HOW does FRONTLINE work in Chickens?

[Georgia Nana]

First of all, let me say that I have used Frontline on my chickens as a "just in case" measure, so I don't know if it actually kills the mites and lice. My daughter was a Manufacture's Representative for the Company that manufactures Frontline, and knows the product inside and out. Without repeating all the scientific stuff, she says that the oil glandS are instrumental in distributing Frontline through the animals skin. My question is...since chickens only have ONE oil gland, how does it work on them??? How is it distributed to all the areas of the chickens' bodies?

 

[BantamLover21]

I have no idea how it works on chickens, as, like you said, they only have one oil gland. However, I can tell your that it does work, and kills mite/lice fast. Whenever I notice that my chickens have mites, I use a Q-tip to apply some Frontline to the skin near their vent. By the next day after treatment, every single mite is always gone. For my chickens, it works for about a month, but I know that some people have reported it keeping their birds mite-free for up to 6 months.

 

[Georgia Nana]

You may have hit on something. Maybe putting in the vent or oil gland area enables the chicken to distribute it via preening. I have tried to find a tech veterinarian to help me with this, but so far no luck. Your success rate it a testament unto itself! Why do your chickens get mite and lice so often? As far as I can tell, my flock of 30 have never had them. Am I just naïve? No feather loss, no scratching, I have looked but see nothing. Maybe I need to look again!

 

[Michael Apple]

I've used it in the past for Northern Fowl Mites. Now, it was Frontline spray, not the concentrate in a sealed tube. One small spritz below the vent and at the base of the neck, where it stops and the cape begins, wiped them out. It has a thirty day residual. I don't use it regularly and have found my regiments of cleaning and treating the coop keep the birds mite and lice free.

I know that doesn't answer your question about how Fipronil is dispersed throughout the body of a chicken, though I am more comfortable with Permectrin II or Ravap EC since it is labeled for use on and around poultry. It has the same residual time as Frontline.

 

[christie22701]

I know where the oil gland is on a parrot but not on a chicken...where is it?

 

[Georgia Nana]

The oil gland is the same on chickens and parrots

 

[BantamLover21]

I know where the oil gland is on a parrot but not on a chicken...where is it?

It is near the base of the tail, under the feathers. It appears as a projection from the skin, often with a small feather on top.

 

[Georgia Nana]

I guess it's just one of those things that we must accept because it works! Sometimes I wish that I weren't such a "Why?" kind of person where science were concerned! Just accept it and move on!

 

[peepsandaudrey]

Hello
My question about frontline and the chickens is what about their eggs, Does it pass through the eggs, can they be eaten? Thanks so much