Mites / lice

[Fresheggfarm84]

I have some sort of infestation on my birds I saw a small little orange bugs by one of the vents earlier. How do I treat these? Where can I get something quickly so I can treat them? I know you can order stuff online, but I don’t wanna wait.

 

[Jener8or]

I treat mine with permethrin dust (just don't breathe it in and try not to get it in your chickens face too much.) You can get permethrin dips and sprays, too. It is fairly widely available at most feed stores and hardware stores and not too expensive. (Labeled "Garden Pet and Livestock Dust.") You can use an Ivermectin pour-on, or Elector PSP (Spinosad), too, but I think permethrin is probably the most widely available and economical.

I would treat them once a week. Clean up all feathers (if it's lice, that's where they lay the eggs, at the base of the feathers. You can try to remove these, too, for good measure.) I would treat them for at least for one month and see if you have any left, then follow up once a month to make sure they haven't come back.

 

[Fresheggfarm84]

Should I clean out the chicken coop more than once? I was going to clean it all out take all the sand out and spray it all down and give all of the chickens either a bath or a feather dusting.

 

[Jener8or]

I don't think it can hurt, especially to get all the feathers out or if it's mites. If it's mites, I would definitely spray or dust the coop as well. If you can get a good picture of the bugs, this group is pretty good at identification.

 

[Buckeye Amy]

I use a liquid permethrin dip instead of dusting. Mix .5 ounce per gallon of warm water in a medium sized plastic tote. I dipped 30 chickens in 2 hours with the help of another person. We had to top it off twice since they do absorb quite a bit of it when thoroughly soaked. Dipped them up to their chins, making sure all feathers were saturated to the skin. Very effective and a lot easier (and cleaner) than dealing with powder blowing all over the place. After dipping I'll never use the dust again...save it for the vegetable garden!

 

[Fresheggfarm84]

I use a liquid permethrin dip instead of dusting. Mix .5 ounce per gallon of warm water in a medium sized plastic tote. I dipped 30 chickens in 2 hours with the help of another person. We had to top it off twice since they do absorb quite a bit of it when thoroughly soaked. Dipped them up to their chins, making sure all feathers were saturated to the skin. Very effective and a lot easier (and cleaner) than dealing with powder blowing all over the place. After dipping I'll never use the dust again...save it for the vegetable garden!

This seems way easier and more effective than the dust! I have 7 chickens to dip so not as many as 30 but I really want them to get relief

 

[Buckeye Amy]

I am sensitive to dust of any kind, so it's a no brainer for me! Keep in mind you'll have to repeat the dipping according to the directions on the bottle. This is to kill any lice that hatch from nits that may be attached to the feathers.

Honestly I think my birds enjoyed the "spa" treatment. As soon as we got them in the warm water they relaxed without struggling.

 

[Fresheggfarm84]

I gave one a bath this morning when I thought it was just poop around her vent and she was so relaxed and loved it. I’m sure she needs some relief. First thing tomorrow morning that’s what I’m doing. I feel so bad for these girls.