Frontline conflicting information, feeling nervous

[maddogdodge]

Can anyone please help me out. I'm freaking out a little bit...

I've seen Frontline spray recommended all over the place (BYC, local poultry groups, even my vet didn't question it when I mentioned it) for chickens to treat lice and mites. I've used it several times of the last few years with great results and no problems.

Most places I've seen it recommended have also said there is no egg withholding period.

I've just gone out and treated my chooks with it now, (1 spray under 1 wing per bird)... come back inside and decided I'd lookup what the active ingredient is just to see if I can find anything on withholding periods. What I've found is really scaring me and I don't know what to do...

Most sites talking about the the active ingredient (fipronil) are saying that it should never be used in poultry and it WILL pass into the eggs and it IS dangerous to humans if regularly consumed in those eggs.

What I can't find is how long do I wait before I can eat eggs from my chickens again?

I feel like a total idiot and wish I'd done this research before I went and applied it to my chooks.

Does anyone have any advice, helpful links or just anything to ease my mind (or confirm my fears I guess)...

 

[Folly's place]

The best site for information about approved and not approved drugs for livestock, including poultry, is FARAD.org, for the USA.
Frontline is a lovely product but is not approved for any livestock species, because it is long- lasting is tissues. Especially in the hen's egg yolks.
Many people, including some small animal (pet only) veterinarians, just don't realize that there's a big difference between what's good to use in critters that we aren't eating, and in species that are on the menu.
Different meds are approved and not approved in different countries; I just noticed your address, so there's likely a site specific for you out there too.
Rules change over time too, causing more confusion.
Many of use are growing our own chickens and eating their eggs, hoping for a more wholesome product, with fewer 'additives', so adding drugs that aren't used commercially makes very little sense to me.
It's one of those 'live and learn' experiences that we've all had. Likely eating some Frontline won't be a big deal; you've already been doing it, right? Selling the eggs would be problematic, and just stop using it.
Mary