Frontline for lice

[Tala]

When I read on here people said to use a drop of Frontline per bird for lice. Ummmm what concentration of Frontline were you guys using??

I have "Purple" Frontline, for 85lb dogs, and I have plenty of it, so I'd rather use it (if I can) than go out and buy a gallon of cattle pour-on, ya know??

 

[Judy]

I doubt very much that a drop would hurt the chicken, but you could be safe and check with the vet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

theres a thread going on pest and predators about this very thing. look where it says do you take a bath after being with your chickens.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Thanks for the heads up, perhaps it hadn't been mentioned yet when I searched yesterday!

 

[SandyK]

All I did to get rid of lice was dust each bird with Sevin and then DE in the coop. Not a sighting since then, that was a year ago. Now I always keep DE in the bedding.

 

[mypicklebird]

Frontline spray is fipronil, just like the prepackaged vials for dogs/cats- but in a spray dilute form. Fipronil has been heavily implicated in the death/decrease in honey bees & probably native bees. It does work on chickens, but please don't use this if you have any other safer options for the environment. It is VERY long lived in the environment, and if you are spraying this on your birds you are harming the good insects on your property as well as killing the lice on the chicken. Also off label.

Pyrethin/permethrin powder (poultry dust) still works on the majority of the lice and biting mites we see on our birds. It is cheap and does not last long in the environment. There IS some resistance being seen, but again- please don't even consider using fipronil until you have exhausted the on label meds, herbal remedies, ect. For anyone who is reading this---Please don't buy it just because it is easy, and you hear it works well.

If you care about the honey bees and native bees around your county, don't use long lasting insecticides like fipronil AKA frontline. If you have heard about colony collapse disorder - fipronil is thought to be one of the main offenders. Ok, off my soapbox.

 

[teach1rusl]

I would go with a cat dose of the frontline, since it's generally for cats 8 weeks old (maybe 2 lbs?) up to 10 lbs. Most chickens would be in that range. My cat packets reads .017 fl. oz. I think when I used dog frontline I used .5 cc, but I'd double check that. Also, I found Adams flea and tick spray to be very effective...

 

[Tala]

Quote:
According to what I have read, that colony collapse disorder was caused by mass sprayings on crops and big-time industrial uses, not someone using drops on the back of their pet's neck.

I have ALREADY treated with Sevin dust, twice. It's messy and time consuming and DOESN"T SEEM TO BE WORKING WELL ENOUGH!!! There was a noticible REDUCTION in bugs, but they need to be GONE or else we'll be back to full blown infestation again. I'm actually more afraid of Permethrin than Frontline, but you use whatever you are comfortable with.