Treating with Ivermectin

[ellend]

Ivermectin Pour-on. I picked it up today to treat my chickens for lice and mites, I am going to treat tonight assuming I can get this worked out. There seems to be conflicting information all over the place. This seems to be the most accepted standards I could find, agreed?

1 drop - OEGB sized small bantam female
2 drops - OEGB sized small bantam male
3 drops - average bantams
4 drops - large bantams, small commercial fowl
5 drops - most commercial fowl, small giant hens
6 drops - giant breeds of chicken

So...

Mature: I have New Hampshire Reds, Isa Browns, Black Star. I don't think they are very big chickens... they are about a year and a half old, I am thinking 4 drops each for them?

Pullets: 2 Leghorns that are about the same size as my mature breeds, and the rest of the pullets are smaller, all in the vicinity of 20 weeks. I am thinking 4 drops for the Leghorns, and 3 drops each for the other pullets?

Rooster: Also around 20 weeks, about the same size as my mature hens, so thinking 4 drops there as well.

Does this sound good?

A few other questions:

Egg tossing. I have read that some do, some don't, so I am going to play it safe and toss for a couple weeks I think. However, I have also read that you can feed the eggs to the chickens, good idea? Bad idea? Could this overdose them?

Coop. It has a dirt floor and, in theory, straw for the nest boxes. The straw ends up everywhere after a couple days, though, of course.

Should I rake out the straw and replace it now before dosing them tonight? Wait until after they are dosed and do it tomorrow? I will dust with DE after.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I'm searching for a way to be rid of mites (definitely mites, not lice) on EOGB pullets. These birds are pets; I love getting the eggs, but they are pets first, and some of them are really badly infested, with very bad scabbing. I've battled them for several years; Keep sevin dusting the birds and the coop and shavings (I was replacing the shavings each time, but still not working, and getting VERY expensive!) and washing and blow-drying chicken butts (for those really awful scabby times). DE didn't help. Can't bathe chickens or wash down the coop in the cold, which is 3/4 of the year here.

This ivermectin "pour-on"--is it the one for cattle? Can you tell me the strength written on the container that you are using? One drop for OEGB hen? Directly on the skin?

Forgive me, but I want to be ABSOLUTELY certain I don't poison them, as they're so small!

 

[dawg53]

Quote: Consider purchasing epinex instead of ivermectin pour on, there isnt any withdrawal period using eprinex. One drop on BARE SKIN on the back of the neck of your birds should work. Eprinex is abit thicker than ivermectin pour on, it may take a second or two longer to absorb through the skin into the bloodstream, it'll kill blood sucking mites/lice. You'll still have to dust the inside of coops and nests, and repeat the dusting 7-10 days later. Here's a link where to purchase eprinex, the 250ml bottle is all you'll need.
Any chemical and most dusts are poisons, it's a risk, but sometimes a necessary one. It's your choice.
http://www.jefferspet.com/ivomec-eprinex-pour-on/camid/LIV/cp/17185/
There are lice/mites that feed off the skin and feathers/shafts too. I've heard of people using Frontline instead of ivermectin or eprinex, but I've never used it.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Also make sure that you are retreating in 7 days or so to kill the mite eggs that hatch out, otherwise they come right back. And spray or dust your coop.

 

[katysu]

I will be treating my chickens with Ivermectin injectable for the first time next month. I had read that you could give to 1/4 cc by mouth to a chick up to 6 months of age. That being said, at what age (how many weeks old) would it be considered safe to treat my chicks?

 

[casportpony]

I will be treating my chickens with Ivermectin injectable for the first time next month. I had read that you could give to 1/4 cc by mouth to a chick up to 6 months of age. That being said, at what age (how many weeks old) would it be considered safe to treat my chicks?

You should weigh them and dose them by their weight (see my avatar).
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed/cam/09_therapeutic_agents.pdf

 

[dawg53]

I will be treating my chickens with Ivermectin injectable for the first time next month. I had read that you could give to 1/4 cc by mouth to a chick up to 6 months of age. That being said, at what age (how many weeks old) would it be considered safe to treat my chicks?

Ivermectin injectable is useless as a wormer. It will still treat mites though.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0450.1989.tb00635.x/abstract

 

[casportpony]

Ivermectin injectable is useless as a wormer. It will still treat mites though.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1439-0450.1989.tb00635.x/abstract

That's a very interesting article! I've have a brand new bottle of Ivomec that I'd like to sell, lol, cheap!

 

[dawg53]

Quote: LOL. If you know someone that has cattle or other livestock other than poultry, it should be good to use on those animals. I havnt run across anything to the contrary other than chickens.

 

[ezlynx]

You can actually also use the injectable ivermectin orally or topically. You just have to use the correct amounts. May need to retreat several times (doesn't kill eggs, severe infestation). Topical will likely treat both lice and mites and should take care of biting lice. Ivermectin is actually a pretty cool product with a fair range of safety but accurate dosing is best. I've read about it being used to debarnicle boats. The human ivermectin product (Stromectol) treats river blindness in under developed countries. 0.2mg/kg seem to be a standard dosage for many species. Topical treatment can be higher. An older version of Exotic Animal Formulary by James Carpenter DVM claims "...dosages exceeding 0.2mg/kg are probably unnecessary in birds." A few species actually have a higher dose listed. He doesn't mention chickens specifically but does state "Most species" and goes on to list many types of bird. I don't know much about chickens but do know about other small furry animals. I think my chicken may have lice so I think I'm going to get some to use topically.

 

[casportpony]

@ezlynx - Welcome to BYC!​