Frontline ??? 2007 post follow up

[MrPaw]

After reading all 14 pages of the original post on frontline I have a few questions.
1) It's been many years since the OP question was posted. Are there any updates on the safe use of Frontline on laying hens?
2) If the majority of users still recommend this product what is the egg withdrawal period? This is my biggest concern as I do not sell my eggs but they are donated.
3) What herbal supplements can be given orally to chickens as a natural deterrent?
4) What did prior generations of farmers use to control mites and lice?
5) What do commercial chicken houses use to control mites and lice?

I had always picked up my chicks from TSC with no pest problems in the past 6 years-none. This year I went to a so called "breeder" and came back with a tremendous problem with worms and lice on four new pullets. I do not have any help so all that dusting every month is a bigger chore than I can handle alone.

 

[Eggcessive]

Frontline is not approved for in chickens. It is present in the eggs for a long time. There have been cases of banning eggs in Europe where the chemical was found in eggs.

Have you tried using permethrin 10 spray or garden dust on the chickens and to treat your coop? It works very well applied at least twice at 7 or 10 day intervals depending on either mites or lice. Elector PSP is an expensive product, but users say it may be used even less to be effective, and goes a long way.

Ivermectin Pour-on, which also is not approved for poultry can be effective against lice a mites when used on the back of the neck over the spine at 0.1 ml per every 2 pounds of weight, and repeated after 14 days. I would not eat eggs for at least 1 month after. The biggest problem with mites or lice, is to treat the coop by emptying bedding and nests, treating with permethrin, getting into all hiding places incracks and crevices, and putting in new bedding. Many who use straw have found that it can harbor mites.

 

[Folly's place]

The biggest problem with mites or lice is the reinfections from wild songbirds who also like chicken feed, and share space with the flock. Permethrin works great, and then they get reinfected. I've gone years at times with no issues, and then had repeated episodes every few months some years, like 2019. Bah! Humbug!
Ivermectin works great to, and is easier to use, and I hate to use it because it's just on their list as a good product, and so long egg withdrawals needed, and full disclosure if eggs are going to other folks.
Mary