Permethrin and Mites/Lice

[lilmillefleur]

1. How much should the permethrin be diluted?
2. And how toxic is it to chickens?
3. How do mites kill a chicken exactly?
4. What kind of permethrin is best to use?

Sorry for all the questions, we've seen eggs in the feathers on one of our girls, and we've put DE in the coop and on the birds several times a few weeks ago. We have bought permethrin, I don't know if it's already diluted, but we haven't used it yet because we don't know how.
We learned that one of our friends had just recently lost one of her hens to mites, so this has worked us up a little on what we should do for our birds and how mites can actually kill a bird, being so small and such. We would like some information from you on mites and lice please, Thank you so much! <3

 

[Amer]

Hmm. We have mites, but we use so many products, I don't know what we all have anymore. If it is the mite dust, normally you do not have to dilute it, but I'd ask someone more experienced to help me with this. I don't know who, because I don't visit this forum often. We finally got the mites under control.

 

[Folly's place]

If you bought a product that's labeled for treating poultry, follow the directions on the label. If it doesn't have poultry/ chickens listed on the label, take it back and get something else.
There are so many products out there, one set of directions doesn't cover what you need to know!
Permethrin powder (poultry dust) requires wearing at least a N95 dust mask (buy in the paint department) and is a mess to use. Permethrin spray concentrate (I buy Gordon's) is much easier to use and less expensive.
Treat all the birds, at night, when they are roosting. Also clean out the coop, and spray the walls, roosts, floor, everything. You may need to treat again in two weeks or so. UGH!
Mary

 

[aart]

we've seen eggs in the feathers on one of our girls

Sounds like lice to me......google lice and mites for pics to positively ID the pest you are dealing with.

Mites feed on blood and can kill a bird thru anemia(I think).
Lice feed on skin and are far less likely to kill a bird.

Dusting will work but harder to do, spray works better but I won't use it in the winter.
Both products need to get down onto their skin to be effective.

 

[BantyChooks]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/permethrin-spray.1134783/#post-17562875
Here's a good thread on permethrin spray.