Ivermectin (Cattle pour on, 5mg/ml) for chickens with stick fast fleas?

[JoH]

Hi, I'm brand new on this forum, and glad to be here.

I have a bin chicken (wild Ibis) problem with my free range chickens. They come in when the weather gets hot every year, and soon after there's an outbreak of stick fast fleas. It's quite bad this year. The chickens do have a concrete floor, but they also have access to soil throughout their run, so I will have to use some chemical intervention because it is so bad this year.

I have much to learn, but am a relatively old hand and know something of the other means of dealing with the fleas, re: DE, Vaseline, maldison, hygiene routines, etc, and would really appreciate on topic advice about Ivermectin (cattle pour on 5mg/ml).

After a lot of internet research, I was able to obtain some Ivermectin. Old posts in this forum suggest this concentration should be applied to the back of the bird's neck at a rate of 4-6 drops from a standard eye dropper, depending on the size of the chicken.


I would really appreciate advice from folks with experience with Ivermectin and stick fast fleas. I do also have maldison. I don't usually resort to chemical usage lightly, so I'd appreciate advice taking into account that the problem is really bad this year and could affect the girls' health quite quickly in the heat of summer (Australia).

Thanks so much!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @JoH Welcome To BYC

I believe that @casportpony has had experience with Sticktight Fleas.
I'm not sure how effective the Ivermectin would be, but she should be online soon and will hopefully chime in with her thoughts.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! I tried ivermectin for sticktight fleas but it did not work. Can you get permethrin in Australia? If so, here is an article I did that explains how to treat them.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...tight-fleas-in-poultry-with-permethrin.74325/

 

[JoH]

Thank you!

I've heard the Ivermectin kills the fleas, but that they don't fall off. Are you able to tell me what strength you used and whether you're sure they were not dead?

I've was researching to find something I could do without dipping the chickens, and Ivermectin can be dosed on dozy birds at night before the much bigger job of treating the yard and cleaning the coop/nesting boxes begins.

I won't use it if it doesn't work, though...just checking your doses because others say it works, and it would be a lot easier to use on the muscovy ducks too.

 

[casportpony]

When I used it I tried a huge dose, I gave 0.1 ml per pound of body weight.

 

[Eggcessive]

I haven’t treated stick tight fleas, but I think that @dawg53 has. I think they can be smothered with petroleum jelly, and they need to be physically removed with tweezers from what I have read. Then I would treat the coop facilities with permethrin or something safe for poultry. Here is a good article:
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg236

 

[casportpony]

If you kill them with a pesticide they will fall off in a few days.