organic/natural ways to get rid of lice/mites?

[happyfeet]

I keep reading that people are putting seven on there chickens. we eat our eggs and my children play with our chickens. i wont even use the stuff in my garden. there has got to be something out there that works that is not poisin. i use DE and now only a few of my barred rocks are effected. i see white clumps all around their vents and they are loosing so many feathers. i have 29 hens and only getting 6-9 eggs a day, unusal for my girls. i am cleaning the coop again tommorrow, what can i put in there before fresh shavings go down? what can i put on the hens? they have a dust bath with peat moss, wood stove ash, and DE mixed together; changed often. what am i not doing/what am i doing wrong?

 

[MoodyChicken]

Marigold and peppermint oil, DE, plant catnip and peppermint around the coop so the birds can self medicate, rubbing alcohol, pine shavings. I've had very limited success with those, but the rubbing alcohol kills mites instantly.

 

[JennsPeeps]

You can use Frontline. It's not organic but it won't spread to your hands as much as the Seven would.

To be honest, I was using DE on my banty cochin, who struggles with mites something fierce. I finally broke down and started using Seven. I hate the stuff, but I hate mites & a sick banty even more.

 

[Renee]

Once they have the lice or mites, Sevin is one of the only things that will kill them. The other things are great for prevention, but they will not kill the lice.

One woman on this site had some success with long, warm baths and rigorous shampooing. She got all the lice, but could not get the eggs off. She intends to try it again as soon as the eggs start to hatch.

Perhaps you could make the chickens off limits to the children for two weeks while you treat, and throw away any eggs.

 

[redhen]

what does the catnip do?? can you just feed it to the hens?? i have a big patch of it growing..

 

[MoodyChicken]

Well... it attracts cats and repels rats and it also isn't thoroughly enjoyed by insects. It will just help reduce the number of bugs around the coop.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Quote:
True in most cases. It depends on how severely infested the bird is and how often you treat. Rubbing alcohol will kill all living insects on the bird instantly, but it will not prevent future bugs from coming or hatching. Those plants may treat a small infestation, but would also require daily treatment.

 

[tiki244]

I found washing the chickens with peppermint castile shampoo works wonders(leave on for a few minutes). Make sure you rinse and dry thoroughly afterwards. Sprinkle peppermint oil around the coop and nesting areas. Add pine needles to the litter and nest boxes.

And, although cedar is bad for chickens, a small amount of chips sprinkled on the litter will also help. Or even just a few small branches. Just don't over do it on the cedar, because you don't want to make them sick.

 

[atkinsonfive]

When using the DE in nesting boxes...do you just put under the straw? are the eggs still ok to eat? Do you have to mix with sand to have a dusting area for the chickens? THANKS!

 

[stephhassler]

I haven't had mites/lice, so I haven't tried this but . . . My sister has had chickens for many years and uses a potash dust. In other words, ashes from a fire place. The chickens take a dust bath in them and it rids them of mites/lice.