I'm not certain, but my theory is that the chalky, hard, white deposit in the pea comb of my Brahma is an egg sac from body lice. My flock started to look pretty bedraggled and I soon discovered they were crawling with lice. Egg production had nearly ceased completely. I decided to do a preliminary worming with Wazine in their water and I dusted them all with a mix of diatomaceous earth and garden dust the same day. I used an empty shavings bag and shook them well with only their heads sticking out. Ten days later, I followed up with another treatment using Ivomec Ivermectin cattle pour-on wormer, using 1/2 a cc per bird. I used a plastic syringe, no needle, and put it on the skin on the backs of their necks. This is supposed to kill internal and external parasites. I started with the Wazine and the dust as I read you can kill your birds by going straight to the Ivermectin if you have never wormed before. The chalky deposit is now crumbling off, egg production is returning to normal and everyone is now gaining weight and looking healthy. From now on, I plan to use Ivermectin or Eprinex twice a year to maintain. I disgusted that I didn't catch the lice sooner. I often checked, but not well enough...the lice are fast and difficult to spot. Sadly, I lost a few nice pullets before I caught on.
