Most efficient way to spray/dip/powder 50+ chickens with mites

[azygous]

How often you change the solution is up to you. If you wish not to waste it, you can strain it and put it in a garden sprayer and spray around your run and garden where you have ants or darkling beetles. That's what I do.

 

[Folly's place]

Here we only spray in the coop and roofed run, and the chickens, nowhere else.
Mary

 

[cmom]

I live in Florida too near Ocala. I have a lot of coops. My birds do go into their coops at night. I use a backpack sprayer that has a nice long wand to get to the hard to reach areas just because I have so many coops. I do spray inside the coops during the day. I make sure I spray inside the coops thoroughly everywhere weekly for 3 or 4 weeks. Also what is you mix ratio? I use 0.50%. I put poultry dust in the nest boxes. Works well. Here is a chart another BYC member made for the different strengths of permethrin. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

Hello,

I've read through many of these posts about spraying or dipping or powdering birds with mites, but I'm wondering what is the best/simplest method to do a whole bunch of birds? It seems to me that it will take hours to catch and dip or powder or spray all my chickens, one at a time. I've already cleaned and sprayed all the coops, which also took hours.

Does anyone have any tips to make the process go smoother or more quickly? I have the permethrin and a sprayer (that never works quite right). I'm thinking a spray bottle might be the best option. I intend to do it at night. But any other ideas? Of course my ladies don't all roost on their roost bars. They prefer trees or the tops of their houses. So even catching them will be...fun. The mites are not too bad yet, so I want to treat them before they get bad.

Thanks for any tips,
MaryZoe

I usually have around 200 birds and more after hatching time. I just hatched out around 50 chicks and have another 200 eggs in the incubator. Originally I used a gallon sprayer which also has a wand to reach the hard to reach areas in the coops with permethrin. As I stated in my previous post I mix it for the 0.5% ratio and there is no egg withdrawal period. One benefit is when the flies season starts it will also eliminate them in the coops. During the hot summer months especially the flies are drawn to body sweat and I hate them landing all over on me. The permethrin solved that. What a pleasure to walk into a coop without being bombarded with the flies. Again good luck...

 

[MaryZoe]

I live in Florida too near Ocala. I have a lot of coops. My birds do go into their coops at night. I use a backpack sprayer that has a nice long wand to get to the hard to reach areas just because I have so many coops. I do spray inside the coops during the day. I make sure I spray inside the coops thoroughly everywhere weekly for 3 or 4 weeks. Also what is you mix ratio? I use 0.50%. I put poultry dust in the nest boxes. Works well. Here is a chart another BYC member made for the different strengths of permethrin. Good luck...
View attachment 2642670

So you spray only the coops, not the birds. That makes it a LOT easier!

 

[cmom]

I have sprayed the birds but I also put poultry dust in their nest boxes.

 

[amenfarm]

Hello,

I've read through many of these posts about spraying or dipping or powdering birds with mites, but I'm wondering what is the best/simplest method to do a whole bunch of birds? It seems to me that it will take hours to catch and dip or powder or spray all my chickens, one at a time. I've already cleaned and sprayed all the coops, which also took hours.

Does anyone have any tips to make the process go smoother or more quickly? I have the permethrin and a sprayer (that never works quite right). I'm thinking a spray bottle might be the best option. I intend to do it at night. But any other ideas? Of course my ladies don't all roost on their roost bars. They prefer trees or the tops of their houses. So even catching them will be...fun. The mites are not too bad yet, so I want to treat them before they get bad.

Thanks for any tips,
MaryZoe

Hi MaryZoe,
You might have already dealt with your mites, we are at the end of treating a 50 bird flock. We mixed in a 1 gallon sprayer, left the flock outside at dusk. Let some into the barn before the coop door, which was shut. I stood ready with the sprayer, husband set a hen backwards to me, holding with hand on tail and one on head. I sprayed the vent, then through the feathers down their backs, Went the fastest we have tried. Each chicken went on the ground and moved on the the roost themselves. We treated every 7 days for a total of 3 treatments. Last one is tomorrow, we are adding a roofed area for dust bathing.