How do you wash a chicken? (I'm serious) Insect eggs on feathers...

[ChickaD]

I really appreciate everybody's help and hearing your experiences. Wonder if it might work to mix in some Dawn with the dog shampoo? After the wash (hoping for the drip dry approach), once each "girl" is dry, do we re-dust, maybe with DE because it would be too soon to use a Permethrin dust again? They were thoroughly dusted yesterday, Wednesday, which would wash off.

I'll drop dead of shock if our gals settle down and act calm for any of this - they had a conniption fit just having their bottoms dusted!

Have any of you actually used a hair drier on your chickens?

 

[hcammack]

I have been treating with DE every 4 days and it reduced the population but its not all gone I will do this next week to really help get rid of them also they hens need a bath LOL I will probably only was 3 or 4 or the 12.
Thanks for the idea!
Henry

 

[ChickaD]

So, Henry, when you give your chickens a bath, don't forget to add a little rubber ducky!

Are you treating your flock for lice or mites? I think we're dealing with lice, since I saw something black & the size of a sesame seed, too large for a mite. We also noticed a few black mystery bugs, lentil-size, crawling on the floor or walls. I haven't seen them mentioned in any pest listing. The DE should take 'em out.

 

[hcammack]

we have small yellowish mites and they lay egg clusters its mainly effecting two birds the rest seem ok and yes I checked all 12 individual every other day for like two weeks

I DE the coop weekly right now and also the birds every three or four days it seems to have reduced the population drasticaly but the faverolles need a bath any way they are really nasty right now.

Henry

 

[ChickaD]

So after spending forever cleaning out the coop yesterday, please don't say it has to be done again in a week?

As long as we're DE'ing. I'm trying also to get them interested in a dust bath area with play sand and DE...but they haven't tried it. Probably since it's not nearly as fun as digging up my perennials!

 

[my first peepers]

Hi, I just wanted to say good luck with all of this! SOunds nasty!
Blackbird went to his new home yesterday, he's getting a pen with his own hen...hope he'll be happy!
Take care!
K

 

[ChickaD]

Hi K & thanks for the good wishes......we used every one of them today!

We bathed the two really infested hens, using flea shampoo and Dawn dish detergent...I feel like such a bad mommy for not realizing there was a problem earlier

May have egg sack nightmares tonight!

(Perhaps I'll strike "hit the sack" from my vocabulary for now) Plus more DE in the coop & decided to isolate the worst of the hens since she has raw places and we want to make sure she gets a break from flock persecution, at least at night, their meanest time. We just came in from dust DEing both flocks, from old to young. They were highly offended by the butt checks, but that's life now.

Tomorrow: two more baths needed and that should do it. This may be too much information.......

Well, I've learned a lot in a few days......call it "20-20 hensight"!

How did things work out with your roosters: "To keep or not to keep; that is the question"? Are you keeping Partridge?

Side note: next week I'm going to call and get prices on DE & shipping from Custom milling...I'll start a new thread with the info...maybe you and/or others will want to share some of the bag. Haven't found it locally at all.

Thanks to everyone who helped educate me and walk us through this lousy event!

 

[my first peepers]

If it is cheaper to ship more DE to one place I would definitely split some with you. Let me know what you find out!
Partridge/Blackbird did go to his new home yesterday. I hope it works out!
How have your girls reacted to the baths so far? Pictures!

 

[ChickaD]

Oops, K, I forgot Partridge IS Blackbird and was the one being re-homed. Tweety and Jewel made me promise no paparazzi until their feathers grow back in!

It'll take me that long to figure out the whole posting pics thing...time to bribe our kids for a tutorial, right?

Jewel's (NHR) reaction was to head for the wild underbrush and only reappear at dusk...I thought she was a goner - gulp! Tweety (BO) amazed me by hanging around my feet as I did coop chores, as if to say, "You're my hero...even if some of those nasty feathers had to go! This whole deal has been a BUM rap! Gee, I think this calls for a treat!"

chickens are as different as our kids.....wait, they kinda ARE our kids!

Your pics are grrrrrreat!

 

[Shared Acres]

Honestly, I wash all my animals in regular people shampoo and then condition them. Then they smell so lovely!

And just so you know dandruff shampoo is good at stripping (Use it when a hair color is too dark) so maybe it will help kill off insects?

(However, don't use Head & Shoulders, they do some cruel testing on animals--from what my step momma says.)

Just my two cents.