[sushi]

Just a quick question if any one could advise please.
 
Is there a spray for mite that can go direct on the bird, all the packaging in my local farm store(TFM) has no mention of spraying the birds just the coop so not sure what to do. I have seen powders but want to use a spray that will do both bird and house in one.

regards Mark

[compostqueen]

Use the product only as prescribed!  It will be powerful stuff

Someone on here will be along shortly to advise you but meanwhile only use it on the coop and not on the bird

[Casey76]

Red mites live in the coop, not actually on the chicken - they only feed on the chicken.

For things lice lice, which live on the chicken, you can buy proprietary louse powder to powder the chicken.

[ehs284]

Whilst spray seems a good simple idea and is used commercially, it is not a good way of applying treatments to birds because their feathers act as a raincoat and only the outer layer gets treated. Mites crawl up through the under feathers to reach the skin so are protected. By using a powder well fluffed into the base of the feathers, the mites have to crawl through the insecticide and then are coated when they leave. This also helps take insecticide back into their crevices.
Coop sprays, such as Ficam, work well and get into crevices in the structure, but can be easily absorbed by the bloodstream and so should not be on the animals (this includes you!). Protecting the coop is really the answer as just treating birds is fire fighting.
There are some good threads from last year which are worth finding. We use a multi-ring defence with Ficam and diatomaceous earth slurry on surfaces and dust on the birds (although some posters consider the latter a waste of money for mites).

[sushi]

Thank you all for the advice, powder it will be for the birds and spray for the coop.