Martin's Horse & Stable spray?

[ameliadanielle]

I got three new silkies last night and found chicken lice. So I've got to treat them. Only one had any signs but she is bad. The other two have no signs but I'm going to treat them all. I'm trying to figure out the best way. I'm going to move the baby chickens into the spare bath tub and use the plastic and wire cage the baby chickens have been in to keep them in the garage. Because I have my lice free chickens and ducks in the backyard, one duck nesting in the front yard, and baby chickens in the house.

I have Martin's horse and stable spray, on the back it says:

To control poultry lice: Spray roosts, walls and nests or cages thoroughly. This should be followed by spraying over the birds with a fine mist.

So my question is, has anyone used this before? Active ingredient is Permethrin 0.50%. I know the dusts require that you get the dust down under the feathers all the way to the skin. Is spraying a fine mist going to work? Is it going to really be effective? I don't like the idea of dust and them possibly breathing it in.

I thought about doing a bath with dog flea shampoo, blow drying them, and then spraying them with the spray I have. With them being in a plastic cage it will be really easy to keep clean.

I've also seen a dip with warm water, salt, vinegar, and soap. I don't know how well that will work. I really want these things dead. I know they just eat feathers and won't get on me, but I can't stop itching. It's all in my head. I totally want these bugs dead as soon as possible. After I found them on these I showered and changed and went to check out my flock in the backyard and didn't find anything. I figured if I had to treat might as well check and do it all at once if that was the case. I have a terrible phobia of anything with an exoskeleton. Ugh.

If this spray is no good or there is something better I can get a hold of today to treat them tonight, please let me know. I have to kill these bugs.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Also, she is a black silkie so it is really easy to see the eggs. Will it help if I trim all the feathers I can find that have the nits on them? Her feathers are so thin when I first got her I assumed she was molting. She may very well be molting or she may just be that bad. I didn't really find too many eggs and I could only find one louse. She has nits right above her tail and on her neck.

I'm so glad she is a black silkie. I'm not experienced with mites and lice on chickens. The first thing I noticed on her was the nits. If she had been a white silkie I may not have seen them.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Permithan is a very strong product. Its works great for fleas and ticks and such. Just becareful to do it outside and make sure to watch her after words i had a cat that had a flea infestation it worked great to get rid of them but she apparently was allegric to it and had a seizure. All animals are different most of the animals we have used it on dont react but some do.

 

[ameliadanielle]

I normally quarantine in a pen in the front yard, but having that duck brooding in the front... I don't know how far those things travel and I don't want to risk it. I think I'm going to bathe them and hopefully get most of them off. Then we'll put them in the cage and fine mist them out in the driveway. We'll move them into the garage once they're dry.

I'm going to cross my fingers. I just can't stand bugs. This poor baby needs these things gone. The others show no signs but I'm treating them just the same anyway. Since they've been in the carrier together since last night. Even if they didn't have them they probably do now.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Change of plans. We bought a big rubbermaid tub. So they are staying in that in the bathroom tonight. I couldn't get them all the way dry. So I don't want to spray them with the spray while they are wet. Tomorrow when they have dried off we'll spray them and set them up in the garage.

I have three wet hens. I didn't notice how skinny and bad looking the one was that had the lice. She is so skinny. They said she'd been going broody over and over. I tried to get her to eat before the bath and all she wanted to do was drink water. I'm going to have to get her to eat something tomorrow. She's pitiful. Her being in a constant state of broody and not eating well or dust bathing could explain her condition and the lice. I hope that's all it is. The healthiest, best looking one of the three shared a pen with her and she's clean and in very good shape. The other was in a wire floor pen and she needs her toenails trimmed. I hope I can get them all sorted out and lice free. I'm worried that because of the lice they could have mites too. Hopefully this treatment will deal with both. I have no idea.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

It should, try scrambled eggs it give her extra protien which she needs.

 

[ameliadanielle]

After the bath. Blow dried until they hated me. They're still damp, so I'm keeping them inside so they will be warm. The two partridge girls, totally eating everything in sight. The black hen, still not eating. I opened her beak and gave her a piece of scrambled egg. She ate it. I opened her beak and gave her a second piece and she spit it out. The other girls tore into those eggs and ate the rest of them up. Maybe I should get her some of that game chicken rooster booster. Since all she wants to do right now is drink.

 

[ameliadanielle]

Both the solid black hen and the grey partridge hen received horrible haircuts. They had either poop or mud stuck in the feathers on top of their heads. I didn't want to find out which. So we got out the scissors.

 

[Weehopper]

I believe they have discovered Permitheran (can't spell it) is no good for any cats. But for the chicken I would spray the fluff under the tail, a spray or two under each wing, and a squirt under the feathers at the back of the neck where the neck meets the shoulders. That way the bird doesn't have to breath it in. Oh, and I would spray anyplace where she has been..roosts, cages, etc.

 

[ameliadanielle]

These chickens haven't even stepped foot outside at this point. We brought them home, gave a bath in dog flea and tick shampoo. I haven't used the spray yet. I ended up doing ivermectin pour on. 3 drops to each one. When we do move them outside I will use the spray. Right now they are in a large rubbermaid that is really easy to clean. My quarantine pen is wood and wire, in case they have any other creepy crawlies other than chicken lice that could infest it I've got to build a pen that is just wire before I move them outside. Then I'll spray around and spray them with the permethrin. I may do the spray instead of their second bath.