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[kimchick1]

Seen a little flea like thing on baby chick, it looked white and was crawling on face and in and out of fluff. My little boy has been handling them, any advice thanks

 

[fifelakelooper]

Quote:
It is a mite or lice. Poultry get them often. Did you hatch it from your hens?? If so...then you will want to clean and treat the coop and each hen. I know what to do with chickens and them but not sure on how to treat a small chick. I treated each o fmy hens with "SEvin" and sprayed the coop with pyrethium spray. Not sure what for chicks though.

 

[Anianna]

Several BYCers use Diatomaceous Earth (DE) for pest control as a treatment or after treatment.

Here's a site that talks about it:

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html

If you use it, make sure to use food grade. The pool filter stuff is not good for the chicks.

 

[shadust1]

ewww...i think im gonna go home and check all my babies...i didnt know they can get lice...ewww....

 

[kimchick1]

thanks my Dad bought them from someone for us because we only had one chick hatch out of our batch, will have a look where would i get this flea stuff from

 

[Anianna]

Quote:
Feed stores may carry the DE or you can find it online pretty easily. Here are several brands of it sold on Amazon. Make sure to get food grade. It can be sprinkled directly on chicks to kill lice and then in their bedding to keep new critters from moving in.

 

[KansasBoy]

Most feed stores carry a spray to help with this!

from Kansas!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If the DE does not work, you can get various powders or sprays from the feed store that should. You will need to repeat in about 7 to 10 days. The treatment does not eliminate the eggs, so you have to get the new lice or mites that hatch out. You also need to treat the brooder.

There are different types of mites. Some live and lay eggs on the chickens. Some live in cracks and crevices around the chickens and only attack at night.

If you use DE make very sure it is food grade. The non-food grade has a crystaline form that can be very dangerous. Google silicosis, for example.

Industrial guidelines for handling food grade DE warn against breathing it. Workers are generally required to mask when working around it in powder form. From what I've seen on government sites, I think that is more that the long term effects have not been proven to be dangerous but there are some questions, so industrially they are taking extra precautions, just to be "safe". People with Asthma or other respiratory problems may be more at risk. They use a lot of weasel words like "may" instead of saying anything definite. Again, I am talking about food grade. The stuff that is not food grade has been proven to be dangerous.

I'll mention I have trouble coming up with anything that I trust on the internet about this. Government sites use a lot of weasel words and "legalese" language. Most of the other sites have their own agendas. If someone is selling it, you can tell what their agenda is. Some of the others though, I'm just not sure what their qualifications are. I will mention I have absolutely no qualifications to make my opinions valid. The main reason I am writing all this is to make sure you are using food grade, not the other stuff. The other stuff has been proven to be dangerous. How's that for a legalese disclaimer?

Food grade DE can irritate the eyes, but I have not seen aything that says it has long term harmful effects to the eyes. I am no medical expert and this does not mean there are none, just that I have not found any.

DE works two ways. It has a drying effect. It can absorb a lot of moisture. That is probably what causes eye irritation if it gets in the eyes. It can really dry out your hands if you handle it.

It is made up of the skeletons of tiny marine animals and has razor sharp edges. It kills by slicing the target mites, lice, insects, whatever, and causing them to dehydrate. Basically they lose so much body fluid they dry out and die.

Food grade DE has been approved for use on food with certain precautions, mainly about breathing it. Non-food grade DE is dangerous. Be sure you get the right stuff.

 

[kimchick1]

thanks my local chicken feed place had nothing

also tried pets at home store with no luck, but i hav been given some powder for chickens will this be ok on 1 week old chicks going to do it 2morro as they are driving them mad think they are biting them