Twice in the past month I have found what I'm pretty sure were stick tight fleas on our (now 3 month-old) chicks. I was able to remove both. While I have not seen any more—the most recently seen sticktight was Tuesday--I want to head any issues off at the pass, so we purchased liquid permethrin to spray birds, coop, run, and free-range hangout areas (our birds free range for roughly half the day; we live in a rural Midwestern area thick with forest, brush, and various wildlife--our dog can't run all the wild critters off!).
That said, I am a little concerned about the chicks in particular (because of COURSE I'm already enamored of them) and therefore have a few questions I hope more experienced keepers can help us with.
Will it be okay to spray the chicks at the recommended concentration per this article (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ght-fleas-in-poultry-with-permethrin.74325/)?
Is the spraying of the birds to be done by spraying beneath the wings and at the vent? Do you part the feathers and rub the permethrin in? I know to avoid their eyes, though behind the eyes is where I've found both fleas.
Alternately, since I've only seen two fleas, is it okay to clean out and spray the coop and nestboxes as well as the run and hangout zones instead of the birds themselves?
Do we repeat the entire spraying and cleanout process in a month, or is it correct to just spray the coop itself and the bedding within it rather than completely cleaning it out again? Do the birds also get sprayed again in a month? I'm not trying to be lazy, just...efficient.
Thank you all, I appreciate your help!
Gratuitous chicken photo:
That said, I am a little concerned about the chicks in particular (because of COURSE I'm already enamored of them) and therefore have a few questions I hope more experienced keepers can help us with.
Will it be okay to spray the chicks at the recommended concentration per this article (https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ght-fleas-in-poultry-with-permethrin.74325/)?
Is the spraying of the birds to be done by spraying beneath the wings and at the vent? Do you part the feathers and rub the permethrin in? I know to avoid their eyes, though behind the eyes is where I've found both fleas.
Alternately, since I've only seen two fleas, is it okay to clean out and spray the coop and nestboxes as well as the run and hangout zones instead of the birds themselves?
Do we repeat the entire spraying and cleanout process in a month, or is it correct to just spray the coop itself and the bedding within it rather than completely cleaning it out again? Do the birds also get sprayed again in a month? I'm not trying to be lazy, just...efficient.
Thank you all, I appreciate your help!
Gratuitous chicken photo:
