Using my Tea tree shampoo, on birds with lice

[SilkieCanada]

IS that a bad idea? I have organic tea tree shampoo I use on myself. I just noticed my birds got lice. Stores are closed so I cant find any Diatomaceous earth just yet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

DE will not kill mites, you need to use either poultry dust or sevin on them asap. I wouldn't use tea tree, I have heard it isn't safe for chickens, and be sure to clean out your coop and dust or spray it and treat the old bedding too. then in 7 days you'll have to do it again. after you get rid of all the mites then use DE as a preventive.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=2170178

 

[flgardengirl]

I used seven dust on a roo I got from someone that turned out to have a severe case of lice. It knocked them all dead and he did not get it again. Must of killed the eggs as well. Its been a few mos and he hasn't got it again. I treated his bedding area, pen etc. as well.

 

[speckledhen]

Tea tree can be toxic to birds, especially if ingested, as can most aromatics.


BTW, I did kill a bad case of lice on my late great rooster, Hawkeye, when he was in quarantine years ago with DE alone. Worked fine. Dusted him, changed his bedding in the dog crate and dusted the new shavings with DE. Never saw any lice on him ever again.

 

[SilkieCanada]

so poultry dust is the name of it? is there a specific brand? And then Sevin is the product name or brand name?

 

[Miss Lydia]

if you go to your feed store and ask for poultry dust, they will show you what they have. also Sevin is a brand name, just make sure you get the one thats safe for animals. and when dusting be careful not to get the dust in the eyes or mouth. take a bag put your dust into it put the chicken into the bag with head sticking out the top close the bag and shake the bag with the chicken inside, best way to cover them and keep the dust out of their face .

 

[SilkieCanada]

Are there any types of poultry dust I should avoid?

 

[bantyshanty]

Sevindust can be toxic to animals & humans (read the warnings on the label) which is why it works so well to kill lice as well.
DE can cause respiratory distress if inhaled a lot, but has no toxicity, and does work on lice. You have to be a bit persistent about dusting them.

Be sure to order "Food Grade" DE,which you can do online (there's a link within this site so a couple sellers).
Chickens do like to eat a bit of it, as well, and it keeps intestinal parasites away as well.

Wear a dust mask, or at least a bandana, around your face while dusting.

 

[SilkieCanada]

sevin dust is toxic?! so it will kill my bird? I dont understand how to use the stuff if its toxic. This scares me. What are the toxic effects? Long term?

 

[dkvart1]

mitx here isa link to the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) on sevin dust

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=19022001