My Chickens Have Louse!

I found this photo on the internet!
My chickens have identical looking ones on them. I found them by the vent.
Can humans get them? How can I save my chickens?
Also, I think they got them from some farm hens we got awhile ago and ever since all the chickens got noisy breathing.
Then I got three hens that did not have louse or noisy breathing and then now they have louse and noisy breathing?!
They do not have colds or runny noses so I am wondering if the breathing is related to the louse.
Please HELP!!!!

Chicken lice are not contagious to humans and are pretty easily treated. My treatment of choice is Sevin dust you find in the gardening section of the home and garden section. You can also get products made just for chickens at stores like TSC. They all come in a powder type form. My preferred method is to put some of the dust in a plastic bag and then stick the body of the chicken in with the head sticking out of the bag. Then "shake and bake" so to speak. Get a good amount ruffled in the feathers.

The noisy breathing is not likely related to the lice but could be a separate respiratory issue. Unfortunately there is no way to diagnose online without some cultures of the organism causing disease. The other issue is that many respiratory diseases are not easily cured and birds can become carriers of the infection, infecting other birds in the flock. Viruses are not curable and must run their course but there may potentially be some antibiotics that can help treat a bacterial infection if you know what it is. I highly recommend putting a call into your county extension office or state animal health diagnostic center. The poultry vets there will be able to guide you in your diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

In the future, it would be a good idea to quarantine new birds for at least 3-4 weeks before putting them in with your existing flock. That way any medical problems will hopefully show up before introducing the diseases to the rest of a flock. If you want more information about tightening biosecurity and quarantine, I would be happy to help!

Chickerdoodle13 said:

Chicken lice are not contagious to humans and are pretty easily treated. My treatment of choice is Sevin dust you find in the gardening section of the home and garden section. You can also get products made just for chickens at stores like TSC. They all come in a powder type form. My preferred method is to put some of the dust in a plastic bag and then stick the body of the chicken in with the head sticking out of the bag. Then "shake and bake" so to speak. Get a good amount ruffled in the feathers.

The noisy breathing is not likely related to the lice but could be a separate respiratory issue. Unfortunately there is no way to diagnose online without some cultures of the organism causing disease. The other issue is that many respiratory diseases are not easily cured and birds can become carriers of the infection, infecting other birds in the flock. Viruses are not curable and must run their course but there may potentially be some antibiotics that can help treat a bacterial infection if you know what it is. I highly recommend putting a call into your county extension office or state animal health diagnostic center. The poultry vets there will be able to guide you in your diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

In the future, it would be a good idea to quarantine new birds for at least 3-4 weeks before putting them in with your existing flock. That way any medical problems will hopefully show up before introducing the diseases to the rest of a flock. If you want more information about tightening biosecurity and quarantine, I would be happy to help!

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Are these lice?
Does DE work as well? And can lice kill chickens?

I do not recommend DE for treating lice. Some people like it in sand baths for prevention, but frankly I don't think it works to get rid of them (and I question how well it prevents them)

Do lice kill chickens and how urgent does this need to be treated?

My precious hen who has the most lice is loosing weight like crazy! I have been giving her stuff to get some more weight on.
It doesn't seem too bad but is getting worse!
Could this be related to the lice?!
I have given her yogurt, scratch, and compost which should make her casually gain some weight but I have not seen any more weight gain. Her crop is usually full.

If they are already loosing condition don't waste time with DE it is not for treating outbreaks once you have one. It's just to catch the odd egg they may come across not to kill an infestation.

We got fleas once and I bought the poultry flea powder. You just catch them one at a time and sprinkle it around the neck, under the wings and especially near their bottom. Then I just rubbed it into the feathers a bit. I had them on my knee the first time and ended up with white jeans ;-) but it wasn't that hard once you caught the blighters. If they are hard to catch do it at night when they are on the roost. Depending on the one you buy you may need to repeat after a week or two.

Treat your entire flock.

Then get some Fido dog wash flea shampoo and mix up as per instructions and spray the whole coop and nesting boxes and roosts. Repeat after 10 days.

As for the breathing, have you wormed them? If they came with lice they could have come with worms and some of those cause respitory symptoms. The fact it spread but nobody has died yet makes me think worms so I would worm the entire flock. Worms would also explain the weight loss. Untreated worms and lice will eventually kill them so you need to get on top of it as quickly as you can. There are lots of threads on here about the best way to worm and lots of very helpful experts

appps said:

If they are already loosing condition don't waste time with DE it is not for treating outbreaks once you have one. It's just to catch the odd egg they may come across not to kill an infestation.

We got fleas once and I bought the poultry flea powder. You just catch them one at a time and sprinkle it around the neck, under the wings and especially near their bottom. Then I just rubbed it into the feathers a bit. I had them on my knee the first time and ended up with white jeans ;-) but it wasn't that hard once you caught the blighters. If they are hard to catch do it at night when they are on the roost. Depending on the one you buy you may need to repeat after a week or two.

Treat your entire flock.

Then get some Fido dog wash flea shampoo and mix up as per instructions and spray the whole coop and nesting boxes and roosts. Repeat after 10 days.

As for the breathing, have you wormed them? If they came with lice they could have come with worms and some of those cause respitory symptoms. The fact it spread but nobody has died yet makes me think worms so I would worm the entire flock. Worms would also explain the weight loss. Untreated worms and lice will eventually kill them so you need to get on top of it as quickly as you can.

Click to expand...

Thank you!!!
I have seen worms in their poop and I will get on their treatment immediatly. Thank you sooo much!!!!