Well, my chickens seem to have a bad case of poultry lice and possibly mites as it looked like there were 2 different bugs when I looked at a feather with my pocket microscope (super handy!!). They all seemed to mostly be at the shaft of the feather in between the barbs. They (23 chickens and 5 ducks) free range in a very large fenced backyard and pretty much sleep in a tree (I tried to get them to go back to the coop but they weren't having it). I sprayed the coop down with permethrin according to the directions on the packaging. I sprayed the floor, all of the crevices and walls and everything. It's a dirt floor and a kind of old building with some bedding on top but with it being a dirt floor- it's mostly impossible to clean the entire thing out. I diluted the mixture slightly according to the directions on the packaging to spray each chicken- all of them around the vent and under the wings. It's been a few weeks and it just looks like it has gotten worse. I read you don't want to spray too often because they will become resistant to it but should I be spraying multiple times?
-How often should I spray? Should I respray at all if it rains and they hang out outside in it?
-Should I spray my ducks as well? If I do spray them and they go in their pool (which the other chickens all like to drink from) would that be harmful for them all to then drink?
-Should I treat the yard? I have some sevin dust. If I put it down around the yard, will the chickens eat it? Is it harmful if they ingest it? There are a lot of spaces where it's just dirt where they hang out.
I am also one person living alone, working full time and going to school so it's super difficult to do anything hugely time consuming right now like cleaning out and washing out the entire coop so if there is a way to treat that is preferred.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
-How often should I spray? Should I respray at all if it rains and they hang out outside in it?
-Should I spray my ducks as well? If I do spray them and they go in their pool (which the other chickens all like to drink from) would that be harmful for them all to then drink?
-Should I treat the yard? I have some sevin dust. If I put it down around the yard, will the chickens eat it? Is it harmful if they ingest it? There are a lot of spaces where it's just dirt where they hang out.
I am also one person living alone, working full time and going to school so it's super difficult to do anything hugely time consuming right now like cleaning out and washing out the entire coop so if there is a way to treat that is preferred.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
