Mites & Revolution (Selamectin)

[Lortiz]

When we got mites really bad on a couple of our chickens, I had the idea that Selamectin would work wonders. I turned here for advice but found so very little with keyword searches.

I just wanted to post my results because they seem significant.

MY Buff Orpington Roo was huddled down in the corner of his pen with little energy. I probably should have noticed sooner but I didn't. When we went into the pen he still didn't move. I looked at him and they were EVERYWHERE just sucking the life out of him. We trimmed away any extra feathers and plainly just panicked he was in such bad shape.

As a last ditch effort (we did not expect him to make it) I put an appropriate amount of Revolution in between his shoulderblades (5lb or so dose) and hoped for the best.

The next morning, he was up and around and eating, but we still saw mites.

Day 2 he was up, crowing & flapping & his comb was back to full color

Day 3 all the mites were dead, gone, history.

That was 3 weeks ago now, he's doing GREAT! I found the mites also on my Buff Orpington hens a few days later (4 pens over) but no one else. I treated the ladies, who also were pretty bad even though they acted healthy, looked healthy & continued to lay eggs for us. Within 3 days again, all mites, dead & gone.

So.. I'm not sure on the withdrawal period for this drug, because it is not labeled for chickens. But I am going with 30 days since that is when it would normally require reapplying for effectiveness.

Now.. here in the States, a Rx is required for Revolution. I buy it without a script online through PetShed in Australia.

I hope hope hope, this helps someone else at some point.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any experience with this please share!

My avian vet prescribed Revolution (Selamectin) for stick tight fleas on my chickens. It worked great for that, and as a side benefit, some of my hens that looked like they had feather damage from roosters grew back their feathers after treatment. So it became apparent to me that they must have had feather mites in addition to rooster damage. These mites are not visible and the chickens had no other mites or lice, so I did not realize they had feather/depluming mites. I had separated the roosters from the hens and didn't understand why they hadn't re-grown feathers after about 6 months or more. My avian vet told me to use 0.5 ml per standard chicken and 0.25 ml for my pullets and cockerels that were smaller. This is close to the dose I calculated based on the dose given on Poultry DVM, which is a reliable source..

Here is what Poultry DVM says:
Selamectin (Revolution) is a topical antiparasitic medication used to treat Knemidokoptes spp. (scaly leg mites).
Dosage: 23 mg/Kg topically, repeat in 3-4 weeks.
http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/selamectin

Here are my calculations:
The concentration is 120 mg/ml.
23/2.2 lb per Kg =10.45 mg/lb
10.45/120 = 0.087 ml/lb
I rounded up to 0.1 ml/lb body weight

I had excellent results and my chickens showed no side effects. I have not seen any info about egg withdrawal times. I got my vet to send a prescription for generic Selamectin to a pet pharmacy, and I have also bought it from a pharmacy in Australia. Either of those options is a lot cheaper than the brand. I would expect it to be effective for any external parasites. For dogs, it kills heartworm but does not say it kills roundworm, so I guess it isn't effective for roundworms.

 

[Sshookfarm]

When we got mites really bad on a couple of our chickens, I had the idea that Selamectin would work wonders. I turned here for advice but found so very little with keyword searches.

I just wanted to post my results because they seem significant.

MY Buff Orpington Roo was huddled down in the corner of his pen with little energy. I probably should have noticed sooner but I didn't. When we went into the pen he still didn't move. I looked at him and they were EVERYWHERE just sucking the life out of him. We trimmed away any extra feathers and plainly just panicked he was in such bad shape.

As a last ditch effort (we did not expect him to make it) I put an appropriate amount of Revolution in between his shoulderblades (5lb or so dose) and hoped for the best.

The next morning, he was up and around and eating, but we still saw mites.

Day 2 he was up, crowing & flapping & his comb was back to full color

Day 3 all the mites were dead, gone, history.

That was 3 weeks ago now, he's doing GREAT! I found the mites also on my Buff Orpington hens a few days later (4 pens over) but no one else. I treated the ladies, who also were pretty bad even though they acted healthy, looked healthy & continued to lay eggs for us. Within 3 days again, all mites, dead & gone.

So.. I'm not sure on the withdrawal period for this drug, because it is not labeled for chickens. But I am going with 30 days since that is when it would normally require reapplying for effectiveness.

Now.. here in the States, a Rx is required for Revolution. I buy it without a script online through PetShed in Australia.

I hope hope hope, this helps someone else at some point.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any experience with this please share!

Thank you so much ! I appreciate your post so much. I just got 2 hens from a rather rough farm. They definitely need treatment for mites and this is what I have ! Almost zero info on this one !

 

[DHutchins]

I have used the Revolution for Puppies and Kittens in the past for one hen who scratches off all the feathers in a ring around her neck. In the past I'd tried deworming and several other things with no luck. I had never seen mites and lice on her but when I used the Selamectin she was better within days and her feathers grew back. No idea how I got the Revolution for Puppies and Kittens because my avian vet wouldn't prescribe it. This time I managed to find a generic from Australia so I'm going to try that. I've used the poultry spray twice with no luck. I think I may have done three weeks of egg withdrawal just in case.

​

 

[Farmsgirl]

When we got mites really bad on a couple of our chickens, I had the idea that Selamectin would work wonders. I turned here for advice but found so very little with keyword searches.

I just wanted to post my results because they seem significant.

MY Buff Orpington Roo was huddled down in the corner of his pen with little energy. I probably should have noticed sooner but I didn't. When we went into the pen he still didn't move. I looked at him and they were EVERYWHERE just sucking the life out of him. We trimmed away any extra feathers and plainly just panicked he was in such bad shape.

As a last ditch effort (we did not expect him to make it) I put an appropriate amount of Revolution in between his shoulderblades (5lb or so dose) and hoped for the best.

The next morning, he was up and around and eating, but we still saw mites.

Day 2 he was up, crowing & flapping & his comb was back to full color

Day 3 all the mites were dead, gone, history.

That was 3 weeks ago now, he's doing GREAT! I found the mites also on my Buff Orpington hens a few days later (4 pens over) but no one else. I treated the ladies, who also were pretty bad even though they acted healthy, looked healthy & continued to lay eggs for us. Within 3 days again, all mites, dead & gone.

So.. I'm not sure on the withdrawal period for this drug, because it is not labeled for chickens. But I am going with 30 days since that is when it would normally require reapplying for effectiveness.

Now.. here in the States, a Rx is required for Revolution. I buy it without a script online through PetShed in Australia.

I hope hope hope, this helps someone else at some point.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any experience with this please share!

Thank you so much for your evaluation....I have used revolutions on 1 hen that I brought into my young flock and she has cleared up extremely well.
I will not eat the eggs for a minimum of 30 days as I am (also) unsure of the time needed to clear from her system....
That being said I haven't noticed any spread to the rest of my flock and am hoping that this will FINALLY cure the issue.

 

[Lortiz]

Thank you so much for your evaluation....I have used revolutions on 1 hen that I brought into my young flock and she has cleared up extremely well.
I will not eat the eggs for a minimum of 30 days as I am (also) unsure of the time needed to clear from her system....
That being said I haven't noticed any spread to the rest of my flock and am hoping that this will FINALLY cure the issue.

My avian veterinarian prescribed it for my chickens for stick tight fleas and feather mites, and it worked great. The dose she gave me was 0.5 ml per standard sized chicken, and 0.25 ml for some that were not full grown. I buy it without a prescription from Australia as well, from Pets Megastore. I buy the generics.

 

[Cayman Islands Coop]

When we got mites really bad on a couple of our chickens, I had the idea that Selamectin would work wonders. I turned here for advice but found so very little with keyword searches.

I just wanted to post my results because they seem significant.

MY Buff Orpington Roo was huddled down in the corner of his pen with little energy. I probably should have noticed sooner but I didn't. When we went into the pen he still didn't move. I looked at him and they were EVERYWHERE just sucking the life out of him. We trimmed away any extra feathers and plainly just panicked he was in such bad shape.

As a last ditch effort (we did not expect him to make it) I put an appropriate amount of Revolution in between his shoulderblades (5lb or so dose) and hoped for the best.

The next morning, he was up and around and eating, but we still saw mites.

Day 2 he was up, crowing & flapping & his comb was back to full color

Day 3 all the mites were dead, gone, history.

That was 3 weeks ago now, he's doing GREAT! I found the mites also on my Buff Orpington hens a few days later (4 pens over) but no one else. I treated the ladies, who also were pretty bad even though they acted healthy, looked healthy & continued to lay eggs for us. Within 3 days again, all mites, dead & gone.

So.. I'm not sure on the withdrawal period for this drug, because it is not labeled for chickens. But I am going with 30 days since that is when it would normally require reapplying for effectiveness.

Now.. here in the States, a Rx is required for Revolution. I buy it without a script online through PetShed in Australia.

I hope hope hope, this helps someone else at some point.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any experience with this please share!