Will Poultry Protector Rid my Chicken of Lice?

So..... carrying the roo every morning has its perks. ( see http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/dealing-with-roosters-roo-behavior)   I am getting a roo that is much nicer to me (hopefully without thinking I am a hen) and he is still all that a roo should be to his female flock of 18.

The down-side of this is an itchy feeling I've had for 2 or 3 days...here and there, but mostly in my hair. (rhymes)

Today I isolated what has been bugging me. Not too creeped out about this. Just want to get down to the business of fixing the problem.  I was relieved to know that these little creepies cannot survive off their host.  On a human body they just die.  (Couldn't be soon enough for me. I've been meaning get rid of some grays with L'Oreal Preference.....so will do that really soon because I hear that makes our scalps really anathema to lice and mites)

Here he (or she) is:   That's a Phillips head sheet rock screw for size-comparison

OK, the two kinds:  (are there more than two kinds?)

• Chicken Body Louse    or
• Shaft Louse

I have no idea if he/she is full-grown yet or not.

• I want to use Poultry Protector to treat this ( please add your thoughts about this )
• Should I clean and spray the coop first or do the birds first?
• I will spray the girls and Boaz one day and then do it 7 or 8 days later for the eggs, yes??
• Coop gets brand new bedding when that cleaning happens
• I will start a maintenance program with "Poultry Protector" (good idea? or just in 'high season'..like fall)

Thanks-you for your input in advance

PS We live in northern Minnesota but I got my limited info online from a UC Div of Agriculture PDF (California)  However, I trust chicken farmers' advice more than professors'.

Thanks much!

  I have only found one louse,  the one in the pic....(but I remember dating a few a number of years back.  The one I married isn't one of them) 

I found egg nests on the butts of 3 out of 19.     Treated as directed with Poultry rotector and also smeared their vent area this morning with liquified coconut to soften and kill the eggs.  I have come to understand that these are shaft lice, not mites.

  I am concerned that if I use Ivermectin now it would be over-kill.  Their skin got really soaked with the PP last night.

Was up til quite late doing this as the best way for me to catch them in when they are perched for the night.  (At 11 pm they all started screaming and squawking in unison.  Very loud and annoying.  They were tired of the process ans so was I.  I shut the light out and they stopped immediately. What hoot.  They were making a demand and I understood them!!   Yes, chcikens, your every wish is my command.  (Spoiled)

Can I keep Ivermectin long-term in my first aid/ med box?

Thanks for helping a newbie,

Missa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchanted Sunrise Farms 

Poultry Protector is good for spraying down coops and is helpful in getting rid of a mild mite infestation, or to use on small chicks, as it is all natural.  But for lice or a bad mite infection, i recommend Ivermectin.  You can get it at the feed store and it is marketed for cattle, but commonly used for poultry.  Use a syringe, or i use a small bottle that is like an eye drop bottle.  Put it on the back of the neck, like you use flea meds for dogs and cats - 2 drops for a bantam 4-5 drops for larger fowl.  Repeat in a week.  Don't eat the eggs for two weeks after completing treatment.  Here is a picture of the stuff i took for someone a while back. 

 

I can't quite read the label to know what percntage dilution the Ivermectin is.  Thnx.

Thanks, I just bought a bag from the coop and used it for the first time about an hour ago...in a nest box.  I am completely cleaning out the coop and will incorporate DE.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchanted Sunrise Farms 

Sorry to not answer your question sooner. The solution is 5mgs ivermectin per ml.  It's a blue solution, the pour-on kind.  It was $19.95 for the bottle, and i think it's going to last me 20 years.    It certainly wouldn't hurt to have it in your chicken medicine chest as it is a highly effective wormer and delouser, and mite killer.  But if the Poultry Protector and DE are doing the job for you, then that's great.  The less chemicals we have to use on our birds the better.

Thank-you, ESF. 

I asked someone to pick me up some.  No generic in town.  Cost me..................................50 smacks with tax.   Today I was in town at the local farm supply place and  found the same thing, only ten dollars cheaper.  I'm over it.   But it better last me til kingdom come, at that price.

I have learned that with shaft lice, the ivermectin does not work because those lice don't suck blood.  I guess they eat dead skin, feather dander,etc.  It will get mites, though, if they have them. Anyway, I treated them all 2 nights ago and will repeat in two weeks.  Except for roundworm, they will all have been de-mited and wormed.  However, I will be dusting them tonite with poultry dust for the lice and repeating in 7 days and then again in another 7 to pick up the stragglers (new hatch). 

The whole subject has been so confusing but I think clarity has finally come. 

Also found Orange Guard...so will go over the coop again.

'They' say winters are bad for lice and mites.....no dust baths b/o the snow.  So......I'm thinking about creating an indoor dustbath about 2 X 3.  Will do some searching for the best ingredients but so far I'm thinking sand, some kind of soil...but not mine (full of coccidi crits), DE, wood ashes.  Anything you can suggest?

Thanks again.

~Missa