How to Dust????

[Chick CJ]

Okay, a few questions.
First, does anyone have any suggestions for how to dust chickens with DE?
I have an EE who's behind feathers are gone. I have looked and looked her over and can't see any signs of mites/lice. But then I don't know what I am looking for really. I did a google image search and it looks like mites are black and should be able to be seen but are mites and lice the same thing? Is it possible she has them without my being able to see them? She is only 10 months old so I don't think it can be a molt. It is only on her behind at this point. I am thinking of doing the salt water/dawn/wash/rinse thing with her. Can anyone tell me why I shouldn't try this as opposed to poultry dust? Do you stop eating the eggs if you use the dust? Do you stop eating the eggs if you use the soap method? Also, do I do all of my chickens at the same time or wait to see if they all have it? I will clean out the coop and run today also. Yikes!
CJ

 

[hoosier]

Mites and lice are different.
You do not need to avoid the eggs after dusting. (If you were to purchase a dust that would require withholding eggs, it would say.)
I don't have a mental picture of how many feathers are missing. You may not have a problem.
If you do believe you have a problem, dust all at the same time, making sure to get under their wings. Also, you can put DE in a dustbath and have it available to them all the time.
Good luck

 

[Chick CJ]

Thank you. I am going to take pictures and post them!
CJ

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

DE can work as a preventative treatment, but if they have mites I would use Sevin dust to kill, & again, 1 week later, to kill hatched eggs.

 

[Chick CJ]

Okay I got some pictures. Now I'm looking at her and the others, it seems like all of them have a bare circle around where the egg is laid. Let me know what you think?

 

[Chick CJ]

Oh, and one more question, can anyone tell me how much DE is used? Say for 6 nesting boxes, how much would you sprinkle? Would you just sprinkle on top or mix down in it? I dusted the tops of their favorite dust bathing spots with it but it seemed like 1 tablespoon went a long way. Is this right?

 

[dawg53]

You're wasting time and money on DE, use sevin dust as birdaholic stated.

 

[Chick CJ]

If my hen has mites/lice I will use seven, but if not then I just want to know as a preventative, how much DE to use? Are you saying it is not effective at all? If I do need to use the seven, do I need to skip the eggs for any lenght of time?
CJ

 

[hoosier]

If you have checked them carefully, I would not worry. Granted I don't have the best eyesight, but the pics looked fairly normal to me.
I don't use DE, so I don't know how much to tell you to use.

 

[Chick CJ]

Quote:
Thanks for taking a look. I think I just overreacted too!
CJ