Okay, so my 3 new silkies have lice. I see the little things as they run past the ear, look similar to headlice (which the family is also dealing with right now ) One is picking near the vent. What can I use on tiny chicks (7-10 days) that is organic and safe around the kids? I read a few posts but they seem to apply to full grown birds. I like the coconut oil and Oil of Oregano, tea tree etc, but I am worried about wetting the chicks and having them catch chill. I am sure someone has encountered this?
Do you have a Walmart store? You can go to the lawn and garden area or probably any other garden store and buy Sevin dust(yes it's spelled that way). Buy the powdered form. Yes, it's usually used for flowers, but it works like a charm and very common for chicken owners to use, with no side effects. It usually costs just $3-$5. Go home, pour some in a shoe box and in a well venilated area, set your chicks in feet first, and carefully scoop up some and sprinkle their backs and in the napes of their necks. Try not to get it in their eyes. Just lift their feathers and kind of massage their skin with it. Now check their toes and make sure their skin isn't lifted at all(their scales will literlly be lifted some(if that's the case that means they got under the scales of their feet as well). To rid the mites/lice from the feet, I used a jar of vaseline and completely covered their feet. Yes, this is messy, but it will suffocate the bug. Sevin Dust is organic and I know so many that use it on their chicks and chickens. You want to take care of this right away because this can get bad very quickly otherwise! Good luck! God bless, Tracey
I was down at the feed store dropping off some eggs and got to talking and grabbed some Diatomatious Earth (Sp?! Now i know what people meant with DE ) I am hoping to use it in the same way. I will try the vaseline on the feet though! I just worry about putting stuff on them that isn't safe for 'us who snuggle them', but I figure you can EAT DE so it would be good.
You did perfectly by purchasing the D.E. IF it says food grade on it. ONLY use food grade. Dust them and sprinkle some in their food and bedding. Good catch.
Fresh Rosemary repels lice. The lice do not like the smell. Works good for humans also. Can make a tea solutions and lightly spray in hair or feathers. You can use this everyday. I also used concentrated Adam's Flea dip to spray my house. Did better than the lice spray and cheaper.
Why only food grade DE? I don't know what mine was...yes I already applied it. Yah, that was fun! Guaranteed I don't have lice *LOL* How do you get their tiny faces with out getting it in the eyes!? I did as high as I could up the face with a finger. Do I need to repeat? I use an oil and rosemary/tea tree mixture for the kids, works like a hot darn! Don't want to wet my tiny fluffs though
I am new and this is my 1st post here and 1st batch of chicks too. I wish I would have done this one day earlier as tonight I fed my 3 week old chicks some raw potato peels. I have already gotten very attached to my big girls (six Black Astralorpes and six buff Catalanas) and after reading the post on what not to feed your chicks, I hope I haven't killed them. I have them on chick starter and also gave them a hard boiled egg tonight and they ate strawberries this morning/afternoon. Is there anything I can do besides wait for one to become sick and/or die from the potato peels? I am sure hoping that they have to eat a lot of them to get sick. I probably gave them the equivalent of peels from two-three potatoes.:
WHy not potato peels? Can you feed them that when they are older? Glad I seen this post! I hope your babies are ok!!!
I just ordered a 50 pound bag of DE. shopping and all for about 55.00 on line. I have seen and heard that is the way to go to help rid any kind of pest.