Best shampoo to rid mites?

[ChicksNherps]

I have put D.E down, but does anyone have any suggestions to a type of flea and tick shampoo they have used that works?

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

So if you have mites, don't just clean the chickens. You need to scrub out the coop, dust it, scrub the chickens then dust them.

I used Sergeant's Flea and Tick shampoo, and to dust I use Adam's Flea and Tick mist.

Good luck.

 

[ChicksNherps]

My coop is too small to scrub, I cant fit in it =/ I will rake out all the sand and dust it while I have the chickens inside after their baths and give them a dust bowl. I'll rake and dust the outside run too and around the border of it.

 

[LizaBlue]

I had trouble with mites a while back. I did not use shampoo on flock since it was a nightmare on the few I did use it on, although the blow dryer seemed to help kill them (a family I know, only member didn't get lice was the one who used dryer, is why I think this). I got a cheap, lidded, clear plastic tub from the Dollar General that was just a little bit shorter than my smallest chicken. I put a mix of diatomaceous earth, Sevin dust, and the livestock dust for mites in it. I'd say 1/2 DE, and a 1/4 each of the others. I made the chicken squat in the tub so I could get their butt in the dust, then held them with their head out of the tub so they wouldn't breathe it as I scooped the dust onto them as I lifted, seperated, and fluffed their feathers. The ones who had head/neck lice were the hardest - I had to be really careful. When I was sure I had gotten the dust all the way down to their skin, I held them over the tub and gently fluffed them again to get out as much excess as possible, and did it again in the yard before closing them up for the night. Do not get too much dust in their coop, it will cause breathing problems - I did that! Clear everything out, if you can get some Oxine, spray the inside down with it diluted. If you can't get in the coop, use a sponge mop. One type of mite crawls on the bottom of the roost at night. Mites treatments have to be repeated: they lay eggs, so you have to come back and treat again to kill the new ones.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Cleaning out the coop regularly prevents mites, also.

Sometimes "scabs" of mites will form on the base of the feather or on the chickens skin, dust won't kill all of them. So sometimes you have to soak the mites.

 

[ChicksNherps]

well I THINK it was a mite I saw... it was a bug, it was white, but it could have been lice? Either way this should help I guess.

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Sounds like lice, mites are usually tiny tiny critters that are either black, brown or red.

 

[ChickPrincess]

I saw a tiny, tiny bug next to the eye of one of my pullets last week. I'm assuming it was a mite, so treated the whole flock. I used poultry dust (permethrin) from TSC. I dumped some in an old cotton sock, tied it off like a balloon and plopped it all over them while my daughter held them. Make sure and dust really well under their wings and especially their vent area. Retreat in 7 to 10 days. It was actually quite easy... just time consuming. I also cleaned out the coop and dusted all over with the poultry dust and DE.

 

[ChicksNherps]

They weren't tiny so I think they are lice. So far I have bathed one chicken, first try didn't work, I tried mixing the shampoo with water. When I went to dry her they were still alive all over her and the blanket ick! So I did it again but with the straight shampoo and scrubbed and scrubbed, then rinsed and used straight dawn. Then rinsed and then soaked her in water with cider vinegar. That seemed to do the trick, I didn't find any mites when I blow dried her after that. Have her in a crate inside with a big plate of diatomaceous earth if she wants to dust herself and some food and water. I will dust her myself tomorrow morning. So these lice... are they contagious to humans too? like is it regular people lice they get? I hope not

Then we'll all have to wash with dawn! anyway going to do the other two chickens tomorrow and then their coop.

 

[jgcalifornia]

They are host specific so they wont survive once they are off the chicken.

I have bathed my chickens in all kinds of natural shampoo.
The mites come off, but a week later they are back.

So far, the best remedy I have found, in combination with everything else said here in regards to cleaning the coop regularly, was coconut oil!
My White Leghorn waits for me everyday to pick her up and have her skin moisturized with it. It keeps the mites away.