For body mites & lice, dust whatever chickens you can catch with food grade DE (stay away from the face), mix some DE in with the litter in the coops and sprinkle it on the roosts.
Please note: DE will NOT kill a mite infestation. (The following excellent advice is a copy from another thread, posted by threehorses):
Lice will cause a little reduction in immune system. You shouldn't have to worry about straw colored lice. It's more the "sucking lice" which are grey and then their abdomens turn red when they fill with blood that are cross-species.
Instead of Sevin, I'd highly recommend Permethrin products if you can. But either will do. They should be gone in three dustings, and your coop will have residual effect of that sevin.
Poultry dust is "permethrin" in its active ingredient. (Always read the active ingredient). It used to be made of flowers - ground up petals. But these days it's made chemically into the same chemical. Sevin is devestating to waterfowl. It also kills honeybees (which are already having enough troubles with diseases) and it's just very very long lasting and dreadful.
Permethrin comes in dust and sprays. Dust is usually something like "Poultry Dust", "Poultry and Garden dust", "Livestock and poultry lice dust", etc. The active ingredient is the key. If you use it to prevent or kill mites, you can get liquid. Then it's still permethrin (generally under 10% solution) and called "Ectiban EC", or "Goat Lice Spray". I understand you can use some permethrin sprays on the birds too, but I just use the dust.
You can also use Adams Flea and Tick mist on crested birds, incidentally. It's handy for spot-treating heads, too. Roll a papertowel into a tightly pointed cone - spray the cone end well, use to wipe into their "beards" and around their face (tho not by their eyes). You can cover their face with your hand and spray forwards (from behind their head towards their beak) and ruffle that into their neck feathers in a pinch.
But permethrin dusts for the bird and sprays for the wood are awesome. They do have quick knock down, actually.
Please note: DE will NOT kill a mite infestation. (The following excellent advice is a copy from another thread, posted by threehorses):
Lice will cause a little reduction in immune system. You shouldn't have to worry about straw colored lice. It's more the "sucking lice" which are grey and then their abdomens turn red when they fill with blood that are cross-species.
Instead of Sevin, I'd highly recommend Permethrin products if you can. But either will do. They should be gone in three dustings, and your coop will have residual effect of that sevin.
Poultry dust is "permethrin" in its active ingredient. (Always read the active ingredient). It used to be made of flowers - ground up petals. But these days it's made chemically into the same chemical. Sevin is devestating to waterfowl. It also kills honeybees (which are already having enough troubles with diseases) and it's just very very long lasting and dreadful.
Permethrin comes in dust and sprays. Dust is usually something like "Poultry Dust", "Poultry and Garden dust", "Livestock and poultry lice dust", etc. The active ingredient is the key. If you use it to prevent or kill mites, you can get liquid. Then it's still permethrin (generally under 10% solution) and called "Ectiban EC", or "Goat Lice Spray". I understand you can use some permethrin sprays on the birds too, but I just use the dust.
You can also use Adams Flea and Tick mist on crested birds, incidentally. It's handy for spot-treating heads, too. Roll a papertowel into a tightly pointed cone - spray the cone end well, use to wipe into their "beards" and around their face (tho not by their eyes). You can cover their face with your hand and spray forwards (from behind their head towards their beak) and ruffle that into their neck feathers in a pinch.
But permethrin dusts for the bird and sprays for the wood are awesome. They do have quick knock down, actually.
