entered the hen house seeking shelter from foul weather.....

I used Seven dust two times, did a total coop clean out, and I haven't seen any since. I try and pick up a chicken and inspect them once or twice a week......

What is this pour on stuff? Ivomec? Is it expensive?
 
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You can get Ivomec at TS. I've only used the paste (for horses), and it was pretty cheap for a horse sized dose (I squirted drops into porous bread). Adams also seems to work well on chickens. I've read of some using Frontline, but haven't tried it myself.
 
We get visited by wild turkeys, pheasants, grouse and you name it (I live about 2 miles from a game farm). I haven't had problems with mites but we've seen our fair share of lice. Frontline and eprinex are my best friends.
 

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