Fleas on chickens?

Question

Our chickens (9 hens and 1 rooster) are suffering heavily from fleas. They got onto our 3 cats and we didn't realise where they were coming from until recently. The cats are more or less cured, but what can we do for the chickens?

I have heard that there is a type of dust that you can buy that kills them all, but I'd like to know some more details, not just, "Go buy some 7 dust." More info, please!

This is how bad it is: even when you are standing 1 metre outside of the chickencoop in sandals, you look down at your feet and see about a hundred of the things all over your feet. (It's worse inside!) So you have to get them all before you can go inside again. We do not have any carpet, so they're not there, but we do find the odd flea attached to our body. The chickens are suffering - their combs and the dangling bits of skin under their beaks are totally black with fleas in some places!

Is there a way to get rid of them that doesn't involve buying nasty chemicals to put on them?

Answer 1

Dawn soap does not kill fleas, just gets them off of the animal. You can buy Sevin Dust (5%) or the generic version (my feed store has a can of it for about $3). You will need to dust all the chickens, their bedding in the coop and everywhere around the coop, esp. the spots where they dust bathe. Take care not to get it into their food/water supply.

Now you can also use diatomaceous earth (DE) but FOOD GRADE only. This will take care of fleas, mites, ticks, and just about everyother parasite that will externally plague chickens. You can get DE at the feed store too, but make sure its food grade.

Answer 2

the fleas didn't necessarily come from the cats although it's a possibility. . .

and it could be more of a mite then fleas

eg the northern fowl mite

http://www.icb.usp.br/~marcelcp/Imagens/...

that link shows a chicken heavily infested with northern fowl.

No offense your poor chickens are having a horrible time and suffering badly by the sounds of it

why didn't you treat at the first signs

also chickens should be "regularly" dusted down purely as a precaution...

the first thing you need to do  is get all your chickens OUT OF THE HOUSE AND RUN. . .. .

and treat ALL your birds thoroughly

also the house and run will have to be vacated , vigorously cleaned out  and disinfected and left for a few days before your chickens can return

here are the names of a few products to help you out

Poultry shield a disinfectant which you'll have to clean out the coop with.

also another good one is Kil-Pest Insect Powder

also ardap spray

as I don't know where you are from I can't be sure on what is available in your area

go to your local vets or good pet shop or even a neighbor the owns chickens and ask him/her on what you can get and what is best recommended.

bare in mind you will have to repeat the treatment a few times to kill the eggs and larvae

Answer 3

You might want to try a feed store who caters to farm animals.

Answer 4

I remember my grandmother putting Seven Dust in a sock and powdering her chickens on the breast and the back.  I personally wouldn't go that route.  

You are only talking about ten birds.....If I were in your shoes, I would give each chicken a bath in dawn dishwashing soap, move them to another area and treat the original area for fleas.