Mites in Canada

[QueenBeeMama]

Hi I have a small backyard flock of 7 mixed breed chickens including 1 rooster. We have just noticed that they have northern mites and I need something to help them. We are unable to get the products that have been posted before and they have now banned Peremethrin here in canada. We cannot get Elector PSP either. Please help we are despeate for a way to help them.

 

[norain]

powder them with diatamtous earth and the coop walls ect . chickens don't mind warm water baths wonder if you figured out a tick bath with dog shampoo ? just trying to help thinking what I would do if I didn't have a farmers store .diatamatous earth has to be dry to work . google it its non toxic but it works .

 

[Eggcessive]

Some people will use Frontline (fipronyl) on chickens, put on the back of the chickens neck along the skin over the spine, which is not approved. Have you checked with a vet in case they have any suggestions? Carbaryl and permethrin have been used in the past, but no longer are available in Canada. DE will not treat an outbreak. Coop beeding should be removed, and coop, nest, and roosts should be treated. With what, I don’t know. It probably is frustrating not to be able to get incecticides.

 

[QueenBeeMama]

Some people will use Frontline (fipronyl) on chickens, put on the back of the chickens neck along the skin over the spine, which is not approved. Have you checked with a vet in case they have any suggestions? Carbaryl and permethrin have been used in the past, but no longer are available in Canada. DE will not treat an outbreak. Coop beeding should be removed, and coop, nest, and roosts should be treated. With what, I don’t know. It probably is frustrating not to be able to get incecticides.

Thank you and yes it is very frustration I am wondering if I might be able to use a gardening insecticide soap on them. I know I can use it in the coop as long as I let it dry without the birds in there. I just got back from the farm feed store and they have said that the only thing available now with all the new regulations is DE which is very disapointing. The ladie told me that it has become very dificult since they have taken away all the stuff that worked. We are in a hard place here right now if your birds get anything. Grrr.....

 

[QueenBeeMama]

powder them with diatamtous earth and the coop walls ect . chickens don't mind warm water baths wonder if you figured out a tick bath with dog shampoo ? just trying to help thinking what I would do if I didn't have a farmers store .diatamatous earth has to be dry to work . google it its non toxic but it works .

I do a DE shower of the coop every bedding change which i do weekley it does not seem to help much if I have gotten this issue. We have done the DE since day one and they are almost 3 years old. This is the first time I have had to deal with this issue. Im not sure if I can get Tick Bath but I will look into it.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have any friends in the US who could mail you some permethrin 10 concentrate that would be great. It comes in 8 and 16 ounces., and larger. It is mixed with water 37 ml per gallon for coop and bird use.

Can you get ivermectin from a vet? Do they sell pour-on or injectable ivermectin for cattle? That would be good for the birds at least.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What about Neem oil I’ve used it years ago to spray down my coops but can’t remember if it’s safe for putting on poultry?

 

[cottagecheese]

DE is not a good idea because it's bad for our and their respiratory systems and kills good insects, like the pollinators for example.

You are in Canada, maybe still some snow on the ground? Did they have the opportunity to dirt bathe/dust bathe during winter? If they didn't, maybe this is how the mites took hold. My birds had something one summer and by the time I got all my ducks in a row to treat them (manner of speaking, they're chickens not ducks ), whatever it was DISAPPEARED, never to be seen again, just from dirt bathing, in the earth. What a relief and no, it wasn't 'something in my head', it was something real that I felt on my arm, after holding the birds, during a few days.

Now something very very interesting, that I keep in mind to try first if mites ever show up. There are very credible reports of people who got rid of them with wood ash (on the birds). Please have a read and be careful if you use this, ash is not too great for their resp. systems either, I'd suspect.

Excellent story here, the first few chapters deal with the infestation:

https://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-story-of-gnarly-bunch-chapter-1.html

More on the subject: https://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2012/12/natural-way-to-rid-chickens-of-lice.html

Here is the wikiHow: https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Chicken-Mites Method 1 is the wood ash treatment, please ignore the rest.

 

[Stephine]

Can you get pyrethrin? That is the natural crysanthemum extract that synthetic permethrin is supposed to imitate. It works just as well, but less neurotoxic. Otherwise pure (99%) sulfur will work. Dust the hens (focus on neck, tush and under wings), put some in their dustbath and make a fabric baggie filled with sulfur and hang it where they will often rub against it ( in a nestbox or in the pop door, for example) - that way they self dust, which is less stressful for everyone. Good luck!

 

[Stephine]

Forgot to say: clean out the coop of course and spray with „poultry protect“ of you can get it (a biological control).