Please help... What do I try next?

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I wonder if it's what I have heard people call stick tight fleas? a while back someone was talking about their chickens having them around their eyes. I use Epernix pour-on on my ducks, chickens and goose. you put drops on their skin at the base of their neck where the wings begin, like you do frontline for dogs. Epernix will kill any external and enternal parasites. If you decide to go with the sevin dust, I don't know how you'd keep it out of their eyes. Ivermectin pour-on works like Epernix except with epernix there is no egg withdrawl.

I have to agree with Miss Lydia. I think she has solved this. That's what it looks like to me.

 

[sourland]

I'm with Miss Lydia too-- another possibility might be seed ticks. Some Ivermectin based product should eliminate either of these pests.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Internet pic of chick with fleas

Sticktight fleas

The female ejects her eggs and they take about 2 weeks to hatch in the soil or litter below. The larvae complete their life cycle, pupate and emerge as adults about 2 weeks later. Sticktights live in the soil and just hop around freely until mating and the female will then attach to the host and the process starts again. It’s very difficult to remove the sticktight flea and pulling them with tweezers might cause more harm than good but you can do it. Some suggest to put petroleum jelly on the exposed fleas and this suffocates them but even then they may remain attached for several weeks before they finally drop off.

How to get rid of them

Treatment for this flea should be done at the soil level. Insecticidal sprays or powders will work but remember you’re dealing with animals in contact with the surface you are treating so I wouldn’t recommend that unless you can keep the animals off the area for an extended period of time. If possible keep the ground dry and this will go along way to retarding the development but in a barnyard that’s also hard to do. Food grade DE (diamataceous earth) will do an excellent job on the larvae in the soil. Not an insecticide per se but the sharp micro particles will act to ‘cut’ up the larvae and adults still on the ground without harming the birds or animals. Spread the DE over the surface and even rake it in slightly but you may need several applications since DE doesn’t fair well when it gets wet. Not super heavy and you should be fine. Another alternative for chickens anyway, is to ‘raise the floor’ by elevating the birds using chicken wire for flooring. 3 feet is recommended and this should eliminate the flea from coming in contact with the chicken. Not sure if they make goat wire Other suggestions might be to separate the animals with the fleas to stop them from spreading and some consider removing the top inch or two of soil as a way to physically take out any eggs, larvae or adults.​

 

[Annie75]

I'm sorry you're having this problem. It's horrendous to feel helpless to help your little guys. This is probably unrelated but I am currently growing rosemary bushes (lots of them) as I have been told that scattering rosemary around your pens can help to repel mites etc. The last thing you need is something else - so it couldn't hurt to prevent other nasties (and I feel like I'm 'doing something' ).

I hope they heal up soon

 

[ducksinarow]

Seven dust is great. I put in in my little house under a tarp and then add shavings. My birds don't seem to have any bugs. Right after I put my birds out in their new pen in came the bird lice. So I went and got seven dust. I am all about organic but I hate lice. Your picture looks like fleas. They are not just around the eye but also by the beak.

 

[GrannyCarol]

Sevin dust is highly recommended. I've used Ivermectin, because I had that on hand. I use the 1% cattle injectable and put it ON the skin of the back of the neck. I use 1 - 2 drops per bird and do them all. Then I wait two weeks and do it again to catch any hatches.

I had a problem with mites this spring, I think because we had a huge number of Starlings show up in the really cold winter weather for our heated water buckets. Wild birds can bring in mites.

 

[peewee]

I am sorry that it has taken so long to give an update on "the boys" but I have been in the middle of a move and just got the computer up and running again.
I did some research into the "stick tight fleas" and I would have to say that I believe that is what the boys had. I continued to put Vaseline around their eyes and around their bills a couple of times a day and would not let them into the water for a couple of days to help keep the Vaseline from washing off. I re-lymed and DE'd their pen and re-washed all their belongings. I even put a couple of drops of Ivermectin on their backs ($45.00 for a bottle that I only used 4 drops of

) I went out one day to put more Vaseline on and noticed that the fleas were dying so I held one boy down by basically sitting on him and squeezing with my knees and holding his bill in one hand and taking a flea comb and running it along the back of his head and down his neck. I was so creeped out and felt so bad for my babies. But the boys are looking better and acting like they feel better. They had a great time when I let them back into the water.
Just a quick question........ I know that the Ivermectin stays in the oil produced by the animal. If I let the ducks back into the water will this wash it away and if it does how do I go about re-dosing them and how often should I do this to make sure that all the fleas are gone so I do not have this problem again?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I like your website. being your in fl. you'll probably have to treat more often, I am in Mtns of N.C. and I treat 2 X a year. fall and spring. you'll need to treat the soil and duck house, bedding etc. Ivermectin is a good product, and since it's used on cattle I'd say it probably stays on even when wet. if your ducks bathe alot that should help keep them off unless your soil is just over run with them. but humid wet soil and hot temps probably don't help. I like to use sevin dust around where my ducks lay alot, I am glad to hear they are feeling and acting better. you might have to treat once a month to keep them off, hopefully others from Fl will weigh in and give you better advise.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Any update on your ducks?

 

[caribayb]

I'm in Tampa, and have had a terrible experience with sticktight fleas on my three chickens. Nothing is working yet, and I'm pretty sure we have one hen that isn't going to make it. We've tried DE and permethrin so far. My husband is bringing home some Selamectin (Revolution) tonight that he picked up at the vet. I'm curious if in the years since you posted if you've had recurring problems, or if you've managed to handle it. Our girls are just miserable, and it breaks my heart to feel like I'm just watching them die. :-(