New Eggs and Lice

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ECiesielczyk

ECiesielczyk

In the Brooder
7 Years
Sep 10, 2012
57
1
41
Hello Everyone.

Today is our "hatching day" i.e. the eggs we put under our broody hen should hatch. I can see 3 so far (out of 12) horray. In peeking in on them, I see that my broody hen is infested with lice! We go the natural route so last time we saw this, we washed our chickens by hand. That said, I have no idea if I should do anything for this mama at this time since she has baby chicks right this minute. Will the lice hurt the babies? Should I separate them? Can anyone give me some guidence?

Thanks!
 
I don't know of any "natural" treatment that will get rid of them. You may find a permethrin/pyrethrin spray more acceptable than Sevin, and it will work. You need to retreat in 10 days, and change the litter and treat the coop. You also may have to treat more than twice. An infestation will kill birds.
 
Judy's right, an infestation can kill birds, especially chicks. It will be better to treat the chicks as soon as they've dried off and treat the hen as soon as possible as well. In your situation it will be better to go the chemical route this once and give the chicks a chance.
 
Thanks for the advice. Chemicals are not an option for us. If we wash the hen, it will take about 30 minutes. Will she go back to mothering after that?
 
"Chemical" does not equal "poison." Water is a chemical. Pyrethrins are made from chrysanthemums.
 
flockwatcher said:
"Chemical" does not equal "poison." Water is a chemical. Pyrethrins are made from chrysanthemums.
Click to expand...
Okay, let me rephrase, unless it is safe by organic gardeningstandards and to be handled by a pregnant woman who is also nursing (i.e. me) then using it is not an option. I understand the difference between safe chemicals and "poisons" but most of the treatments used do not meet the criteria above. Neem oil seems to be a good option but alas I cannot handle that either. So, any advice for someone in my position or are you just going to rag on me for being overly cautious?
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If we wash and dry the hen, it will take about 30 minutes, maybe a little less. Will she go back to mothering after that?
 
Last edited:
I'm sorry you saw that as ragging on you. I was trying to help you clarify your situation. Permethrins were my. suggestion. I'm not sure whether organic people would accept permethrins these days, but when I gardened organically, pyrethrins certainly were. Another knock down treatment you may be able to handle is wood ash, if you have some available. The thing is, if you do not get a handle on these bugs, they will kill your chickens. Pyrethrins are the only thing I know of that will actually kill live bugs that is organic. And it will not kill eggs; even Sevin won't do that, so we are talking about retreating in 10 days or so, plus cleanng the coop and retreating. The disadvantage of pyrethrin is it breaks down in sunlight.

I've never bathed a broody and sent her back to her chicks, so an answer is a guess. However, as a rule, a good mama will not be deterred by things like moving her nest or even changing her coop, so I don't see why a bath would deter her. But the chicks would need a bath as well, which of course probably carries its own risks.
 
I can understand where you come from, being pregnant, wanting to do things organically. I like organic and natural treatments too. And I'm a mother myself. I've also battled with mites and lice in my flock. I ended up lost a hen and 2 small chicks. One of those chicks died in my hands. And trust me, that was a horrible experience. After that I treated the entire flock with a good, non-organic, but effective poultry mite dust and the problem was solved.

Mites live off chickens and they can take a lot out of the birds physically. They can kill weak birds and make otherwise healthy, strong birds more susceptible to disease. Though I understand your position, you do risk losing that hen and chicks if you don't take care of those bugs and get rid of them completely. Chicks are fragile little things and broody hens, after 3 weeks of inactivity and little food are weak too. Unfortunately the best solution here would be to treat her and the chicks with a product designed to kill these bugs. And follow up in 10 days when the bugs' eggs have hatched. If you are worried about working with poisons and chemicals yourself, could you ask someone else to do it for you?

I'm sorry you feel like you are under attack here, but we've been trhough this and learned (in my case) the hard way. If you want more opinions though, here is a discussion on natural treatments vs poisons, the pro's and cons:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/624059/getting-rid-of-mites-naturally

Best of luck, whichever way you choose to go.
 

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