Do I have mites? what to do?

[casportpony]

Don't be confused by lack of information, or misinformation. Ivermectin may work for external parasites that come in contact with the bird's blood, but not lice. Lice scurry around the body chewing on feather shafts and skin. They lay eggs as well. Ivermectin , whether given orally or topically won't do anything. Go to the store and get some Sevin-5 powder and dust your birds. It has carbaryl which wipes out lice and mites quickly. Dust once and do it again in 7 days. Keep it out of their faces while dusting. Part the feathers as you dust along the bird's body as you want it to get on the bird's skin. A panty hose stocking works well for containing the powder. Clean all the litter out of your coop, spray a permethrin based product like Permectrin II. Follow label directions and spray down the walls, floors, roosts, walls, and nests. Put new shavings back in the coop.

X2! I recently tried treating a couple for lice with ivermectin, even gave them a huge amount and it did nothing for the lice!

-Kathy

 

[enola]

That's strange Eprinex works on my chickens.

 

[kelck22]

Worked for me! No more lice! You have to use the ivomec brand, oil based not alcohol based.

 

[enola]

If you use an injectible type of Ivomec as drops on a bird's body, you are not going to get good results.

 

[Eggcessive]

Lice are fast moving with white eggs at the base of feathers. Mites are slow moving with gray eggs. Here are some pictures showing the difference between lice and mites. http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

 

[jmandawn]

My husband told me that when he was a kid his family had nearly 200 chickens at any given time. They would go the local CO-OP and buy Malathion. He said to use one cap full to a gallon of water which would create about a 0.5% solution. They would take a washtub and fill it with 20 gallons of water and the appropriate amount of Malathion and catch the chickens one/two at a time and dunk them in it up to their head. If there was any kind of insect on the chickens they would fall off as they were coming back out of the water. Very cheap and very effective way to get rid of mites/lice and other non wanted critters.

We used Malathion spray around the house when we lived in Tennessee to keep ants/bugs away and out of the house. Worked great!

 

[cheeperchick]

Don't be confused by lack of information, or misinformation. Ivermectin may work for external parasites that come in contact with the bird's blood, but not lice. Lice scurry around the body chewing on feather shafts and skin. They lay eggs as well. Ivermectin , whether given orally or topically won't do anything. Go to the store and get some Sevin-5 powder and dust your birds. It has carbaryl which wipes out lice and mites quickly. Dust once and do it again in 7 days. Keep it out of their faces while dusting. Part the feathers as you dust along the bird's body as you want it to get on the bird's skin. A panty hose stocking works well for containing the powder. Clean all the litter out of your coop, spray a permethrin based product like Permectrin II. Follow label directions and spray down the walls, floors, roosts, walls, and nests. Put new shavings back in the coop.

Thanks..all of this feedback is making me very itchy, lol. Would Prozap poultry powder work the same as Sevin?

 

[Michael Apple]

Thanks..all of this feedback is making me very itchy, lol. Is Prozap poultry powder the same as Sevin?

You're welcome. No. It contains permethrin instead of carbaryl. It will work though if that's what you can get. I personally prefer Ravap EC or Permectrin II. Both have a 30 day residual which means you don't have to treat again 7 days later like dusts require. It is a spray which can be sprayed on birds or premises. It can also be used as a dip. Both are labeled for poultry.

 

[Michael Apple]

X2! I recently tried treating a couple for lice with ivermectin, even gave them a huge amount and it did nothing for the lice!

-Kathy

I recommend what I've experienced. People who say Ivermectin works for worms or lice, likely never had birds infested with them to begin with. Also, if they don't treat the premises, their birds get re-infested no matter what they use.

 

[casportpony]

Many peafowl people swear by it, but I know better, lol. I must admit, though, that I've only tried using the injectable, not the pour-on, but I did try it orally, topically and SC. I still would like to do the pour-on experiment, but I can't justify spending the $$ just to prove someone wrong.


Edited to add: I know ivermectin works on horse lice, but I guess they're the typre that suck blood?

-Kathy