Please help - stick tight flea I think???

[Tala]

If ivomec doesn't work on these things, what about Frontline? You can apply it the same as cattle pour-on. Use a small syringe/needle to suck it out of the dropper package, and then dispense pea sized drops onto the chickens' skin by parting the feathers. It's off-label of course, but so is most of the other stuff people are naming. I'd use Frontline before I used Adams flea spray, it's just a safer type of drug.
txcarl1258 do you know if it works on them?

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

If you can't get good success with the sevin, consider neem oil for the chickens and spinosad spray for the coop (clean out the coop and spray to the point of run-off on every surface). Spinosad is the only thing that's working for fleas in some areas of the country now, and when you spray it on it keeps working for several weeks. Neem oil mixed with water in a 1:40 ratio (one part neem to 40 water) is a safe and surprisingly effective (as in scientifically proven to be effective and safe, unlike DE) method for getting rid of parasites on chickens if you are willing to put in the time to mix it and rub it on the chickens.

If you'd rather stick to what you can get at the feed store, which is certainly understandable, I would not do straight ivermectin but you could do eprinomectin (Eprinex). It works on fleas. Just be aware that it's not been tested in chickens and, while there's a lot of anecdotal information that it's safe, you should observe good hygiene around it (don't get it on yourself) and you should strongly consider a withdrawal period for the eggs.

 

[RainbowBirds_of_a_Feather]

Aloha,

Wow! I was shocked when I saw this thread. Because I saw these same fleas on my friends chooks, Prior to taking them home. I literally plucked those things of each bird before I took them home. Plus I used the kitten foam shampoo my sister had and bathed them with it. I kept them in quarantine for about a month and lifted every feather and looked all over each bird before they even went out of the coop and got placed with the rest of the flock. Oh yeah, I recall seeing these fleas on my friends Horses, prior to the chickens. When you are able to remove the fleas, the hens will be right back to their fun happy selves. I wish you luck and keep us posted. Another suggestion is anti-bacterial soap. My other friend uses it on his game cocks and it kills any mites that are in his birds feathers.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

Quote:
The last time Frontline was mentioned for chickens, the EPA went bananas. I had to link the cached page because the live page has since expired, but the EPA gave birth to large farm animals about people using Frontline on chickens when they really don't seem to care about all the other off-label things people do.

Frontline stays active; it doesn't kill-and-then-leave the way livestock pesticides do. So if you choose to use it, you should avoid eating the eggs for a loooooooong time, probably two months. I know it stays on animal skin at least that long.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
The last time Frontline was mentioned for chickens, the EPA went bananas. I had to link the cached page because the live page has since expired, but the EPA gave birth to large farm animals about people using Frontline on chickens when they really don't seem to care about all the other off-label things people do.

Frontline stays active; it doesn't kill-and-then-leave the way livestock pesticides do. So if you choose to use it, you should avoid eating the eggs for a loooooooong time, probably two months. I know it stays on animal skin at least that long.

According to Wiki Fipronil is used on crops that we eat.
"Between 1987 and 1996 fipronil was evaluated on more than 250 insect pests on 60 crops worldwide and crop protection accounted for about 39% of total fipronil production in 1997." It is used on corn in the US and rice in China. From what I've read it has little effect on mammals "Insect specificity of fipronil may come from a better efficacy on GABA receptor but also on the fact that GluCl does not exist in mammals." plus I've read that very little is actually absorbed through the skin, and at an active ingredient percentage of 9% in Frontline we aren't talking high doses to start with.
I wouldn't be so paranoid about it, you probably eat it every day considering that corn products are in EVERYTHING.

How many pets have had issues with Hartz products and Adams flea spray?? Isn't there someone on here that says Hartz killed their dog and so they only use Frontline now.

 

[txcarl1258]

Personally I haven't tried frontline for them. Honestly not much has worked to get rid of them. I am aiming towards prevention next year for them. We have A LOT of sand around here and they seem to thrive in the sand. For some reason they really seem to like the red and white based birds.

For some reason my BA hen hardly ever gets them, but my white cochin and RSL hens are a different story. I am going to try Sevin Dust for the yard to see how it keeps them away in the spring.

 

[BlacksheepCardigans]

Quote:
The difference is that crops are tested and the fipronil needs to be within the allowable residue levels. They're not squeezing an entire vial of Frontline on an ear of corn.

I am not at all paranoid about using stuff off-label. There's nothing wrong with that. I AM a little uncomfortable with saying "We own chickens to get away from all the crap and junk that commercial growers expose our eggs to!" and then using high doses of long-acting insecticide that is much, much more persistent than anything the commercial growers would ever use. When I use Frontline on my dogs, I don't eat them a week later.

Fipronil isn't used on US livestock so there are no established withdrawals and no idea what metabolites stick around; what's allowed in eggs as a result of chickens eating treated feed is .03 parts per million. So three parts per hundred million. What's in Frontline is 9%, or 90,000 ppm, which is nine million parts per hundred million. Nine million is more than three. Even if it's very poorly absorbed (which I actually don't find; it's not been tested on poultry but it's readily absorbed and excreted in mammals) there's no way you're going to stay under .03 ppm if you use a 9% solution on a chicken.

Frontline is designed to stay on the skin and keep working for a very long time. It's known to kill fleas for 60 or more days; the reason they have you re-apply is for ticks. So for at least 60 days it's on the bird.

I think it would probably work super well on sticktight fleas. I'd use it myself if I was at the end of my rope with a parasite. But I wouldn't eat the eggs or meat for months.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
When I die from eating Fipronil-laced eggs, you can say "I told you so"

Everyone SHOULD do their research on ANY drugs that they use on themselves or their pets or their food supply. I've done mine and was satisfied with what I found.
Just because 9% is a lot more than 3% - we're talking 9% of a "pea" sized drop which isn't a whole lot, and I still don't think chicken skin absorbs it any better than mammal skin. PLUS the fact that what DOES get to humans doesn't have much effect, for one reason I quoted was being the lack of GluCl in mammals.
You may not eat your dogs, but you touch them every day so it gets on your skin too

 

[picanins]

OK guys - you are not going to BELIEVE this result!!! Well ... you probably are, those of you experienced poultry people. I know this featherless hen doesn't look quite so attractive, but when her feathers grow back she'll look good. Within 24 hours of the sevin dust bath (which was a little bit of a palava) 90% of all the fleas have died. We realize that the treatment will be ongoing to completely eradicate the cycle, but WOW, our chickens seem so much happier this morning - yay for backyardchickens forum!!!!!

 

[kla37]

So glad you got good results with something. Keep up with it to keep those buggers away!