[henamoured]

Well the Frontline is for cats really and not licensed for chickens but many people on here use it on chicks to no ill effects. I dosed 2 drops for my big (and I mean really rotund!) RIR, just 1 for the little warrens on the back of the neck onto the skin (you have to part their feathers so it helps if there are two of you).
It will kill mites and lice that are on the hens but if you do it the same day as all your coop cleaning you've got a better chance of clearing them. I also put alot of mite powder in their run as well as coop when it dried. Made the powder into a paste for perch ends and cracks, joints and all 'entry points'.
Gave the warrens porridge made with water with egg scrambled in for a few days then a fishfinger now and again until they looked better. The anaemic chicken really completed her recovery following a bath and blow dry.
Keeping my fingers crossed I won't see them again this yesr at least.

[cheriton]

Sorry to hear of your problem Broody Hen. I have just had a similar problem with the dreaded red mites. Everytime I went near the girls I felt cooty and was running to the washing machine with my clothes then straight to the shower.  I put 7 bottles of Poulrty shield on my coop last week , blow torched it to the point of nearly setting it alight 
I nearly lost one of them due to anemia .  That is the price you pay for the cheap coops on Ebay with plenty of crevices between the timber!!
When I took it apart to steam it and clad it I found so many of the critters I had a fit so lit a  bonfire instead!! The girls had been emergency housing whilst I was treating the coop ( a rabbit hutch).
 I also spent £50 on tonics and almost gave up - my hubby mentioned that my eggs were getting dearer than Waitrose with all the money I was spending it would be cheaper to get rid of them.
But I didn't want to give up on my lovely girls and as I got a refund from my Electricity company at the end of last week I bought myself a preloved Eglu and no sign of the critters yet. (I thought I was being charged a lot for my Electric - I was beginning to think I was rigged up to the whole neighbourhood the prices they were charging me!)lol

[cheriton]

I don't think they can live on us but treat your dogs anyway with frontline or similar just in case.

Thank you Joyfull I am just going to put some Frontline on the dogs - I feel like putting some on myself as I have come over all cooty again

[broodyhen]

Thank you thank you all of you for your words of comfort - this is really a great place to share tips and ideas alike. I will get some frontline defo tomorrow as I have a warren that looks abit poorly today  I'm keeping a close eye on her. I was thinking I was getting on top of it but alas just been out to change the paper and clumps of rm under neath the paper  cannot believe it.

My household bins are now a breeding area for rm and we have another week before they are emptied  gonna blast the little cretins when they are 

To do list this weekend then: Jeyes (again) powder (again) and Frontline (new!)

My eggs are the most expensive money can buy!!

broodyhen x

[lukasmum]

Poor you Broody Hen. Red mites are the most orrible little things.

I've just come back from holiday, and found quite a few in my coop. Poultry Shield seems to take too long for me...I prefer the instant death method!

The only thing I have found that seems to work is a garden pressure spray bottle with a
dilution of Jeyes and bleach in it.  I cleaned out my girls today, making sure every nook and cranny was blasted. You then need to wait for half an hour or so, and go back and do it again. I went back a third time - just with clean water this time, and scooshed the whole lot out.  I have diatomed the perch and fresh bedding and have put a few drops of citronella in the bedding too.

They will be comfortable tonight! BUT I shall be back doing the same thing in 3 days time, and then 3 days after that, just to make sure I have nabbed any youngsters or eggs that have hatched in the mean time.

The bad news is that I believe wild birds have mites and thats how they can just pop up. We will never eliminate them altogether, but it is satisfying going on a murdering spree..

I haven't resorted to Frontline yet - but if my girls are really bothered , and I can't get rid of them all in this hot weather - I shall.  It makes me itch just typing this!
Keep going Broody Hen - you WILL get'em eventually!!

[joyfull]

please remember though to also treat the grount where you are washing down the coup as red mite can live for weeks so will make their way back into the coup.

[tesni]

quick question (and apologies if I have missed the answer in any of the posts), if frontline is used on hens does it affect the eggs?  can they still be eaten?  I use frontline on my cats but can't recall if it is a surface acting preparation and so won't be absorbed into the system meaning the eggs would be ok......or if it goes into the bloodstream etc.  Does anyone know? 

[joyfull]

We eat our chickens eggs when treated with frontline - mine was prescribed by my vet as it isn't licensed for poultry.

[Colbeck1megane]

For the last eight weeks our chickens have had mites or lice (not red ones, but ones that were on them constantly). We tried powdering them every week, spraying them until drenched on hot days. Then this week we used frontline for cats (the droplets) and put 3/4 drops on each chicken behind their heads. 3 days later and we can't find a single one on them (except the one who wasn't done cause she is on anti-biotics for a foot infection and we didn't want to mix medicines). Hope that is helpful. Also my dad said if you put your hand in coup then they will crawl on you if they are still in there, plus chickens will be reluctant to go in at night.

[73Westboy]

I posted this response to another concern about red mite, hope it helps!

I have had similar problems with red mite and tried various expensive products, which were meant to clear up the problem! The technique I found to be most "enjoyable" was using my butane weed wand to blast the little critters when they come out at night! I would get all the hens out of their house and blitz them! This has not proved to be a long term solution though.

I have tried Jeys fluid, which does not work. The original formula used to be a lot more effective.

The solution I have recently found is Poultry Shield, this is a potent and excellent product. I have sprayed the whole house with this using a pump sprayer and also keep some in a small hand sprayer for targetting small groups of them, which can sometimes aggregrate on a fallen birds feather.

If you are fed up with red mite, buy some Poultry Shield, and use this as part of your regular poultry sanitation measures. I bought 5 litres of it for about £25 including delivery and this will dilute down to 50 litres. I would suggest using regularly for the first one to two weeks, and then once a fortnight should suffice. During the colder, winter months, red mite should not be such a problem.

Good luck and I hope this post is of help to all with red mite concerns!