TICKS!!!

[Atchurch]

I've been reading other posts about ticks. They just got bad out here at the lake all of a sudden. Like, the last few days! So will my chickens eat them or not? We have a lot of cedar trees (which ticks hate) but they're coming from the oaks. I use neem oil on our edible plants but I doubt if I could spray enough to control them everywhere. What can I do to protect our babies?

 

[The Chick Addict]

Your babies might eat the ticks but if they don't seem to, getting Guinea Fowls may be a good solution if you have the space and ability to own some! They love to eat ticks!

 

[Atchurch]

Can they hurt my chickens if the get on them? Most of the girls get on my lap and I can pet them and tell if they have anything on them, but my rooster and a couple of girls don't really like petting.

 

[DLA]

I've been reading other posts about ticks. They just got bad out here at the lake all of a sudden. Like, the last few days! So will my chickens eat them or not? We have a lot of cedar trees (which ticks hate) but they're coming from the oaks. I use neem oil on our edible plants but I doubt if I could spray enough to control them everywhere. What can I do to protect our babies?

Most things I've read say chickens will seek out and eat ticks, guineas are the masters of tick eating though. I'd love to have them but oh the noise! and I wouldn't want them in my neighbor's yard. Ticks can get on chickens but typically the deer, wood, dog ticks aren't to much of a problem for them.
Poultry ticks are different and can be an issue but orange peel oil based products plus the normal measures used to control poultry lice and such will usually get them under control from what I've read.
I didn't want to use possibly unhealthy chemicals so I did some research and made my own spray deterrent to put on my hat and clothes out of garlic, vinegar, water, a little neem oil and eucalyptus oil - wow it stinks really bad but it also really worked. I haven't had any ticks on me since I started using it. This also should be safe for use around chickens cause you can use neem oil to cure scaly leg mites.

 

[Atchurch]

Most things I've read say chickens will seek out and eat ticks, guineas are the masters of tick eating though. I'd love to have them but oh the noise! and I wouldn't want them in my neighbor's yard. Ticks can get on chickens but typically the deer, wood, dog ticks aren't to much of a problem for them.
Poultry ticks are different and can be an issue but orange peel oil based products plus the normal measures used to control poultry lice and such will usually get them under control from what I've read.
I didn't want to use possibly unhealthy chemicals so I did some research and made my own spray deterrent to put on my hat and clothes out of garlic, vinegar, water, a little neem oil and eucalyptus oil - wow it stinks really bad but it also really worked. I haven't had any ticks on me since I started using it. This also should be safe for use around chickens cause you can use neem oil to cure scaly leg

 

[Atchurch]

What are y'all's thoughts on ivermectin in their water? Ticks are considered a parasite. Right?

 

[DLA]

What are y'all's thoughts on ivermectin in their water? Ticks are considered a parasite. Right?

Dunno. Never heard of it being used for that, I know it's used for intestinal worms among other things.
Someone else more familiar with that drug may be able to give more info.

 

[mscherilyn]

Don't know if this would work for all ticks, but here's my story to add to the library.
I bought some 2 week old chicks by having someone else get them for me 3 hours away from where I live. A day after they arrived I discovered they had a lot of tiny black dots on their skin. Pulled one off accidentally, put it under a microsope and did some research... only to determine they were completely infested with poultry ticks! I had never seen those before. I tried to find answers on how to treat them, but out of desperation while looking for answers, I decided to dust them with DE (diatomaceous earth, food-grade). I put it all over the little buggers and all over their run and all the areas surrounding it. I continued to monitor them several times a day. There were no negative affects on the chicks. Daily the number of black dots was diminishing. I was a little paranoid that they would hop off into the grass and then come back, so I was diligent about treating the grass pretty heavily for quite a while. This worked! I never had to apply it on the chicks more than the first time and all the ticks jumped off. They have never returned. Hooray! It was a win!

 

[Penpal]

One summer everyone's dogs had ticks and fleas. Not mine. It could be because I feed predator raw (raw meaty bones,...) and my dogs are healthier. But, it could also be because of the chickens making a career of grooming the grass and weeds.