Official BYC Poll: How Do You Deal With Lice & Mite Infestations in your Coop?

[BantyChooks]

Thankfully, I have not yet had mites in my flock. With lice, I do periodic checks and spray down the coop and birds with permethrin as needed. I find the liquid permethrin to be far superior over the dust both in ease of use and efficacy.

 

[casportpony]

Whats in poultry dust?

In the US, all poultry dust products contain 0.25% permethrin.

 

[The Duck Dad]

if one of my ducks has lice or fleas, I just ruffle up their feathers and spray permethrin on them and their cages.

 

[katelwil]

I have some permetherin on hand but have never actually used it. Mainly because I'm intimidated by the warnings on the label for permetherin, so I've never gotten the guts to use it

I will typically make my own coop spray and chicken spray, along with using DE. I try to keep fresh wood ash in the dusting area, along with DE.

The link below provides a recipe to the coop and chicken spray that I use for my chickens & it seems to work very well for me!

https://www.fresheggsdaily.blog/2013/02/mites-how-to-prevent-them-and-treat.html?m=1

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We recently seem to have picked up a mild case of scaley leg mites for the first time in our ten years of chicken tending. The first thing we did was to thoroughly grease all the chickens' legs with Udder Butter to smother the little buggers. Last night, two weeks after that treatment, we sprayed all their legs thoroughly with Permethrin spray. Tonight we will treat again with the Udder Butter (we got an immense tub of it, lol). Since there is a two-week span between egg hatches, that should take care of the problem, but just to be sure we will probably treat in another two weeks just to be sure. If anyone feels this is not adequate, I would love to hear from them. We really want to be sure to get this under control, thanks!

 

[Stephine]

One of the most common problems encountered when raising and keeping poultry is lice & mites. They can be introduced by wild birds or visiting rodents, or get picked up when your birds get into contact with other, infested, birds at places such as poultry shows, sales, or auctions. Chickens with bad infestations become thin, don’t lay eggs well, and have reduced fertility. With really bad infestations your birds may also die.

So How Do You Deal With Lice & Mite Infestations in your Coop?

Please place your vote above, and elaborate in a reply below if you chose "Other".

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Further Reading:

• Dealing With Mites
• Mite & Lice Treatment and Prevention
• Keeping Your Coop Mite & Rodent-Free
• How To Protect Your Chickens from Lice
• How To Protect Your Chickens from Mites

(Check out more Official BYC Polls HERE!)

I have a cotton bag filled with elemental sulfur hanging in the pop door; it is placed so that the chickens bump into it when they come and go and dust themselves. Completely stress free for the birds, super easy for me. I buy pure elemental sulfur in a one pound bag and put about 1/2 of it in the bag at a time. With about 15 chickens it lasts for 1 1/5 or 2 years, so it’s very cost effective, too. I also mix some sulfur into their feed.

 

[Devils Flower]

In the US, all poultry dust products contain 0.25% permethrin.

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Thank you. I have never heard of the stuff till I checked out this thread and I have had chickens for over 7 years now. Is this better than DE?

 

[casportpony]

Thank you. I have never heard of the stuff till I checked out this thread and I have had chickens for over 7 years now. Is this better than DE?

You're welcome! IMO, DE is a waste of money. Back in 2003 we bought a huge bag of it and put it all over the coop and in all of their favorite dust bathing spots. Then one day I noticed that they were infested with lice, so I put DE all over them, but it did not work.

 

[ladybrasa]

mine had a lice infestation around their vents. I treated them and the coop with Elector PSP. Bye-bye lice. Much more expensive than permethrin, but I feel better using this, and a little goes a long way.

 

[parvani]

I bought professional grade Permethrin liquid for spraying their coops and environs. The instructions warn NOT to spray when live animals are present, and to allow the permethrin to dry fully before allowing the chickens back into their coops.

I treat the birds with either Eprinex or Ivermectin pour-on, which I work into the skin under their wings (where feathers are sparse). The birds need to be treated weekly for 3 weeks to deal with newly-hatched lice.