Is this lice?

quackydoodle

Songster
7 Years
Apr 29, 2014
113
5
116
Rigby, ID
I have a few of my 29 chickens that have this stuff on their feathers. It only seems to be under their chins (or whatever a chicken's chin is called). They're not acting like they're any itchier than the birds that don't have it. Is this lice? Sorry for the poor quality.

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I had to use my magnifying glass to get a closer look even when I enlarged your photos and it looks like lice eggs on the feather shafts to me. You can actually see feather lice crawling through feathers and fluff. They are white or off white in color and move quickly. Sevin dust will quickly kill lice but not the eggs that are stuck to the feather shafts. I've read that folks use coconut oil to remove the eggs, you can give it a try if you wish.
 
I haven't seen anything moving. Except my chicken, ha ha. She's really wiggly. I tried coconut oil. I don't think I got enough on there to matter. I'll keep at it.
 
I'm quite new here, so pardon me if I give misleading advice (correct me if I'm wrong) but I've heard some things they use on people. Maybe it might help with your chickens. Mayo works well on human lice & nits, but is so greasy. It suffocates them. Tea tree oil extract is a bit easier to wash off and is effective.

(I hope I helped in some way)
 
I'm quite new here, so pardon me if I give misleading advice (correct me if I'm wrong) but I've heard some things they use on people. Maybe it might help with your chickens. Mayo works well on human lice & nits, but is so greasy. It suffocates them. Tea tree oil extract is a bit easier to wash off and is effective.

(I hope I helped in some way)
I am wondering if what you posted is not chicken dandruff aka dead blood feather sheaths.

Google it for pictures.

I am having trouble seeing your photos with my old eyes.

When in doubt treat for lice and mites, you'll never go wrong.
 
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I haven't seen anything moving. Except my chicken, ha ha. She's really wiggly. I tried coconut oil. I don't think I got enough on there to matter. I'll keep at it.
The oil will only suffocate the egg clusters, not the live lice.

The best way to investigate for lice is to grab them off the roost at night, when they are more docile-put them on their back and cover their heads/eyes and look very closely at the feather shafts and skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

I use a headlight to be able to see well, it's much easier if you have someone to help you hold the bird.
 
I've looked at them at night just like that. I've never seen any creepy crawlies. Just the clusters around the feather shaft. I couldn't find any clear pics of chicken dandruff, so I'm not sure if that's it. They also don't have these clusters anywhere except under their chins. Could it be dirt build up? The feathers under their vents and under their wings look very normal.
 

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