We have Fleas - the only thing new around here is our chickens.

[greenpalm]

We have lived here for 14 years and have no indoor pets. We got five chicks in May. We have all hardwood floors, and just a few area rugs. We have all our mattresses sealed in bedbug proof zip cases. We have regular quarterly pest control treatment and have had for the entire 14 years we've lived here.

These are not stick tight fleas. They are ordinary jumping fleas, and suddenly they are everywhere in the house. They are jumping on our ankles and biting me and my kids.

The only thing that has changed is the 5 chickens we have outside.

Today I took all the rugs out on the driveway and sprayed them with Advantage rug and upholstery spray.

I also sprayed the upholstered futon that's on our screened in porch with that. I turned on the ceiling fan out there afterwards to ventilate.

The rest of the furniture, except for the beds is leather. I can wash all the bedding and steam clean all the wood floors with my shark steam cleaner. (but phew, that's going to be a lot of work!)

I keep DE in the coop, and I regularly sprinkle it around the areas of the yard where they hang out during the day. I sprinkle it liberally under the bushes where they hide and dust bathe, so they should be pretty well dusted with it.

I also got some indoor house flea foggers to treat the rooms with. But we need to find a time that we'll be gone for a couple of hours before I set those off.

but what else can I safely put on the chickens?

I've read a number of posts where people were treating their chickens with Advantage. It sounded like they were calculating a dose and splitting up the vials. Do they use Advantage for Dogs or Cats or is it the same chemical? Does it matter? Do I need to weigh each of them first?

I bought some Advantage for kittens, but I'm afraid to do it!

Also, I haven't actually seen fleas on the chickens, just in my house. I'm just assuming that the chickens have them because I can't figure out why else we have them all of a sudden otherwise.

Thanks so much for any help. I've read a lot of old posts before I posted this one. I've been trying to figure this out for several days, I just feel like I'm not getting an absolutely clear answer, one way or the other, and I hated to ask a question that had already been answered. But on the other hand it doesn't sound like regular fleas are a very typical chicken problem.

I have tried to be as complete as possible in describing the problem, but ask questions if I've left something out.

 

[BantamLover21]

Chickens can get fleas, but this isn't very common. More common parasites on them are are mites, lice, and rarely, ticks. I doubt that your chickens were the ones that brought in/attracted the fleas that are plaguing your house, though it is certainly coincidental the timing of things.

This is one thread I found on the topic, in case you want to read up on fleas and chickens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/53057/do-chickens-get-fleas

If you do find any fleas on your chickens, I believe you can get rid of them with Sevin dust or another mite/lice spray. I don't have any experience treating birds with Advantage, but have used Frontline (another dog and cat external parasite killer). My only concern with the Advantage (and that also holds true for the Frontline) is that the eggs may not be safe to eat once you use it on your hens.

Good luck with your flea-killing endeavors!

 

[greenpalm]

Thanks so much for the reply.

That thread you linked is one of the ones I read. My chicks aren't laying yet anyway. We only got them on 5 May.

So if I did treat them with the Advantage, how long would I have to wait before the eggs (if they did start laying) were safe?

Also, if I used Sevin dust instead are the eggs (if they start laying) safe then? Or would there be a waiting period with that?

Should I just talk to a vet? I haven't even taken any of them to a vet at all yet, so I don't even have one to call with questions.

Help me Obi Won Kenobi… erm… I mean BackyardChickens.com, you're my only hope!

 

[greenpalm]

It would be a big bummer if we couldn't even eat our first egg

 

[BantamLover21]

Thanks so much for the reply.

That thread you linked is one of the ones I read. My chicks aren't laying yet anyway. We only got them on 5 May.

So if I did treat them with the Advantage, how long would I have to wait before the eggs (if they did start laying) were safe? I don't know, I have never used it or researched it.

Also, if I used Sevin dust instead are the eggs (if they start laying) safe then? Or would there be a waiting period with that? With Sevin, there is an egg withdrawal period of 7 days. Sevin is very effective in killing mites/lice, and I would definitely recommend it.

Should I just talk to a vet? I haven't even taken any of them to a vet at all yet, so I don't even have one to call with questions. I don't think a vet could help much. Very few vets treat birds, much less know anything about them.

Help me Obi Won Kenobi… erm… I mean BackyardChickens.com, you're my only hope!

 

[greenpalm]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/343794/advantage-flea-control-for-cats

According to this thread (which admittedly, I dredged up from 2010) Advantage isn't absorbed systemically and the eggs are still safe.

Quote:

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Obviously, this is old… and it's one poster's opinion… but where can I get accurate information about the safety of any given chemical on chickens, and their eggs if not from a vet?

 

[Folly's place]

There's all sorts of advice online; good ,bad, and just amazing. Carbaryl and permethrin are safe for chickens; permethrin is approved for use in the USA, with a short withdrawal time. Frontline is not approved for any species of animal that we eat; there is no withdrawal time for that reason. In Brazil, it can be used in cattle, with a 45 day withdrawal time! There's NO DATA available for poultry, except that its more toxic for birds than for mammals. I don't know about Advantage, except that it's also not approved for use. Those miserable fleas did not come from your chickens anyway. They can come in on shoes or pants legs, or any visiting dog or cat, and lay eggs, and hatch out later in large numbers. Ugh! Treat the house for sure. Even if Advantage isn't absorbed through MAMMALIAN skin, that doesn't mean anything about birds. Call the companies who make the products to get the straight scoop. Mary

 

[SD Bird Lady]

We had this happen in a house we lived in. We finally figured they must have came from mice. They are very hard to get rid of. I dont have any scientific evidence just process of elimination. We left the house and the fleas did not follow.