Chicken Fleas?

[Lanissa86]

So I had my house sprayed for fleas today and the guy was saying looks like we had chicken fleas? I have heard of them getting mites, but fleas??? He said they are tiny and don't bite humans much, just very annoying. Well, my babies were 7 weeks old when my dog killed them, and Booger has no fleas on him, So I have no idea what he is talking about!

He said we had tons! Can these little pests establish THAT fast!???

 

[Lanissa86]

Anybody?

 

[S0rcy]

"Fleas Ceratophyllus gallinae are similar to mites, in that they infest the birds but breed in the soil or litter of your fowl shed. They can be treated in the same manner as described for red mites. Unlike normal fleas, Stick-fast Fleas Echidnophaga gallinae bury their entire heads into the host and spend days attached in this manner. They usually appear around the eyes and face as black "eyebrows". Smear a light coating of an oily substance over these insects and they suffocate very quickly. Olive oil and baby oil are useful for this, as they do not irritate the birds' eyes. Treat the shed floors as for mites and ticks. Like mites, all fleas will infest your home if left unchecked and will feed on any living warm-blooded animals."

From: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/chickens_retired/58107/3

Authors profile: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/greggles

 

[Lanissa86]

Thanks for that info! But still have yet to see them, all I have seen are the normal fleas that get on dogs and cats and such. My chicks are inside, and I thoroughly checked them, especially Booger since he is the only one that has been outside. Did not see any, so maybe he was just telling me as a heads up or something. No coop yet either, its still only half built. I appreciate the info you provided, definitely will be keeping my eyes peeled for any!

 

[Bigmuddaddy]

OOOHHHH my God these fleas are awful. They are the stick tight kind on my chickens. Started on one hen and spread to all the birds. I tried organics with DE on ground and on chickens. Then tried sevin dust, poultry powder, and sevin dust spray. They are still everywhere. They killed one hen. I would go out late at night with a flash light and hens are standing up scratching their heads. They can't even sleep. I even went with fresh shaved cedar for the nests to repel them. The combs have turned pale and I see the fleas crawling and some buried into skin around eyes that I can not brush off whith my hand. I just started chickens in May of this year. Brand new pens. I figured if they were going to kill the chickens then I would get stronger stuff. I have used bayer flea spray, a farm citronella and permethrin spray, and indoor outdoor home defense max. Chickens are still scratching like crazy. Their are too many to get off individually. Next step is rubbing all their heads down with vaseline. My pens and coops look like it has snowed DE and Sevin Dust. I am frustrated. I sprayed the chickens directly with all the supplies above until it looked like they took a bath. Fleas still remain. I am in North Florida. I guess I should turn all the chickens loose and burn the coops down. I have read every article I can find on google and nothing is working. I know some farmers with a pesticide license maybe I can get something to kill every bug in a ten mile radius. I have mounted my assault over about a months time. I will let you know if anything short of Napalm will get rid of them.