Lice

[DragonEggs]

I dusted today, ended up looking like a powder puff when I was done. I dusted some ground and set aside 2 cages and dusted the cages. Then I started with my youngest birds in the first pen, tok them out one at a time, dusted them and put them in the pre dusted cage. When I was done with all of them I dropped some dust on top of all of them. Rinse repeat with the birds in the second pen. When all the birds were dusted and in the temp cages I cleaned out their pens, dusted EVERYTHING, dusted the dirt, stirred it up, dusted again, put down new hay (which had been dusted) and put the birds back in the pens, then dusted around the pens and all over the yard. One of my birds (white silkie roo) whom was one of the 2 that I noticed were infested had them wrse than I thought. I could see the little larvae all in his feathers just dropping like flies as I was dusting him. I wore a face mask the whole time. Im so tired now it was SO HOTT!!!

 

[dawg53]

WTG DragonEggs! You got it right! And yes, the heat and humidity have been unbearable,ugh.

 

[DragonEggs]

Quote:
Glad to know I did something right! And to think in 10 days I get to do it again!

And you're in S. GA, think I'm like another 400+ miles even further south.

 

[chickzrule]

Well i dusted my ladies with Sevin today making sure i got around their vent, under their wings and down between their legs. I hope i'm not being to conservative with the amount of powder that i used but i will give them all another dust in 10 days and make sure to use a little more when my husband can help. I also wormed them today with Piperazine. OMG!!! I just happened to be in the coop when one of the girls let out a projectile watery poop. In the mess was 3-4 long white worms kinda like a skinny beansprout. Then to top off the grossness one of the girls(maybe the pooper?) was trying to eat them. Sure glad i treated them if that is what comes out. THANKS ALL FOR HELPING ME AND THE GIRLS!!!
Lisa

 

[mrandmrschicken]

It has been miserably hot and humid here in NW Iowa as well. The poor chickens suffer in this heat. Have one that gets wheezy, almost like asthma when it gets muggy. I lost one the other night because they have to sleep so close together that I think she was smothered. This make the lice/mite/maybe even flea, life cycle kick into high gear! If it is any help and makes it easier, I did read a post on here or in a poultry magazine, where someone commented that they put there birds in a bag with their heads sticking out, to dust bathe them in Sevin.
After thoroughly pressure washing, cleaning and drying our pens, I dust the floors, sides, ceilings etc. and make a huge cloud of it, almost scrubbing it in with a broom, so it settles on and into every crack and crevice and anything the birds might come in contact with.

 

[DragonEggs]

Hey that bag idea is a good one! I'll try that at the 10 day mark!

 

[jmc]

i have some permethrin................what if birds ingest it or the sevin. how can they NOT if its all over them and they preen? that is a mystery to me. i only have ducks btw...............

 

[dawg53]

DragonEggs. I live just north of Jax. We've had record high temps already this month, 100 and 102 respectively, very unusal and with little or no sea breezes. We're just now starting to get some thunderstorms to help cool everything down, thankfully, whew! When it comes to to dusting chickens, I always put a chicken in a small garbage bag with sevin dust in it, with the chickens head sticking out...gently shake and bake lol. I then release them and they shake themselves off and away they go. I never wash out my chicken houses (could cause mold,mildew,fungus unless properly dried) as I clean them out weekly, first raking out the old hay. I wear 'decon gear' and go in there with a bucket of bleach water and hand wipe/scrub everything down. (after scraping the poop) I then use my blower to blow it out thru a trapdoor, very easy to do. My chicken houses sit up on posts 3-4 feet off the ground. Then I throw dust everywhere in them and and turn the blower on again. The sevin dust looks like a big cloud of smoke and it gets in every nook and cranie. I wear two masks over my nose and mouth just for this purpose as well as rubber gloves and goggles. Sometimes I do the same thing with DE. It takes me about 2 hours to clean everything, including raking the pen, scrubbing out the waterers etc... I start just before sunrise when it's cooler and finish by 8-9am at the latest.

 

[mrandmrschicken]

Hey Dawg... thanks for mentioning to "gently shake and bake", LOL! I forgot to add that but assumed nobody would treat them like in a tumble dryer! LOL
We have to clean our pens because they are stacked one run on top of another like shelving. I do allow a full day or more, whatever it takes, of fan drying and only when there is a stiff wind blowing as well before dusting and re-bedding or littering. The bleach is an excellent idea.

JMC... The Sevin dust should have no ill effects on the chickens unless they have a possible allergy to it? They can't really eat the dust, it's too fine. Thats why alot of folks use the DE, (diamatacious earth) of food grade consistency, supposedly harmless. I am doubtful of it personally, and it is much more hazardous (believe it or not) than Sevin to your lungs. DE is composed of ancient shell, and fossils that are mined deep within the earth. The individual particles are sharp and will aggressively attach themselves to the lungs lining. Please wear hazmat suits when using this stuff. It is non toxic to if injested by humans or animals, but your lungs should be of primary concern. DE is used in older swimming pool filter set ups to remove particles up to so many microns in size. (can't recall the exact size).. age setting in!

Today I am considering giving all the birds a dip in peremectrin. Thought they might like it on a hot day. I always do that before a show but almost always there is someone else that brings in a birds that is riddled with mites. I also add glycerin to the water so it will bring back a sheen to their feathers.

Our birds are all ornamental banatms so eating eggs is not a concern so what works for us may not work for everyone. I am not advising anyone on treatment, just informing you of what I know, and to be careful with certain applications.

ETA: Had tornados in the area last night, sirens went off and everything! Thats the only break we get from this heat and humidity is after the storms like Dawg mentioned. Humidity does make the corn grow! Looks like we are in store for more today.

 

[dawg53]

Great post mrandmrschicken. Tornado sirens going off, I'd be scared to death especially at night! Fortunately we dont have that happen often here. We've had to deal with tropical storms coming up from Florida that we're hurricanes that originally slammed into Florida. Mostly alot of wind and rain but they move out quickly. Glad yall are ok,stay safe!