Permethrin Toxicity

Bleueyes72

In the Brooder
May 17, 2025
16
5
19
I am in need of serious help. Before I get to my issue please know that I 100% know that this is my fault and I’m trying my best to do what I can. I have beat myself up, kicked myself in the face and I’m sick to my stomach over this. So please, I’m asking for help. Not asking for any assistance in kicking my own ass. 😣

Last Sunday I did a permethrin dip for mites. I completely overdosed my birds and I’m trying to save them. I watched one act completely disoriented as if she was drunk. As soon as I realized and in my gut knew something was wrong I reached out for help. In a complete panic, I immediately got all of them rinsed and dried as best as I could.
I brought in the one that was acting really off and kept her in for the night. I did a few more rinses on her and she is back outside after 1 day.

When I came home on Tuesday night I noticed that one of my girls was not roosting and she was on the ground in a corner. I picked her up and put her on the roost. I watched her for a few minutes and she seemed to settle down.

The next day (Wednesday ) noticed she was isolating herself but still hanging with the group (if that makes sense). That night I came home from work to find her in the nesting box. I moved her to the ladder that she would use to get to the roost and she couldn’t jump up on it like normal and she was not able to balance very well. I brought her in that night and gave her an Epsom salt bath with some activated charcoal for 20mins, used the blow dryer to get her 100% dry, offered water with electrolytes and some egg- she wanted nothing to do with it. She just wanted to sleep. I let her be and stayed up all night checking on her every 30 -45 mins. That’s just me. I’m like that.

Thursday: I gave another Epsom salt bath and also rinsed her and used dawn dish soap in hopes to get what residue was still on her off. I felt after doing so it did help. I could smell the difference. I also know that dawn strips them of their natural oils but I was desperate. I just wanted what I could still smell off. I was (and still am) afraid when she preens she would just be reintroducing into her system what we are trying to remove.

Current day- she still cannot balance very well. She can walk, but doesn’t want to venture out and can easily get tripped up. I am giving 3cc of poultry cell in her food that she will eat when I help her, she does have round the clock food and water, she is being kept in a warm, dark environment. She has not laid since being in the house. She is a little over a year old.

All other ladies are doing good. They are back to their normal routine but let me tell you they are still pissed at me and I mean PISSED OFF. I am doing daily skin checks and treating a few that ended up with a slight chemical burn. I have discontinued electrolytes as I only did for 3 days due to the initial shock. The only thing that has changed is the order in which they sleep since bringing the young one inside. Everyone is all over the place. I’ve never seen anything that dramatic in the switching of positions.

So, there’s my life right now. I’m asking for any and all advise from anyone who has knowledge with this topic. I’m at a point where I don’t know what actions to take or what is to be expected. I will do whatever it takes to fix this.

Thank you everyone for reading and understanding.💔
 
Last Sunday

She has not laid since being in the house. She is a little over a year old.
I'm sorry to hear about this stressful time.

Can you post photos of her and her poop?

She's not laid an egg, it could be she's stressed and is now having a hard time expelling an egg. I'd give her 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet now, then once daily for a week. See that she's drinking well. It wouldn't hurt to give her a little sugar water to see if this helps perk her up.

Did you see mites/lice on the birds, did she have a heavy infestation?
 
I'm sorry to hear about this stressful time.

Can you post photos of her and her poop?

She's not laid an egg, it could be she's stressed and is now having a hard time expelling an egg. I'd give her 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3 tablet now, then once daily for a week. See that she's drinking well. It wouldn't hurt to give her a little sugar water to see if this helps perk her up.

Did you see mites/lice on the birds, did she have a heavy infestation?
Thank you so much for the reply.❤️
We have one bird that ended up with Depluming Mites. We treated everyone with Perm at first (just sprayed under each wing, vent and back of neck) then I felt that that wasn’t working so we then treated with Elector PSP (each girl, same way) waited and then I freaked out thinking nothing was working because I noticed a pattern with feather loss and thinness with the other girls so that led me to do what I did. I Also gutted the coop and did an overhaul. I will go right now to pick up what you suggest and start treatment. She won’t eat or drink unless I make her. And I have to tell you, I just did a quick manual exam and I think you are right. I “think” I feel something that represents her being egg bound. This is now a whole other level of stress!😵‍💫 I really appreciate your help!
 
I just took these.
 

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How would I tell the difference? I’m assuming doing a finger up the butt (gently) would rule out egg bound. Water belly.. I’m going to have to research that one. Ive heard not good things about that.
 
Thank you so much for the reply.❤️
We have one bird that ended up with Depluming Mites. We treated everyone with Perm at first (just sprayed under each wing, vent and back of neck) then I felt that that wasn’t working so we then treated with Elector PSP (each girl, same way) waited and then I freaked out thinking nothing was working because I noticed a pattern with feather loss and thinness with the other girls so that led me to do what I did. I Also gutted the coop and did an overhaul. I will go right now to pick up what you suggest and start treatment. She won’t eat or drink unless I make her. And I have to tell you, I just did a quick manual exam and I think you are right. I “think” I feel something that represents her being egg bound. This is now a whole other level of stress!😵‍💫 I really appreciate your help!

How would I tell the difference? I’m assuming doing a finger up the butt (gently) would rule out egg bound. Water belly.. I’m going to have to research that one. Ive heard not good things about that.

I just got home with the calcium with D3. Do you think I should still give her this?

Update: she is definitely not egg bound. I went in almost 1.75 inches. Nothing. 😔
If she were mine, I'd still give the Calcium. Now, then once daily for a week.
She may still be having a hard time expelling an egg or material like lash, it's hard to know.

How do you know your birds have Depluming Mites? They are microscopic and live under the feather follicle feeding off blood and other material.

Did you actually see any bugs on your hens or in their housing? What prompted you to treat them for Depluming Mites?

Topical applications of insecticides like Permethrin and Spinosad generally will not reach Depluming Mites. Ivermectin is used to treat Depluming Mites.
 
If she were mine, I'd still give the Calcium. Now, then once daily for a week.
She may still be having a hard time expelling an egg or material like lash, it's hard to know.

How do you know your birds have Depluming Mites? They are microscopic and live under the feather follicle feeding off blood and other material.

Did you actually see any bugs on your hens or in their housing? What prompted you to treat them for Depluming Mites?

Topical applications of insecticides like Permethrin and Spinosad generally will not reach Depluming Mites. Ivermectin is used to treat Depluming Mites.
My leghorn . We have been trying to figure out what was going on with her. She has had a bald butt for 6-8 months, and her feathers started to thin out on her back and her tail feathers are almost like sticks. I was referred to a university (I can’t remember the name) and I read a report with photos and a clear description of the damage Depluming Mites will cause, how they live, so on and so forth. Then we noticed the other girls that sleep next to Vale started having the same issue. Not as bad but I could tell that they’ve got it now.

So I jump on a couple of sites, I get confirmation from someone I trust and I was told by the person (not the one I trust) who we have recently purchased our new babies from to use Perm. I have Ivermectin pour on and I was told I could do a dip with that as well. Now with what you are telling me, I’m thinking of giving everyone a week or two before I treat with Ivermectin. I’m just going to get it in my head that the mites are not dead because I didn’t use the correct treatment. Would you be willing to help me with this? I can’t torture them anymore and at this point I’m scared to death of doing something worse.

Here is something that I noticed. The girl I have inside I noticed a couple weeks ago she was not roosting on her roosting spot. She started to take up residency in the shit box. So every night when I got home from work, I went out and I saw her and I would put her on her roost bar and she would immediately get down and not want to have anything to do with it, so after a couple of days and weeks of me having to move her, this whole dip thing happened and now I noticed that when she walks, she is taking little steps and stepping on her toes. She won’t lay down to sleep because of the balance issue. I’m thinking this is something that started waaay before the dip. This is something else. She wants to be back with her friends. I’m sitting out with her in the yard and she just doesn’t look right. I can confirm that no one else is having this issue.

What do you think?

Do I need to keep her inside or??

I can tell she is much happier being out here rather than being inside. I will continue the calcium and keep on her. I have a video of her walking if that will help.

Thanks again for walking me through this! ❤️
 

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