Delousing, in preparation for shows.

Hey Everyone,

This subject has been touched on before, I just want to touch base on this again and get input from others on the subject, after all the CHB show is coming up soon

As someone who cares for the well being of his poultry, things like this are occasionally on my mind. Also with consideration to not only the health of my flock but the health of other fanciers in mind.
When is a good time, to treat your flock as either a precautionary measure, or a treatment against lice and so on?

What got me thinking about this is the upcoming CHB show. I want to make sure that not only are the birds I show look their best, I want to make darn sure they are critter free. There is nothing worse than having a dirty chicken... am I right?

The No pest Strips in the coops is a good idea, but I mean after all they are chickens and I know my gals get around the yard. They are bound to pick up an unwanted traveler along the way.

So in consideration to treating your birds and in preparation for a show what kind of time frame do you aim for? 2 weeks before the show, a week? Month?
I know that it's recommended to properly bath a chicken in preparation for a show with a flea & Tick shampoo, vinegar rinse, glycerin dunk for optimal shine ... would perhaps Ivermectin the week prior be an extra step or is this over kill?

I came across some information in regards to the Pour on Ivermectin dosage and thought I would share.

The below information was copied from another source....

IVERMECTIN POUR ON DOSAGE
Effective against all round worms, whip, hook, thread, pin, heart worm, all types of mites (including mange and scabies), and lice. Ivermectin pour on is available in a small container for about 15.00 at TSC. It will last quite a while (it MUST be the pour on type)
Off label for chickens. consensus is a 10 day egg withdrawal.
Drops are from a medicine dropper available from any drug store.
Drops are traditionally placed down the back or at shoulder blades directly to the skin, you must part feathers.

We need a dosage of .046 ml per pound of weight
So the following is true: (Rounded Up)
10 lb = 6 drops ivermectin if using a standard medicine dropper
9lb bird x .046 = 5-6 drops
8lb bird = 5 drops
7 lb bird = 4 drops
6 lb = 4 drops
5 lb = 3 drops
4 lb = 3 drops
3 lb = 2 drops
2 lb = 1-2 drops
under 2 lbs = not advisable in my opinion
Ivermectin is tested well in excess of the effective dose level and in my opinion is safe to round up. Repeat in 10-15 days with Valbazen if using for worms. You can repeat once in 10 days with "this" product if using for mites and lice, but I would advise an external spray before I considered a third dose of this product.

I think this is a good topic Jonny. Very important to make sure your birds are bug free going to a show.
I think prevention is a good time any time. A month before would help keep those birds bug free while you are trying to get them pretty for the show, then bathing 1-2 weeks prior to the show and another dose a week prior to the show doesnt help. If I remember right the eggs hatch 14 days after they are layed, so if you kill the adults always good to go back and kill the babies that have hatched.

I generally like to eprinex my birds prior to a sale as well, I seperate them into sale pens a couple weeks before a sale, eprinex them and make sure they have no health issues. I figure moving them into a different pen, mixing them with other sale birds, and eprinexing I am stressing their systems enough that they should show any problems before they are sold. And the good thing about eprinex is there is no withdrawl to worry about.

I know lots of people are going to say, don't treat if there is no problem. However, a nice fresh layer of eprinex on a bird will also prevent that bird from picking up lice at a show and bringing them home!

I will look into the Eprinex.

If lice is your only concern, then you have little to worry about. Ivormec or Eprinex a few days before the show and you are good to go.

The last CHB show I went to, I brought home Northern Fowl Ticks with my birds. If you do a search on here, there are more than enough topics on the evils of this little bugger, along with the many methods tried to get rid of them.

Ivormec and Eprinex DO NOT DO SQUAT at getting rid of ticks.

I Frontline my birds. In order to control ticks, it has to be done every 4 to 6 weeks. If your poultry have mites severely you are going to have to treat a couple of months before a show to allow time for the mites to die and the skin to heal. Mites will leave scabs that harden making it hard to work out of the feathers. IF you treat early, the majority of the scabs will easily be removed just by the chicken when they groom. Any remainder can be worked out of the feathers when you bathe them.
After you bathe your bird, reapply your Frontline and you should be good to go. The Frontline applied should take care of any mites that try to hitch a ride home with you. I wish I knew that before I did CHB last year. It would have saved me the world of grief trying to rid myself of those pests.

toybarons wrote:If lice is your only concern, then you have little to worry about. Ivormec or Eprinex a few days before the show and you are good to go.

The last CHB show I went to, I brought home Northern Fowl Ticks with my birds. If you do a search on here, there are more than enough topics on the evils of this little bugger, along with the many methods tried to get rid of them.

Ivormec and Eprinex DO NOT DO SQUAT at getting rid of ticks.

I Frontline my birds. In order to control ticks, it has to be done every 4 to 6 weeks. If your poultry have mites severely you are going to have to treat a couple of months before a show to allow time for the mites to die and the skin to heal. Mites will leave scabs that harden making it hard to work out of the feathers. IF you treat early, the majority of the scabs will easily be removed just by the chicken when they groom. Any remainder can be worked out of the feathers when you bathe them.
After you bathe your bird, reapply your Frontline and you should be good to go. The Frontline applied should take care of any mites that try to hitch a ride home with you. I wish I knew that before I did CHB last year. It would have saved me the world of grief trying to rid myself of those pests.

I was reading some of your posts in regards.. To my knowledge we are not experiencing any issues with mites, but I haven't yet checked over every bird yet. So far I have been through just under half my flock. And have only seen a few lice here and there. I know that I have a few of my black orps who have lice, Big Mama in particular, but I mean it's almost impossible to have a chicken and not get lice.

The mite issue is one I have yet to deal with, but preventative measures can go along way. I have yet to determine whom I will be showing this year, might not be showing a whole lot or any for that matter........as I want to let them grow out a bit. Showing to me is a chance to have someone like Rico or Heather a chance to critique my birds and get some pointers.

I am doing a round of Ivermectin on the birds whom are going to auction as a precaution as well. Will be attaching labels to those whom have been Ivermected.

Johnny, with my intense experience with the dreaded poultry/red mite I found Eprinex and Ivomectin did not work - orally or topically in large doses.

What DID work was 'Dusting Powder' by Dominion Vet Labs. If you dust around their vent area and work it in past the feathers and quills to the skin (including a couple of inches below the vent) then that should do it. It lasts for up to 4 weeks so I would dust two weeks before show if you don't have mites that you know of and if you do, then dust two weeks prior and then a second time 5 days later. This will give a good week or more before going to show knowing you're taking a mite/lice free bird.

By the way, it is the only product that I used that actually said on the label it was effective for the red mite, along with other unwanted parasites.

ChicoryFarm wrote:Johnny, with my intense experience with the dreaded poultry/red mite I found Eprinex and Ivomectin did not work - orally or topically in large doses.

What DID work was 'Dusting Powder' by Dominion Vet Labs. If you dust around their vent area and work it in past the feathers and quills to the skin (including a couple of inches below the vent) then that should do it. It lasts for up to 4 weeks so I would dust two weeks before show if you don't have mites that you know of and if you do, then dust two weeks prior and then a second time 5 days later. This will give a good week or more before going to show knowing you're taking a mite/lice free bird.

By the way, it is the only product that I used that actually said on the label it was effective for the red mite, along with other unwanted parasites.

Thanks for the advice... I will have to keep this in mind as well.

It's good to have a collective of info to combat against infestations.


Thankfully I don't have any issues with mites... but if that time comes and a battle begins it's threads like this that one can refer to to get going in the right line of defence!

Jonny, I brought the mites home on a bird I bought at CHB. I did check the newbie when I got home and found nothing. I knew the buyer and had no reason to believe the bird had anything other than, mayber lice. I did quaratine anyway and only after several weeks did I see the critters. BY then it was too late as, I learned after the fact, mites being so small and nearly invisible to the eye when they hatch as they are white, I was infecting my clean birds unknowningly.

If you know your birds are mite free, my advice is, don't bring any new birds home with you UNLESS you ask the seller if they know for certain their birds are mite free. Even then, use the dusting powder on any new birds, just to make certain. Then while any new birds are in quaratine, make sure you wash your hands whenever you go near your newbies before handling your flock.

After nearly a year, I can finally say I got the mites under control.

I know this is an old post but thanks for some very good information!