What do you do to keep your flock healthy (mite/lice free)?

[chickengeorgeto]

Permethrin is a double acting insecticide. Not only will Permethrin kill mites and insect pests but Permethrin is also a long acting repellent. Now personally I don't care what red or northern fowl mites do on their own time just as long as they keep their bloodsucking hands off my poultry so contrary to what some of you may think I'm not a mite killing psycho, I just want the mites to leave my birds in peace. Whether the mites are as dead as a door nail or simply repelled at the sight of my birds is immaterial. At any rate Permethrin is nothing more than a manufactured version of the NON GMO, Organic, natural, Heritage, insecticide Pyritheum, which is a natural insecticide made by pounding dried mum or marigold pedals into a fine snuff like powder. Which by the way quickly looses its potency when exposed to Sunlight. Furthermore
MAN MADE Permethrin has NO WITHDRAWAL period.

 

[andreanar]

This...is my kind of experiment!

Let me know if and when you do it, please!

I will post a thread if I ever get a case of bumblefoot. Haha....Most people hope they don't get bumble, me...meh....I wanna experiment!

 

[Angeline1978]

I put in a dust bath area, all natural mite spray at a tractor supply near me, and I do not use straw. Mites love straw, inside and out.

 

[CharlieBaby]

Perhaps. But there could be other reasons--Bacteriophages, a natural predator of bacteria, and highly specific to the bacteria they attack, have been shown to sometimes work very effectively on bacterial infections. But they're not FDA approved, so there's no profit in them. Therefore, no funding; therefore, no research.

@sylviethecochin I know this is an old post, but I'm wondering if you could share more about bacteriophages. I'm looking for effective treatments against Salmonella, specifically Salmonella Gallinarum (fowl typhoid). Through this article, I found that the bacteriophage Bafasol may be helpful. Is neem a bacteriophage, or were you referring to something else? Do you recommend neem for treatment of Salmonella? Thank you!

Edit: @author

 

[BDutch]

Dust baths are supposed to suffocate mites. If you want to add extra stuff, add diatomaceous dirt (a chemical, so you might not like it), lavender, or some other herbs. Ashes from fires are also good for them.

Food grade DE is not chemical.

DE has been proven to be totally ineffective for dealing with mites. It is also a lung irritant. I would skip it in the dust bath. Wood ash is helpful

This is not right. Its just not scientifically researched! I have 8 years of experience with DE and I dare to say it helped me / my chickens a lot.

The food grade DE is not irritating when mixed with sand or earth. Only when it largely pure. I use it as a paint (stir with water) to cover all parts of the coop and especially the roost and joints with the wet DE- After drying it sticks to to walls. Reapply when it disappears. Put a layer of sand with DE in the nest boxes under the bedding and clean out the bedding weekly if you have chicks (nest sleepers).

Imo DE can help a lot to prevent feather lice, scaly legs or a red mite infestation but you always need to monitor to be sure things are okay. My chickens never had scaly leg mites ar feather lice using DE.

For red mite you need more than just add a little DE in the dust bath. Furthermore to prevent an infestation that gets out of control you need to check / monitor weekly. I use rolls of biscuit paper (corrugated) to monitor and catch red mites.

Nest sleepers and not cleaning out weekly/not reapplying probably caused my last (minor) red mite infestation. I was glad I monitored the roosts, were I found a few mires. But this time it already spread in the nest boxes.
I concurred the red mite with cleaning , apllying lots of DE and adding special supplements to the water and feed. Here they sell Finecto+ supplements to make the chickens blood disgusting for mites. The chicks and chickens didn’t get any respiratory problems because from the DE the way I used it.

In my country chemicals like Permethrin are not allowed on animals kept for food (eggs and meat). And the poisons don’t work sometimes because the red mites build up resistance.

I have no experiences with the northern fowl mites.

Getting red mite is a problem with healthy chickens too. The blood suckers weaken your chickens. And after that chickens become unhealthy. Not the other way aound.

If you give balanced food you can feed chickens other things than commercial chicken or layer feed. It’s mainly the fatty/low protein treats you should give not too much. Free rangers in a lush environment can find lots of the food they need by themselves. @Perris wrote an excellent article about feed if you are interested in feeding your chickens self made feed.

 

[aart]

My chickens never had scaly leg mites ar feather lice using DE.

Did they have them before you started using DE?

 

[BDutch]

Did they have them before you started using DE?

I started to use DE within a year. And have used it for 8 years now.

I know that many chicken keepers (in NL) deal with parasites (red mites, scaly leg mites, feather lice, worms or coccidioses), within a life cycle of a chicken. A thrust worthy site says almost all chicken keepers: https://www.levendehave.nl/nieuws/parasieten-belangrijkste-bron-ongerief-bij-kippen. Curious? You can use google translate it from Dutch.

My run is open for little songbirds and my chickens fred range a few hours on most days. So there is lots of contact with the outside world. But I try to avoid bringing in new chicks and chickens. I prefer buying only hatching eggs for a broody.

So far I had 1 minor red mite infestation after 1 year and one about 6 weeks ago which was harder to eliminate because I had chicks snd a broody sleeping in the laying nests. . Because we wanted to make a holiday trip I finally used permethrin spray once on one adult broody who kept going to the laying nest were it was hard to overcome the red mite infestation. Just to be sure.

Besides the DE I used 2 of these supplements (herbal and not toxic). They are not very long on the market and are sold at pet supply shops/gardener/animal shops.
https://finecto.com/nl-nl/blog/hoe-werkt-finecto-voor-kippen-met-bloedluis/
Finecto+ ORAL and Solution.

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Spoiler: Finecto +

[
[/ICODE]
How does Finecto+ work for chickens with red mites?

The Finecto+ method consists of a combination of the mite test, the Finecto+ PROTECT spray and Finecto+ ORAL for through the feed. And recently the drinking water application Finecto+ SOLUTION was added. Only by combining the external and internal products can you reach the red mite both in the coop and on the chickens themselves. Red mites can be controlled with the Finecto+ method. It's not a pesticide, so don't expect all red mites to be dead within a few days. We explain exactly how this works in this article.


Why the combination of the products is so important

We distinguish red mite in three stages: the eggs, the newly hatched larvae and the adult red mite. You can clearly see the difference in the photo above. The white dots are the eggs, the white aphids are the larvae and the red aphids are the adult mites. The pen contains 35% red mite eggs, 20% larvae and 45% adult red mite. With the spray you only reach the larvae, which is only 20% of all red mites. With the dietary supplement you reach the adult mites, which is 45%. If you only use one product, you will therefore only reach a small part of all red mites.

The Finecto+ method consists of five products: a mite test, nutritional supplement, drinking water additive, pen spray and bath sand. Check them out below.

finecto mite test
Finecto+ TEST

Don't have red mite yet? Then it is wise to hang a red mite test under the perches. This way you know when there are mites in the pen and you can treat in time. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can get rid of it. But even if you already have red mite, it is good to hang up a red mite test. Red mite is a persistent problem. To get rid of red mites you really have to be very consistent and persistent in the treatment. Unfortunately, there is no solution where you can get rid of it completely in a week. This is because red mite eggs can still hatch a year later. And then it starts all over again. By hanging a red mite test under the perch, you know whether new red mite eggs have hatched and whether you have to start treatment again.

How-finecto-oral-by-chicken-feed-works
Finecto+ ORAL – for through the feed

With Finecto+ ORAL you reach the red mites that suck blood from the chicken. Finecto+ ORAL is an animal feed supplement based on herbs and essential oils. It is a powder that should be sprinkled over the feed. The herbs and essential oils are then absorbed into the bloodstream and excreted through the skin. Red mites can no longer convert the blood with the herbs into new eggs. The cycle of the mite is interrupted. However, only 45% of all red mites go to the chicken to suck blood. Not yet the newly hatched larvae and eggs. That is why Finecto+ ORAL should always be combined with the spray. Because with the spray you can reach the young mites, but not the eggs. You reach the eggs with a high-pressure sprayer.

Drinking water application against blood lice
Finecto+ SOLUTION – for through drinking water

Finecto+ SOLUTION is an application for drinking water based on various herbs such as echinacea, oregano, cynorrhodon and giseng. It should be combined with Finecto+ ORAL for best results. Chickens often do not receive the correct dosage if they are also fed vegetables or worms in addition to the feed. Conversely, this also applies to the drinking water, because many chickens drink not only from the water bowl, but also from puddles of rainwater. Therefore, Finecto+ ORAL should be combined with Finecto+ SOLUTION for optimal protection. [/ISPOILER]