Help please ... What do you use to prevent Lice / Worms and Mites?

[Tweetys]

Hiya what do you use to prevent mites, lice worms etc ? I'm aware that putting a bit of apple cider in the water for worms is good (how much do you use - a cap full?) . Is pestene any good for lice or anything else I can use in place of to prevent mites / lice etc ?

When I muck out the coop I remove everything and clean with water and detergent and scrub, then disinfect the coop - dry. Then Ripcord around the coop - dry. Then add the woodshavings . I muck it out every 6 months (I clean their poop daily and replace woodshavings) Would love to know what other people do in their coop.. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome , thankyou!

 

[Mrs. K]

I have never washed a coop out in my life. Just a good broom-ming a couple of times a year. Good clean bedding, pretty deep, with scratch thrown on top of it a couple of time to break up the manure. Stays pretty nice.

Apple cider vinegar does nothing for chickens, but it will keep your water container from growing the green slime in the summer time.

If you have lice or mites, you need real medicine applied carefully and according to directions. I have had chickens for years, and (whispering) we have never had either mites or lice, but we live in pure sand for dust bathing.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

I check for pests regularly...then use permethrin to treat if I find some.
-Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.
-Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.
-Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.
-Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

I have never washed a coop out in my life.

Me Neither!
Getting the coop wet with anything can encourage growth of stuff you don't want growing, be they plant or animal.

-I use poop boards under roosts with thin(<1/2") layer of sand/PDZ mix, sifted daily(takes 5-10mins) into bucket going to friends compost.

-Scrape big or wet poops off roost and ramps as needed.

-Pine shavings on coop floor, add some occasionally, totally changed out once or twice a year, old shavings added to run.

-Runs have semi-deep litter, never clean anything out, just add smaller dry materials on occasion, add larger wood chippings as needed.

-Nests are bedded with straw, add some occasionally, change out if needed(broken egg).

There is no odor, unless a fresh cecal has been dropped and when I open the bucket to add more poop.

That's how I keep it 'clean', have not found any reason to clean 'deeper' in 5 years.

 

[FishMtFarm]

I use cydectin pour on. Just a few drops on the nape of the neck and it keeps mites and round worms away.

 

[townchicks]

There is no effective "prevention" for worms, lice or mites, other than keeping wild birds out of your chicken area, and quarantining any new birds. In reality, your chickens have them, or they don't. If they have them, treat. If they don't, party on!

 

[FishMtFarm]

There is no effective "prevention" for worms, lice or mites, other than keeping wild birds out of your chicken area, and quarantining any new birds. In reality, your chickens have them, or they don't. If they have them, treat. If they don't, party on!

Vets put flea drops on dogs to prevent fleas. Vets recommend worming horses every couple months to prevent worms. Vets recommend corid to prevent coccidiosis in chicks. There are ways to prevent lice and worms in chickens and that is to do drops, or dust coops, or even use spray ons on a routine bases. It’s all a matter in opinion and preference if you would like to do these. Bit OP, please keep in mind that all animals always have some sort of low number parasite in their body’s and preventative measures are used to keep numbers low and under control.

 

[aart]

Vets put flea drops on dogs to prevent fleas. Vets recommend worming horses every couple months to prevent worms. Vets recommend corid to prevent coccidiosis in chicks. There are ways to prevent lice and worms in chickens and that is to do drops, or dust coops, or even use spray ons on a routine bases. It’s all a matter in opinion and preference if you would like to do these.

....and doctors over prescribe antibiotics, look where that got us.
So yeah, let's just sheep along and pour chemicals onto and into everything whether they're needed or not.

Bit OP, please keep in mind that all animals always have some sort of low number parasite in their body’s and preventative measures are used to keep numbers low and under control.

A healthy animal will keep most in check. Unnecessarily treating 'something' can throw that balance out of whack and keep it there.

Sorry for the rantishness but I keep chickens for eggs and meat that is not 'over-treated'.

 

[townchicks]

Vets put flea drops on dogs to prevent fleas. Vets recommend worming horses every couple months to prevent worms. Vets recommend corid to prevent coccidiosis in chicks.

Those are not prevention, those are treatments. Vets do not recommend flea treatments unless the dogs are exposed to fleas. Horses graze in pastures that expose them to worms, so again, treatment. Again, if they have them, it is treatment, if they don't have them, it is not going to do anything to stop them from getting them. It's not prevention. If you chose to treat your birds, on the presumption that they have picked up those parasites, fine, go right ahead. I chose to wait until and if, my animals do have them. Even my dog doesn't get flea treatment until he has fleas, which he doesn't most of the time. We may have different philosophies about caring for our birds parasites, but that it's not preventative, that's just fact.

 

[FishMtFarm]

It’s not a fact. A once monthly heart worm tablet prevents heart worm. Once monthly flea drops continue to work for 39 days to prevent fleas from getting on an animal. And like I said, it’s all in opinion and preference so no need to jump on me. Sometimes preventative is far safer than treatment so I opt to prevent. Doesn’t mean everyone else has too. Just offering options.

 

[townchicks]

It’s not a fact. A once monthly heart worm tablet prevents heart worm.

Not really. Heartworm "prevention" only prevents the adult heart worm by treating the larva before they develop. Thus, in reality, it is a treatment, not a preventative, regardless of the name. Same with flea treatments, they don't stop (prevent) fleas from getting on the dog, they kill them after the fact. You may think this is just semantics, but I think it is important to be clear.