Bird Cage Protectors for Small Coop?

[TheBrumstead]

My husband and I are (foolishly) watching Infested! on Animal Planet... The one family had bird mites in the house. They showed a part of an article where it said "chicken coop". Now he's convinced that my girls are going to get mites and they are going to come in the house. I'd rather not put chemicals on the birds. Can I use a Bird Cage Protector in a small coop? My coop is 4x4.

Here's what it is if you're not familiar with house birds:

http://www.petmountain.com/product/bird-supplements/11442-504383/bird-cage-protector.html

 

[americanvalkyrie]

It looks like it's made for a much smaller area. Have you thought of diatomaceous earth? It's a mined natural product that saps out the moisture from an exoskeleton animal, so it's used for a lot of organic pest control. It's not dangerous to the family or pets, but you won't want to breathe it in or handle it with bare hands because it's extremely dehydrating to your mucous membranes.

Basically, it's fossilized algae that has been dug up then ground into a powder. You sprinkle it on the bird or in the litter, and the food-grade kind can be fed to them for deworming.

http://www.meyerhatchery.com/productinfo.a5w?session.category=Poultry Supplies&grd_prodone_filter=PRODUCT%5fID%20%3d%20%27RLE10%27

(Hoping the link works.) If not, check out Meyer Hatchery for a product called Red Lake Earth, or you can get it at a greenhouse or garden supply store.

 

[Ksane]

Both useless, sorry. Frontline drops or spray, or Ivomec Eprinex work wonders for mites and lice.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Both useless, sorry. Frontline drops or spray, or Ivomec Eprinex work wonders for mites and lice.

Good to know! I haven't yet dealt with the problem.

 

[TheBrumstead]

We haven't had any issues yet either. I used the Protector when I had my parrot, but it never had access to wild birds, so don't know if it actually worked or not.

Yes, I'm familiar with DE. We have some leftover from using it in the house to get rid of fleas. Didn't work, but did kill ladybugs, and killed our vacuum.

 

[TheBrumstead]

Both useless, sorry. Frontline drops or spray, or Ivomec Eprinex work wonders for mites and lice.

I didn't know you could use Frontline on chickens. The cat or dog one? Do you use it as prevention, or after you see a problem?