Lice/mite meds

[mickeymousears]

I have a feather picker and my last idea is possibly lice/mites. I went to the farm supply looking for the ivermectin drops to put on her neck. The clerk said he had no such thing but after searching the aisles I found ivermectin sheep dip. Is this the same thing?

Instead he gave me some "gardstar garden and poultry dust with permethrin". Will this work? I'm worried about dusting anything because I have a toddler whose into everything.

This store has mostly horse things- is there a horse med I can use (obviously with a smaller dosage)

 

[Judy]

The poultry dust will work but will need two applications. Sevin 5% garden dust is the usual treatment. But you need to be sure they have lice/mites first. The link below will help you find that out.

Feather picking is usually due to too little space, boredom and/or too little protein in the diet. Sometimes a flock gets the habit and it can be very difficult to break, even with plenty of space and plenty of protein in the diet. Below are some links on the sbject, though there are lots of threads here about feather picking.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/517547/peepers-removed-and-no-feather-picking-d/0_20#post_6586027

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/697052/i-think-i-found-a-miracle-cure-for-feather-picking/0_20

 

[mickeymousears]

I only have 2 chickens and a duck and they have the entire backyard. I have increased her protein with turkey grower BOSS and meal worms.

I gave them a bath the other day and she had granular dirt on the base of her feathers around the vent. I thought it was just poo- but was looking thru the forums last night and someone posted a pic that looked exactly like what she had and the consensus was lice (tho the OP never updated the topic, so idk what the result was)

She is the only one with a visible problem- she is also the lowest girl. I was thinking maybe competing for food made her more susceptible to parasites? (She is also extremely skinny).
I honestly have no clue what is wrong with her- I'm just going down the check list ruling things out. I've posted several times in this forum with no results, I just want my favorite little girl to get healthy again :,(

 

[mickeymousears]

Oh I think she is picking her own feathers. I was blaming the duck at first...but I've seen her picking several times. Maybe he was the original culprit- but she's carried on the tradition the rest of the time.