Treating for lice

[dilyles]

I just discovered lice on two of my girls. I spent the day treating everyone (8 hens, 7 pullets) by doing a Permethrin 10 bath. I then removed roosting bars and nesting boxes and sprayed everything down inside and out. My coop is a large tin building with a wood frame. Connected to a large run. I sprayed all the framing and ground in the run as well.
My question, since this was a light case, not on all girls yet, and caught early, do I have to remove the bedding? I have 15 bags of stall pellets in the coop. I raked them around, sprayed, and raked again, sprayed again, to try and get treatment in the bedding. I’ll have to pay someone to shovel all that out since I have a foot in a cast and was hoping I could get away with not removing the bedding. Has anyone ever successfully treated without removing the bedding?

 

[Stravager]

If it's actually lice then they usually only can live for a week and a bit off of a chicken according to the one vet manual I read. If you could keep the chickens out of the coop for that length of time then in theory they would all die off and you wouldn't risk re-infestation from the bedding.

 

[Saveria]

I just treated until I didn't see any more adult lice. I think it was 4 times, every 10 days. We weren't able to remove all the bedding either, we were so overwhelmed with our kids at that moment, but I figured if any more got on they would die when I treated again. Just check them frequently to make sure they don't get re-infested.

Welcome to BYC! I hope your foot heals up fast.

 

[dilyles]

Thank you!!