DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9cnp5hqzs
title: Efficacy of fluralaner solution administered to egg layer chickens through drinking water for control of northern fowl mite (<em>Ornithonyssus sylviarum</em>)

description: Background The northern fowl mite (NFM), Ornithonyssus sylviarum, is one
 of the most important external parasites of commercial poultry in the
 United States. NFM feeds on blood, causing irritation and stress to
 infested birds and potentially reducing egg production in flocks with high
 levels of mite infestation. Fluralaner is a systemically active
 insecticide and acaricide.  We report on two studies which
 evaluated the efficacy of fluralaner administered to layer chickens in
 medicated drinking water through two single doses of 0.5mg fluralaner per
 kg chicken body weight at 7 days apart for control of NFM. Methods In two
 separate studies, White Leghorn chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) were
 exposed to NFM so that they developed mite infestations. The first study
 was a dose confirmation study (n=64 pullet birds per treatment group). The
 second study was a field efficacy study (n=400 layer birds per treatment
 group). Once infested with NFM, birds were assigned to Medicated or
 Control treatment groups. In the Medicated group, a fluralaner solution
 was administered through medicated drinking water on study Day 0 and again
 on Day 7. The Control group received only unmedicated drinking water. NFM
 present in the vent region of birds were recorded prior to treatment (Day
 -7 for dose confirmation and Day -5 for field efficacy studies) and
 post-treatment on Days 2, 8, 14, 19, and 28. In each study, product
 efficacy was determined by comparison of mite counts on Medicated and
 Control birds. Results The number of mites was significantly reduced on
 Medicated group birds relative to Control group birds by Day 2. At Day 2
 post-treatment, 99% control efficacy (&gt;99% for geometric mean) was
 achieved in the dose confirmation study and &gt;96% (&gt;99% for
 geometric mean) control efficacy was achieved in the field-efficacy trial.
 Control efficacy in both studies exceeded 99% from Day 8-28. There were no
 adverse health impacts observed in birds treated with fluralaner.
 Conclusions This study confirms the effectiveness of fluralaner for
 control of NFM when administered to chickens through drinking water as two
 single doses of 0.5 mg/kg chicken body weight at 7 days apart.
description: # Efficacy of fluralaner solution administered to egg layer chickens
 through drinking water for control of northern fowl mite (*Ornithonyssus
 sylviarum*) Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.9cnp5hqzs](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9cnp5hqzs) ##
 Description of the data and file structure This dataset contains the data
 utilized in analysis of fluralaner effects on northern fowl mite in the
 study by Gerry et al. (in review). The study examined how administration
 of fluralaner in drinking water to chickens impacted mite numbers on
 treated birds versus control birds that received only unmedicated water.
 There are two related studies: 1) a pullet study (young birds) conducted
 in a small poultry house setting, and 2) an egg-layer study conducted on a
 commercial poultry operation. Studies were similar in terms of medication
 treatment and mite counting, though birds were housed and provided water
 differently in each study. Data includes mite counts on individual birds
 and total daily egg production by treatment group for the commercial study
 using laying birds.  ### Files and variables #### File:
 Egg_Production_Data_for_Repository.xlsx **Description:** total daily egg
 production by treatment group (row) and study day ##### Variables * Study
 Day - Day of the trial with day 0 being day that treatment was first
 administered to chickens, and with negative numbers indicating days prior
 to treatment and positive numbers being days after treatment. * Row - cage
 row of birds with row categories being treated (medicated) or control (non
 medicated). Each cage row was watered by a single watering line with the
 medication administered through the watering line. * Egg Count - mean # of
 eggs per bird in each cage row on each trial day. #### File:
 Field_Study_Data_for_Repository.xlsx **Description:** mite counts per
 individual bird by study day, treatment ##### Variables * Study Day - Day
 of the trial with day 0 being day that treatment was first administered to
 chickens, and with negative numbers indicating days prior to treatment and
 positive numbers being days after treatment. * Treatment - Two treatments
 (medicated or control). Chickens were either provided the fluralaner
 medication or a water only control. * Cage - Cage number with #1-200 being
 untreated control cage assignments, and 201-400 being cages provided
 medicated (with fluralaner) water. Each cage held 2 chickens. Cages
 assigned to each treatment were watered using the same watering line with
 medication administered through the watering line to cages assigned to the
 treatment group. * Bird - Leg band number of each individual chicken. *
 Mitecount - # of mites on each individual chicken. #### File:
 Pullet_Data_for_Repository.xlsx **Description:** mite count per bird by
 study day, cage, and treatment group ##### Variables * Bird - leg band
 number of each individual chicken * Mites - mean # of mites per bird in
 each cage (cage level value). * Day - Day of the trial with day 0 being
 day that treatment was first administered to chickens, and with negative
 numbers indicating days prior to treatment and positive numbers being days
 after treatment. * Cage - Cage identification code to which birds were
 assigned. Each cage held 4 birds. Cages were organized into cage groups
 (number portion of the code) and cage within the group (letter portion of
 the code). * Group - Treatment assignment (medicated [TRT] or control).
 Cages were assigned to one or the other treatment group. ## Code/software
 Not applicable ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations
 of the data: * 
 
 Data was derived from the following sources: * Data was collected by
 research team members from the pullet flock (at UC Riverside) or from
 egg-layer chickens at a commercial poultry facility in Yucaipa,
 California.