Not sure if Sevin dust is working for mites

[Katiedid]

I just finished treatment number two after 10 days. I'm sure it's mites, since I've seen them, but the hens bottom is still bright red (feathers out), How long should it take for signs of improvement to be visible? What else can I do if this isn't working?

 

[Mr chickenmath]

well katiedid it sounds like you actually had your chickens pecked!!!!!! Yikes!!!!! This is an easily fixable issue. First make sure the coop is big enough for the chickens you have. Second it will take a while fo the feathers to grow back my chickens pecked each other and they still haven't had there feathers grow back. Is your coop big enough? How many chickens do you have? can you post pictures?

 

[Katiedid]

The coop is 10x 8 and there are four hens. The run is 10x 20. The mites are visible on the second most dominant chicken. This is not pecking. They free range in our acreage about an hour a day and I have not observed pecking behavior. The hen is losing feathers from the butt and chest areas and I found mites on one of the feathers that was loose in the run. I'm absolutely positive that she has mites. I've been dusting the flock with sevin, and I don't see mites on any of the other birds, but this chicken clearly has them. Does anyone know what else I can try if sevin doesn't work?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Dust them with Pyrethrin this time. K-Mart branded Garden Dust is this, by way of example. It is a very common Sevin alternative. Frankly, many folks prefer it. It is very effective. Repeat in 7-8 days. Might have to dust the roosts and other areas as well.

 

[Mr chickenmath]

just seven dust regularly and make sure to have plenty of sand for them to play in this helps with mites and other insects

 

[Katiedid]

Thanks! We live on sand, so they've got plenty of that already, but I'll make a trip into the city to pick up some garden dust. I just feel so badly. We're supposed to move in the next month and I can't give her to my neighbor with a mite infestation. She's our best layer and I'd hate to have to cull her because of our move. I sure appreciate every one's help.

 

[Mehjr10]

This is what I used on mine It has worked well. http://www.amazon.com/Monterey-LG61...d=1369373883&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=spinosad Plus it is organic.. I can be also used with dogs for fleas..

 

[dawg53]

As mentioned, you have to dust inside the coop and in nests, repeat in 7-10 days.

 

[Katiedid]

I looked at the garden dust and it says it is 0.03% pyrethrins. Is this enough to make a difference? I'm pretty liberal with my use of DE and that didn't prevent this. I called my vet, who won't handle poultry professionally, but advized me as a fellow chicken owner to try frontline spray applied one drop on the skin between the shoulders and one drop near, but not in the vent. We did that last night, so fingers crossed we start to see a difference. She told us that we didn't need to a withdrawal time on the eggs because of how frontline works (in the skin fat, or something, but not circulating in the blood), but we're doing it anyway because we're putting a lot of chemicals on the poor thing. We're still going to keep dusting the hens and coop and run, but we aren't going to try to flea bath because it might impact the effectiveness of the frontline. The vet told me some people think frontline is bad for the chickens, but if I stick to that dosage, she believes it should be OK. She also pointed out that it's definitely less fatal to them than having my husband cull them. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes, they look the same today as they did yesterday, but I expect it ll take a little more time.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I looked at the garden dust and it says it is 0.03% pyrethrins. Is this enough to make a difference?

Yes. Most garden and poultry dust sold with permithrins is 2 1/2%. KMart Garden dust contain that amount. As does this Prozap:
http://www.drugs.com/vet/prozap-garden-poultry-dust.html