- May 17, 2009
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Ok y'all I have a hen shaking her head excessively (not her normal head shake) and suddenly all the gals are sleeping in the run instead of in the coop. I have wormed with Wazine and Ivermectin recently- but after more reading here seems like the ivermectin method I used (injectible solution mixed in water) may not be valid and wouldn't cover lice/mites.
Other than the odd behavior I have no reason to suspect lice or mites BUT this is our first year where winter really hasn't come- it's been rather warm and balmy in NC this year and so between the odd behavior (why are y'all suddenly sleeping in the run???) and the fact that the weather has not been cooperative in killing off bugs (heck I am still seeing tree frogs & robins, daffodils coming up, my forsythia is trying to bloom!) I thought a for-sure lice treating wormer would be justifiable.
I bought safeguard EQUINE (10% 100mg/g) wormer at my local TSC (none of our chicken selling feedstores carry meds- even at TSC they thought I was insane to worm chickens, but I digress) and want explicit instructions to worm these gals with it (please!). I am scared I will kill otherwise healthy birds using a horse-strength wormer.
Also- I intend to pull all the bedding out of the coop and I have (don't snort) food grade DE If there are lice or mites in the coop will a worming repeated in 10 days and a bedding change with fresh DE be sufficient or do I really have to put Seven/Permethrin chemicals in the coop? It's right next to our organic garden and our little one goes in there to tend chickens so I am trying to avoid human chemical exposure here.....
Thanks all!
Other than the odd behavior I have no reason to suspect lice or mites BUT this is our first year where winter really hasn't come- it's been rather warm and balmy in NC this year and so between the odd behavior (why are y'all suddenly sleeping in the run???) and the fact that the weather has not been cooperative in killing off bugs (heck I am still seeing tree frogs & robins, daffodils coming up, my forsythia is trying to bloom!) I thought a for-sure lice treating wormer would be justifiable.
I bought safeguard EQUINE (10% 100mg/g) wormer at my local TSC (none of our chicken selling feedstores carry meds- even at TSC they thought I was insane to worm chickens, but I digress) and want explicit instructions to worm these gals with it (please!). I am scared I will kill otherwise healthy birds using a horse-strength wormer.
Also- I intend to pull all the bedding out of the coop and I have (don't snort) food grade DE If there are lice or mites in the coop will a worming repeated in 10 days and a bedding change with fresh DE be sufficient or do I really have to put Seven/Permethrin chemicals in the coop? It's right next to our organic garden and our little one goes in there to tend chickens so I am trying to avoid human chemical exposure here.....
Thanks all!