Poultry Lice.... sevin dust or permethrin bath?

My chickens have lice. I have almost 100 that all need treated, though they seem the worst on the roos...? At any rate, I'm trying to decide if I should dust each and every one of them or bath them in the stuff that Poultry Protector is made from. Bathing them almost seems easier, but it's going to freeze over the next couple of nights and is only getting to the 50s during the day. At about 55 degrees, is that too cold to bathe a chicken? And how do you suggest I dust each one of them? I tried a garden duster to make the job a bit easier, but that didn't do the trick (though I sprayed underneath them and not over the top of them). I worry about dusting them all when they're on their roost and then them spending all night in there with all the dust floating around. But I also don't want them to freeze from a bath. Should I put them in a pillow case? Or use a panty hose with dust in it? It seems like the pillow case is overkill and the panty hose isn't enough. I'm unsure of how much dust I really need to use on each bird.
I appreciate any advice you're able to offer, and I know I need to clean out the coop thoroughly.
Thank you!

With the colder temps I would just dust....UNLESS you want to mess around drying them (hair dryer) or keeping them in a warmer area. It just seems to risky with all the jumps in temp this time of year to let them get chilled. I think 50's is too cold.

What we do is take them right outside the coop when they're on the roost. Using the can of Sevin or poultry dust, We simply dust their vent area and under each wing. Poof the dust around after sprinkling it to get it down into the feathers really well. Then we put them back in the coop. I must confess that we also struggle with mites, so maybe I'm not the one to give you advice. But I think lice are easier to deal with and a few dustings should take care of it.

Good luck!

P.S. I just noticed the 100 part. Whew! Either way that's going to be a job for you. Sorry.

Dusting for lice with Sevin has to be repeated at 10 day intervals (mites every 7 days) until no lice or eggs are seen. The coop and nest boxes have to be emptied of bedding, cleaned, and sprayed with permethrin. It's a pain, and much easier to try to prevent than to treat. Dust bathing areas with sevin or permethrin dust added, dirt, sand, and wood ash are good preventatives.

X3 on dusting them.

-Kathy

Here are some good articles about lice and mites along with good pictures to help with identification:
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

The guy at the feed store uses a spray that's meant to be used in the auto spray things in stables, I 'll look that up and see what it is. He just does a little under each wing and on the vent and that seems to take care of all lice and mites.

-Kathy

Thanks guys! I know it's lice. My chickens free range so they ignore my attempts at dust bath areas. Dusting so many is really going to be a feat. If be interested to know what the spray is for the horse stable as well. I'm also considering downsizing after this as well.

Remind me if I don't post the name of the spray.

-Kathy

mwash said:

I'm also considering downsizing after this as well.

Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean! Our mite issues have me considering going down to 6-12 to more easily keep a handle on things. It's all fun until something like this happens, right?

Yeah, pretty much. It makes me feel neglectful, yet I also feel like my chickens are pretty spoiled. They're lucky cause they're not laying right now either since they're molting, and they're pretty spendy to maintain when they aren't holding up their end of the deal.