Dusting Chickens seems very wrong...

[Lebking]

Hi,

I tried to dust my chickens with lice treatment but they freaked out. Screaming and running around the coop, flapping their feathers, almost strangling themselves to get out of there! Why is this? When I tried to lift one upside down, it started flapping like mad, and then just got so tired it gave up like it was ready to die...

Very disconcerting. I stopped doing it because they hated it so much but now their rear is red and full of lice...

How do I treat them without distressing them?

Thanks

 

[easttxchick]

The easiest way is to do it at night and pull them off the roost one at a time-much less stressful for them and for you.

 

[Southernbelle]

I usually set them one at a time in a Rubbermaid tote. Then I pour a bunch of powder in my hand and work it all over their bodies. The extra falls to the bottom of the tote and I can scoop it up and use it on the next chicken. They're still not crazy about it, but if they're standing on their own feet, they're a little less crazy.

I plan on using Ivermectin this next time. It's a cattle wormer, but it's also effective on lice and mites.

 

[dawg53]

I put sevin dust in a plastic garbage bag,then the chicken with just it's head sticking out and gently "shake and bake." Then I dust their head with my fingers careful not to get any in their eyes. Then I let them go and they shake themselves off and away they go. I repeat in 10 days to kill any eggs that may have hatched.Piece of cake!