[PaulineM]

Hi

Twice lately I have been bitten on the leg by a flea immediately after I have been out with my chickens.

My hens were Frontlined no more than 4-6 weeks ago and have no sign of crawlies even before they got their regular dose of Frontline also my two Jack Russels are flea free.

The fleas appear to be in the bedding of the stable  About a week ago I shook DE over the floor bedding, which is wood chip.

So my questions are 1. How can I get rid of the fleas if my whole stable has a thick layer of wood chip? and 2. Where are the fleas coming from?

[Sassy]

What makes you think it's a flea?

[PaulineM]

Sassy - I caught it 

It has only happened when I have had bare flesh on show    (while wearing a maxi dress or pj's)  I took my pj's off this morning and caught the little blighter,it was definitely a flea.

I just puzzled as to what their host is? Mice/Rats

I suppose they must bite my girls (although no signs of this). I assume they would die after biting my girls as they have been frontlined, but I hate to think of them biting them 

[Mega]

ooh-eer 
 I am about to embark on getting some chickens this year ( August as theyonly just hatched ) - is the frontline something that has to be done regular like cats & dogs please ? Also is it the same product ?
Any other 'treatments' I should be aware of or start to stock my shelf of please ?

[PaulineM]

I use Frontline spray which I get from my vet for @£17.  I have 10 birds and it will last for ages.
I would also recommend Flubenvet for worming your girls when you get them and then every 3 months or so.
Good luck with your new girls, you wont regret it as long as your not to precious about your garden. 

[Mega]

Thanks for your advice - I am so excited been wanting hens for few years and hubby has finally given in    Think I am hooked before I am started haha 

[GrannieAnnie]

Not sure where the fleas come from.  We occasionally get red mite, but the only fleas I have ever seen here, are when someone else beings birds in for Brian to cull, like turkeys at Christmas, etc.

Perhaps I've just been lucky there.  

Actually Pauline, have you ever tried a smoke fumer?  I used a couple last year in our big henhouse (32ft long) when it got mites badly.  Works wonders.  Only thing is, you have to block up all vents etc, and keep the hens out for a few hours.

Like these!

http://www.hygienesuppliesdirect.com/sub/smoke_bombs

[ehs284]

Frontline will kill those fleas which have bitten the hens and that maybe after they've laid their eggs. Although the eggs are usually laid on the bird, they will be knocked off with dust bathing. Fleas can jump upwards a good distance, but rarely move far away from the place they were laid, so the areas where the birds have dust bathed are likely to be hot spots (fleas don't like sunshine). This means that the hens may have been the host, the new adults are hungry and your bare legs will smell just right. There can't be many fleas in the area or you would have had several bites - you don't say where you were bitten, but a common site is at the top of the legs where clothing (pants usually) stop they climbing higher. Worth using Deet whilst you deal with the problem and undressing in the bath. DE won't be able to deal with the numbers in loose and damp stabling material. Try using permethrin as a spray or powder but beware one effect is to make them more active before they succumb.
HTH

ere will be areas

[PaulineM]

Hi

I think I have found the source of the fleas 

We seen a rather rough looking semi-ferel/farm cat walking away from our stable door yesterday. We shushed it away.

Our dogs have been chasing cats at night lately (scratched eye and vet bill to prove) 

Would a cat steal eggs? or eat pellets if hungry?

There were 4 hens in the stable where we seen it heading from but they didn't seem at all upset when we went out.

[Casey76]

A very hungry feral cat will try to take a full grown chicken

[PaulineM]

   

I think this cat is the farmer's cat, not totally ferel, but I will keep a close eye out and will maybe have to let the dogs out a bit more to make it stay away.

[rcf100]

My not at all feral cats (unlike my children who are very feral), would love to be allowed in at the layers pellets.  That could be what kitty is there for

[PaulineM]

Thanks rcf, my jack russells love to hoover up any pellets they can get at so maybe thats what the cats after 

[ehs284]

Worth looking a bit further before putting in the canine.

Mice / small birds eat pellets + cat eats mice/small birds?

 If you remove cat without dealing with mice/birds?

It is very common for cats to be infested with bird fleas rather than cat fleas.

[Sassy]

We have gone through a few weeks of receiving bites which I concluded must be fleas but have never seen the perpetrators. A fortnight ago I found a dead hedgehog and the flea bites have stopped. I can only assume that it was around and was the carrier. They are notorious for carrying fleas. Some say that their fleas do not bother other animals but all the vets I have had say they are usually the cause of fleas in pets.