Day 1 In The war against Poultry Lice- Weapon of choice- Gardstar Dust

[JP101010]

I have a broody hen (finishing the last week of 9 in quarantine) and so we gave her an egg from our other hens which we were almost positive was not viable.. after a week and a half we candled it before diposing and to our surprise there was a chick inside waving hello.. so be it we figured and the night we heard peeping we sat there and watched closely (our very first hatch) .. as we watched we suddenly realized

there was poultry lice all over her.

after jumping on the internet and searching through the forum i was horrified reading posts like " cant seem to get rid of them no matter what i try" and " i guess i will never get rid of them"

Say it aint so , please

I found Gardstar Poultry Dust for lice and mites- recommended by the vet. I know all about DE which was the only thing available locally but i also have heard that unless your prepared to dust every day, and even then , it may not take care of an infestation. So i drove out to TSC in brooksville - 2lbs for $7 ( 1 lb per 100 birds or 1 lb per 40 sq ft for bedding)
I called the companies phone number listed on the can to see about use on broody hens rearing a 2 day old chick- which after getting transferred to the right department i was told to let the excess shake off before reuniting mama and chick. I also opted to do daily bedding changes vs. dusting the cage ( for obvious concerns)

The Vet said using a bag to dust the chickens would be safest.
so we put a bit into a grocery bag , put the hen into it up to her chin (sitting on the table top) and me and hubby shook and patted and poofed away. It was hard to tell how good we got the white frizzle hen but we definetly were sure we dusted the balck golden laced polish hen- she looked like a powered doughnut

So here we are- 2 cages squeaky clean and two very irate , very dusty hens.. I also rubbed my finger in the powder and dabbed the little chicks back and bum.
The Calendar is marked- we will repeat in 4 days , every 4 days, for 2 weeks..
I am open to any advice , or suggestions... possibly even some peace of mind and hope from someone who has won the war on poultry lice?!?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I did, I used Ivermectin first, then i found Epernix both pour-on, I cleaned out the coops of all bedding, sprayed out the coops top to bottom with sevin spray mixed according to directions, let it dry and air out before letting the flock back in then I caught all 30 something chickens one by one and put drops of Ivermectin or Epernix on their neck [skin] at the base of their neck where the wings start. Then in 7 days I did it all over again. now I treat every 3 months to keep them off. With a small chick I would stick with the dust. Just follow the directions of your vet. When my chicks are 2 months old I use the Epernix on them. It's alot easier for me.

 

[Judy]

Looked it up, Gardstar is a brand of pyrethrin, Gardstar Plus is a brand of permethrin/pyrethrin. Lots of threads on here about how these or Sevin will work, and pyrethrin is probably the safest for chicks. It also is inactivated in sunlight, if I remember correctly from gardening. It should kill them, but they hide in cracks in the coop, under roosts, in litter, etc. I imagine you'll need to work on the coop, too, to knock them off entirely.

I use a permethrin/pyrethrin spray to spray in the coop, and Sevin in the litter -- not a lot of either, but then I've never seen any lice/mites. I can't believe there have never been any present, though. Agree with you about DE.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[JP101010]

I am glad that this infestation has not spread to the flock in the chicken barn...what a nightmare.
Thankfully these two hens are in plastic bottom / coated wire top ferret cages- super easy to clean- no cracks or crevices like in a wooden coop. I do have these gals cages in the house so I have vacumed and emptied the bag. and plan to do so with every 4th day treatment
should i do anything more with the room they are in?


also i originally set out to use sevin 5 , but it states on the package that its not safe to be used on or near animals- maybe they changed the packaging or formula recently?

FLOCKWATCHER WROTE " I've never seen any lice/mites. I can't believe there have never been any present, though"
you better knock on wood

because i swear i just said those exact words a week ago- how we are so lucky to have never had an issue with it...then.. BAM!

 

[zookeeper15133]

Broodys tend to get them worse than the others because they don't dust bathe.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
On the Sevin 5%, I know, it is used off label, very frequently. You saw the link above from Ohio University. I really think it's just that no one is willing to do a bunch of studies on backyard chickens and meds; the only research seems to be that which applies to commercial operations. Just as we use cattle, sheep and goat wormers on chickens because the only wormer approved for chickens kills only one type of worm, and they certainly get others. Here's a similar article about wormers:

http://healthybirds.umd.edu/Disease/Deworming Birds.pdf You'll notice it's about broilers and breeders -- again, commercial.

On not seeing any lice / mites on mine, I know! And I get broodies fairly often, and particularly check and spray them. I also spray the butts and under wings of broodies, and keep the litter, nests and roosts dusted or sprayed. And I have a metal coop, and they often do their dust bathing where I've sprinkled Sevin. You'd think I'd have seen some at some point, anyway, though.

 

[seminolewind]

The cheapest , pretty much most effective is Sevin dust. I also shake some in the nests.
DE may be good as a preventative, but it will not kill lice on your chicken.
Some packages, like Sevin, and anything we use for chickens that is for something else puts a disclaimer on their product. It gets them off the legal hook. It's not because they've tested it on chickens. It's because they have not tested it on chickens.

 

[JP101010]

although alot of people have used and will still use sevin dust , i wont because it contains carbaryl and it states on the package : the ingredients "cause cancer and birth defects" to humans and animals- as it states clearly on the package, as mandated by law...
I wouldnt consider this insecticide as an option , esp. when there are several good poultry dusts available that are the same price. Walmarts sevin 5 dust was $4.99 , at the feed store a two pound shaker is 7.99 - The poultry dust by Gardstar ( as recommended by the vet) purchased a TSC was 6.99 for a 2lb shaker which treats 200 birds...

seems foolish to assume the risk for you and your animals.