4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[PeckyBeak]

Some of my chooks have Northern Fowl Mite and I used the Harkers Harka-mectin spot on a few days ago,(not licenced for poultry use) Plus louse/mite powder. It hasn't done the trick and I mentioned it to the vet when he was dealing with another matter. He said that normally spot-on's are dosed according to the weight of the chook. The pack just says use 2 drops for pigeons.

A pigeons weight is 500g approx so for a 2Kg chook I would need to use 8 drops and for my Brahma at 3.8 Kgs about 15 drops. This seems logical but I am frightened to OD them.

Do any of you use this and can anyone please confirm that is correct

[The Dogmother]

I don't use that one, I prefer Ivomec Eprinex* which is more effective against both lice and NFM. The dosage for that is detailed here

 

I think that there's quite a bit of leeway with the dosage and it's not crucial to be exact form my understanding.

 

* not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[PeckyBeak]

Thanks Claret, I had tried to get the Eprinex on-line, but it seems to be unavailable unless you have cattle and a herd number so I am stuck with the Harkers one.

[The Dogmother]

Would your vet not prescribe it?

[Jools]

Re Ivermectin, there are different strengths readily available so it depends which one you have. The stronger 1% version is 1 drop per 500g weight, which is the one I used for NFM last year (together with Frontline spray on the affected area). Not licensed for poultry obviously!

[PeckyBeak]

Hi Jools, the one I have is 0.35% so 2 drops would be 0.70% so that per 500g weight would seem ok???

[The Dogmother]

Sounds about right to me.

[PeckyBeak]

Thanks Claret, for your reassurance, I will presumably need to repeat the treatment after 7 days as well to hopefully break the cycle. This is just another thing thrown at us this year, We have lost 4 chickens in the last 2 months to Infectious bronchitis, peritonitis, impacted oviduct, An operation for Impacted crop, which she survived, but then had the peritonitis which vet wouldn't drain.

The IB was the worst and is still not over as it has left us still with secondary infections, brittle egg shells, still some coughing, and Myco. Each morning I wondered who I would find dead or gasping. There have been a lot of tears...

The girls were so poorly they were coughing and sneezing blood, gasping for breath and we were having to give them their medication by syringe several times a day. Also drops in to eyes every other day.We had 40 chickens I might add.

Despite me worming them every 12 weeks, we also have gape worm in the garden which has a 18 day life cycle so can develop quickly and miss the Flubenvet cure, so I now have to worm them every 6 weeks.

The vet visited us and said our set-up is superbly clean but as soon as they go into the garden to free range it is undone by the wild birds ducks and pheasants which we get in the garden and they bring in the diseases.

Due to the drugs I am throwing away 25 plus eggs per day, so our regular customers have also gone elsewhere.

Sorry for the rant but I haven't posted any of this on the forum, as I haven't had time, and have bottled it all up,but I know you will all understand.

Edited May 19, 2011 by Guest

[The Dogmother]

Ivermectin is systemic, so you only need to repeat it every quarter. It's the topical spraying (one that contains permethrin) that needs to be repeated after a week in order to break the hatching cycle of the eggs.

 

Sounds like you've had a bad time of it lately, but I can reassure you that it's not always like that. Re the worm problem, have you treated the soil with Stalosan or asimilar disinfectant to kill off the worm eggs?

[PeckyBeak]

Hi Claret, I treat their WIR with Stalosan regularly, but the garden is 44 ft wide by 160 ft long, so not an option unless there is a commercial product?

[The Dogmother]

Not so far as I know, sorry.

[PeckyBeak]

Following the advice on Ivermectin for the NFM problem we had,we dosed all the girls (37 of them) on 22nd May, after a few days, couldn't see any mites on them. had also shampooed bums in dog flea powder of the worst ones. Fine we thought, eggs back for sale a week later at last, but today I have found some more on one of the girls.

Should I Ivermectin them again, ( I have some in stock), but I thought the treatment lasted for 12 weeks? Not sure what to do next. Any advice would be welcomed as feeling despondent.

[Chucky Mama]

Given at the correct dose, it should, I believe last for 12 weeks.

[PeckyBeak]

Thats' what I thought Chucky Mama, haven't checked the other girls yet but the one I found them on today weighs 2.5kg and I had given her 10 drops (2 drops per 500g). so not sure whether to repeat on just her and any others I find them on or do the whole lot again.

[Chicken shack]

I gave mine two lots of the drops a week apart to be sure they were rid of the horrid little things.

[sandyhas3chucks]

Not so far as I know, sorry.

I did my garden 1/4 at a time very attractive pink it was too

[The Dogmother]

AS Chucky Mama has said, you have to get the right dosage and check the dilution of the ivermectin* as it can vary widely. It should have an effect for the next quarter, but you will need to continue spraying until all the mites have gone.

 

NFM are very tenacious and it's hard work to get rid of them; a couple of my older girls had them last summer and it was a devil of a job to get rid of. I now use Ivomec Eprinex* all year round and spray them every month, this preventative programme seems to keep the little horrors away.

 

*not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[PeckyBeak]

Thanks Claret, do you recommend any particular spray? I have one called Columbine from Regency Poultry. Do you spray routinely, and do you just spray their 'nether regions' where the mites tend to be?

[The Dogmother]

I use a spray containing Permethrin*, either the Johnson's Anti-Mite one, or the red aerosol total mite kill spray from Nettex. Please bear in mind that neither of these are licensed for use on poultry in the UK, and that vet might recommend egg withdrawal.

 

I use the on the skin around the vent, leg and wing 'pits', do two treatments a week apart in order to catch any newly hatching mites/lice.