Storms and chickens

[maxinet]

After an awful red mite infestation (due to the naivety of a relatively new chicken owner ) and trying to treat naturally I have given in and used Ivermectin. Has anyone ever eaten eggs from a chicken that has been treated with Ivermectin? I can't cope with throwing the eggs away, but from everything I have read I cannot find anyone who has risked eating them! I am tempted, as what is the worse that can happen? Might stop the bl@£dy mites biting me too! 

New Eglu is ready to transfer the chooks in and hoping for easier, more manageable red mite control! Second hand wooden coop has been banished to the end of the garden ready to be burnt!!

Thanks all, any knowledge would be apprecaited

[The Dogmother]

OK, so Ivermection, as you're aware, is unlicensed for use on poultry in the UK, but chicken-savvy vets will prescribe it for use on poultryecto-parasites; and it is very effective at controlling both those living on the host and red mites in the housing. My vet prescribes a cattle pour-on called Ivomec Eprinex, which I have used for years; his advice regarding egg withdrawal is that it is used on humans to treat worms and lice, so it would be 'my choice' whether to eat the eggs, but certainly not to sell them or feed them to anyone pregnant, young or old.

There is information here  from a well respected, and sadly now passed, chicken keeper in the US. I can't tell you what to do in this situation, but my advice would be to gather enough data to make your own informed decision.

A couple of tips:

• while Ivermectin is a wormer of sorts, it is not a poultry wormer, so doesn't work on all the intestinal worms which can infest chickens. You should still worm with Flubenvet quarterly.
• While using an Ivermectin product on your birds every quarter, you will still need to treat the housing  - clean out and wash as much as possible each week, then spray with a permethrin-based product such as Total Mite Kill, which is a disinfectant as well as killing mites. Then dust with Buz Busters powder, which contains the same active ingredient. That and vigilance - now you know what you're looking for - will do the trick.

 

 

[maxinet]

Thank you The Dogmother! 

I was aware that it was unlicensed, but had managed to find enough info to suggest that it was going to help me in terms of my red mite issue. My naivety came when buying a second hand coop and not understanding the power of the mite! We cleaned it and even jet washed it, but had not realised that the little critters could lay dormant in all the cracks and nooks! 

I religiously 'poo' pick everyday and although it all looked clean, the heat wave we had a few weeks ago brought out the mites, but I had no idea they were there! The chooks stopped laying and I thought it was the heat! Little did I know that there were millions of the little blighters in there with my girls, I just hadn't ever seen them! It was quite a discovery! With a lot of reading and taking on various methods I was finally got on top of it. We then went on holiday for 2 weeks and although I had a fantastic house sitter, 'mite watch' was not under my obsessive eye!

I think I have actually suffered some sort of red mite mini breakdown as I was becoming so disheartened every time I found any in the coop. I hate the thought of them attacking the girls in the night. I was also getting rather depressed at the fact that I was also getting bitten constantly and thought that I was going to have to live my life forever more being itchy and feeling like I was also infested - which I think I have been! For some reason I seem to make a good host, not interested in my husband or little boy! It has become normal for me to sort the chooks out, take all my clothes off before I get into the house (thankfully we have a very enclosed garden!), shove them all in the washer and go straight for a shower. That kind of gets tiring twice a day along with working full time and being a mum! 

I ordered an eglu go up whilst we are on holiday as I am hoping that this will help me in terms of easy cleaning, drying etc as this is clearly something that I need to be far more vigilant about than I had realised. I have been using biolink poultry shield, is that as effective as Total Mite Kill? 

I do have Flubentvet, so that is also comforting to hear you recommend it for worming. 

Thank you so much for your advise. I felt like I was on my way to being well armed and you have confirmed that for me. 

A few months in of being a chicken family and even with this slight hiccup they have been such a great addition to our family! 

thanks again

[The Dogmother]

It's good that you now know what they look like and are vigilant; that is a big part of keeping the mite issue under control.

Poultry Shield isn't one of the new generation mite kill products; personally, I find TMK and Buz Busters together to be the best combination with a spot-on prevention programme.

Personally, I would burn the old coop!

Do be careful not to transfer the mites into your house - I am sure that you are taking precautions, but wash those clothes immediately on a very hot wash, shower with a dog flea shampoo which contains permethrin (same ingredient as head lice products). You may need to spray in your home if you think you have any there.   When you muck out the coop, don't put the waste on the compost, preferably burn it, but otherwise, double bag and bin it.

You will win; you just need vigilance, the right products and determination.

[maxinet]

Thanks again, I will get some TMK and Buz Buster in as well. 

The coop is ready to be broken down and set alight along with the bedding that has been in a water filled wheel barrow to drown the little horrid things! We have a long garden and it was put at the very end of it first thing this morning! 

Would you use TMK to spray the house? I have used flea spray (good stuff not pet shop rubbish as a precaution), but have no idea if that would be effective, I was just desperate and it was the closest thing I could think of using in the house knowing that it is also safe for our 2 cats. 

Thanks for taking the time to share such good advice! 

[The Dogmother]

Yes, scrub housing down and either let it dry in the sun or towel dry, then spray inside with TMK - when the pink coloured ready to use spray is finished, you can refill it form the large 2litre bottle of concentrate, diluting it 1:10. Just remember to shake it every time as it contains a coating agent to continue working on the mites after it's dried. Be sure to get it in all the nooks and crannies.

If you have an infestation, then I would recommend using that + Buz Busters Louse Powder every 3 days until you've knocked it back, then revert to weekly.

[maxinet]

Thanks again. I actually meant for in our house . 

The girls are having their first night in their new eglu, so looking onward and upwards! 

 

[Lewis]

Ivermectin isn't licenced for laying hens (due to cost rather than safety) but is commonly used in many species of birds.
I use 1% and if they were mine I would dose them now and then again in two weeks time.

18 hours ago, The Dogmother said:

A couple of tips:

• while Ivermectin is a wormer of sorts, it is not a poultry wormer, so doesn't work on all the intestinal worms which can infest chickens. You should still worm with Flubenvet quarterly.

Ivermectin treats the same internal parasites as Flubenvet, (doesn't cover Tapeworms which standard dosing of Flubenvet doesn't either) while also treating external parasites.
Better to get a Fecal Worm Egg Count done than unnecessarily treating quarterly and increasing resistance

[The Dogmother]

1 hour ago, Lewis said:

Ivermectin treats the same internal parasites as Flubenvet, (doesn't cover Tapeworms which standard dosing of Flubenvet doesn't either) 

Thanks Lewis, that differs from what I was told by the folks at Flubenvet, so good to know 

I have had faecal testing done in the past, but it regularly showed up that they had a pretty high worm load at the end of each quarter, so I just save my money/time now and worm anyway. Same with the dogs and cats.

[chooksRCute]

So, Lewis - advise please

If neither are a treatment for Tapeworm, what would you recommend? My chooks and I are in central France and Tapeworm is a hazard here. The vets don't appear to appreciate our routine care of chickens - and certainly have an ignorance of treatments. Currently I'm having to purchase medicated Flubenvet pellets from the UK when I drive over as I've been unable to locate a supplier in France. Ivermectin I can get via internet but very pricey! Do I need both or would you recommend just the Ivermectin as it treats external and internal parasites?

 

 

[Lewis]

I'm home for Christmas so don't have any books with me but this is a good article

Ivermectin is pretty inexpensive. In Slovakia we can get it in most pharmacies so maybe worth trying your pharmacy, otherwise as you say get it online.

I've been to conferences where Charlie Pignon, a French vet based in Paris, has spoken and know a few others working in France so there are good exotics vets about over there!

[chooksRCute]

Thank you Lewis.

Sorry for the delay but my internet has been down - a good welcome to france 😂

I’ve got the Ivermectin via the Internet & have applied it last week for lice treatment.

Just to clarify; Are you saying that Ivermectin 1% used as a spot on treatment WILL treat lice & worms? 

Thanks in advance 

Edited January 8, 2019 by chooksRCute

[sarkymite]

For the original poster, Maxinet. I have risked consuming eggs during and after ivermectin-based treatment. 

I researched online and having found it is used safely in humans all over the world, and calculating that the quantities in each egg would likely be very small, i decided that for me personally, I didn't think it was risky.

However, I made sure that we did not sell, or give away, any eggs during the suggested withdrawal period given by my vet. I also would not have allowed any children under 16 to consume them during that time, just in case. It's one thing making an informed personal choice and risk analysis, but different when giving them to other people.

It's personal preference in the end I think.

[chicky chick]

How long of an egg withdrawl did you do for your hens? i just treated my roo but am going to do an egg withdrawl anyways.

[Sps]

Hello, I live in the United States , I think my chickens have gapeworm, they are barred rock and approx 9months old, have been laying really well. We treated them with Ivermectin (cattle pour on liquid) my husband put approx 3 drops per bird on their neck skin, they are seemingly doing better but all 4 have stopped laying completely for the last 10 days since we treated them.... we are planning to treat again at 14days ,so 4 days from now..... has any one else experienced them stopping egg production after ivermectin topical treatment? They all seem fine and happy, one is still slightly gaping..... Any help or knowledge on this would ve greatly appreciated! Thankyou! 

[Cat tails]

Might have just been coincidence or they are a bit flustered with the whole procedure. Wouldn't worry too much. If you want to know for sure your hens don't have gapeworm anymore (hard to spot for sure!), you can ask your vet to do a worm count of get a worm count kit over the internet.

[Sps]

Thankyou! Appreciate your help!